Chicken in Riesling with Plums and Cabbage

‘Chicken in Riesling with plums and cabbage’, how does the name sound? Delicious of course!

Here is a secret: If you need something to drink every time you eat, the wine i.e. Riesling, which is included in the chicken is the best thing to have along with the dish.

Here’s how you can make chicken in Riesling with plums and cabbage.

Health Benefits

While chicken has its own health benefits, cabbage and prunes are rich in essentials that are needed to keep you healthy. Both the vegetables are packed in vitamins and minerals. They also contain antioxidants which come with cancer-fighting properties!

Ingredients

extra-virgin olive oil, divided: 3/4 cup

small cipolline, shallots, or boiling onions, peeled, trimmed: 16

long slender carrots, peeled, cut into 2-inch lengths: 5

celery stalks, cut into 2-inch lengths: 4

whole heads of garlic, papery outside removed, cloves separated, unpeeled: 3

pound chicken (preferably organic), rinsed, patted dry, legs tied together to hold shape: 14

fresh thyme sprigs: 6

fresh Italian parsley sprigs: 6

fresh rosemary sprigs: 3

grated lemon peel: 1 tbsp

pitted prunes (dried plums): 16

small green cabbage, cut into 4 wedges with some core on each: 1/2

low-salt chicken broth: 1 cup

alsatian riesling: 1/2 cup

How To Make Chicken in Riesling with Plums and Cabbage

1. Preheat your oven to 450°Fahrenheit.
2. In a large, heavy skillet, add 2 tablespoons oil and heat over medium-high flame.
3. Add cipolline, carrots, celery, and garlic. Season with salt and pepper.
4. Cook for about 8 minutes or until the vegetables are lightly browned.
5. Remove from the skillet and transfer to large pot. Push the vegetables sideways in the pot.
6. In the same skillet, over medium-high flame, heat 2 more tablespoons of oil.
7. Sprinkle salt and pepper on the chicken generously. Put in the skillet and let brown on all sides. Remember to turn often with wooden spoons. Cook this way for about 10 minutes.
8. Lay the chicken breast-side up, in the middle of the vegetable mixture in the pot. Arrange fresh herbs, lemon peel, and prunes all around the chicken. Put cabbage leaves around the chicken too.
9. Drain off fat from the skillet. Include broth and wine to the skillet and bring to a boil, scraping up browned parts; and dispense over and around chicken.
10. Sprinkle with remaining ½ cup oil over. Cover the pot with a big piece of tough aluminum foil, sealing the foil tightly around the rim.
11. Place a lid on the pot to cover firmly. Let the chicken and vegetables stay until tender and cooked, roughly about 55 minutes. Cover up and Let stand for about 10 minutes.
12. Move chicken to the center of a large, deep bowl. Using tongs, place vegetables and aromatics around chicken. Season pan juices to taste with salt and pepper; pour over chicken.

Trivia

The beginnings of this trend i.e. pairing wine with vegetables and meat can be followed to the United States in the 1980s. The Neo-Prohibitionists (supporters of neo-prohibitionism – a movement to stop alcohol consumption) incited the wine industry to rethink wine as a part of food instead of only as a drink.