Recipe: Chicken with Rhubarb Chutney

Life expectancy would grow by leaps and bounds if green vegetables smelled as good as bacon. – Doug Larson 

Rhubarb going "to flower." Photo: adstream, Flickr ccl

I still had some rhubarb in the old rhubarb patch this weekend so I figured I had better use it… After all it did have the courtesy to grow for me. I also had some chicken, so I went looking for things to do that took those two main ingredients.

I found a recipe for pork that had as an accompaniment a rhubarb chutney. That word after "rhubarb" intrigued me. The original spice mix had more of an Indian slant (cardamom, cumin, etc.) bit I didn't think it would go very well with the spaghetti squash that was also sitting in the refrigerator.

So I altered what I had found as the adventurous often do. It didn't turn out bad at all. In fact, it's a recommend. The tart of cool chutney went very nicely with the chicken. It was a wonderful contrast.

I hope you enjoy this recipe if you too have rhubarb still growing in the garden.

Chicken with Rhubarb Chutney

Serves 3-4 people  |  Chutney 15 minutes  |  Chicken 30 minutes

For the chutney:

6 cups rhubarb, cut into 1/2" chunks
1/2 onion, sliced thin
2 garlic cloves chopped

1/4 tsp chilli flakes
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1 tsp rosemary
salt and pepper to taste.

Combine the rhubarb with remaining ingredients in a saucepan. Bring to a boil and simmer about 15 minutes until slightly thickened. Season with salt and pepper. Cool to room temperature and refrigerate.

If you want a little more red colour than mine in the picture make sure your rhubarb is ruby red to start. I didn't have a choice, so I let the natural colour of the rhubarb be what it was. 

This has no oil added to the pan... Oh well, it rendered out,
and WAS poured out of the pan...

This is best made one day ahead and kept in the refrigerator.

To finish:

6-8 chicken thighs
2 tsp hot paprika
2 tsp sugar
2 tsp dried thyme
2 tsp cracked black pepper
1 tsp salt

2 tbsp red wine

Combine all ingredients except the chicken in a bag. Add the chicken pieces, skin side up, and toss well to coat on all sides. Heat a large skillet to medium heat and fry the chicken until nearly done. Be careful as the chicken will brown very quickly due to the sugar in the seasoning. You do not need to add any fat. It will render out of the chicken.

After both sides are well browned, reduce heat to simmer, cover and let the chicken cook for about 10 minutes.

Drain off all the fat. Add 3 tbsp of chutney and the red wine to the pan and let it melt and deglaze the pan. Then return the chicken and continue to fry until done, turning the chicken in the melted chutney to glaze slightly. 

Serve with more chutney on the side.

I also served it with the spaghetti squash and brown basmati rice.

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