French Honey-Baked Chicken with Preserved Lemons

Cooking with honey is common in France, especially in the region of Provence, where pickled lemons akin to our Preserved Lemons show up in some recipes. Using bone-in chicken and leaving the skin on during cooking yields succulent results.

Yield: 8 servings (serving size: 1 breast or 1 thigh and 1 drumstick and 1/4 cup gravy)

Ingredients

• 1/2  cup  honey, divided
• 3  cups  dry white wine
• 1/3  cup  Preserved Lemons
• 1 1/2  teaspoons  olive oil
• 2  onions, sliced and separated into rings
• Cooking spray
• 4  (8-ounce) chicken breast halves
• 4  (4-ounce) chicken thighs
• 4  (4-ounce) chicken drumsticks
• 1 1/4  teaspoons  kosher salt
• 3/4  teaspoon  freshly ground black pepper
• 2 1/2  tablespoons  matzo meal

Preparation

1. Combine 6 tablespoons honey and wine in a small saucepan; bring to a boil. Cook until reduced to 1 1/2 cups (about 20 minutes); stir in Preserved Lemons.

2. Preheat oven to 375°.

3. Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add onions to pan; sauté 5 minutes or until slightly tender. Transfer to a roasting pan coated with cooking spray.

4. Place chicken, meaty side up, on top of onions. Combine remaining 2 tablespoons honey, salt, and pepper in a small bowl. Rub honey mixture under chicken skin. Pour wine mixture over chicken in roasting pan.

5. Bake at 375° for 50 minutes or until chicken is done. Remove chicken from pan, reserving wine mixture. Let chicken stand 10 minutes. Remove skin from chicken; discard.

6. Place a zip-top plastic bag inside a 2-cup glass measure. Strain wine mixture from pan through a fine sieve into bag; discard solids. Let stand 10 minutes (fat will rise to the top). Seal bag; carefully snip off 1 bottom corner of bag. Drain drippings into a small saucepan, stopping before fat layer reaches opening; discard fat. Add matzo meal to pan, stirring with a whisk. Bring to a boil; cook 1 minute or until thickened. Serve with chicken.

Nutritional Information

Calories:

266 (23% from fat)

Fat:

6.9g (sat 1.8g,mono 2.8g,poly 1.5g)

Protein:

30.1g

Carbohydrate:

20.5g

Fiber:

0.4g

Cholesterol:

91mg

Iron:

1.8mg

Sodium:

511mg

Calcium:

26mg