Fig and Lemon Chicken

I LOVE this recipe. I'm not so sure that my husband and son like the actual figs (though I do!), but the sauce and the tart lemon and beautiful glaze are winners. I made a few changes from the quantities given. First, I used a whole free range chicken, cut into 8 pieces. The package of dried figs that I had was only 6 ounces, quite a difference from the 1 1/2 lbs listed in the recipe, but I sliced them into thirds and I had plenty of pieces to lay on the bottom of my pan. I think any more would have been too much. I used a large lemon, peeled, and cut into thin slices. For the liquid, I used another very large lemon's worth of juice, and then, because apparently I can't retain an ingredient list from the time I walk from my computer to the time I get to the kitchen, I misremembered the amount and types of sugar and put in not only a quarter cup of brown sugar, but a quarter cup of white sugar as well. Yeah, very sweet. However, since my lemon was huge I just added another 1/8 cup water to compensate. It was very good. I used cider vinegar instead of white. My chicken took about an hour to get to the color I wanted, and I did spoon juices over it, as well as spin the pieces up and over with tongs to re-cover with sauce, several times during the cooking. I served it with brown rice and collard greens. Thanks for the recipe. It's a nice change, easy and healthy (except maybe for the extra sugar I put in!)

I used chicken breasts instead of chicken thighs, and it turned out excellent!

I tried this recipe twice, with very different results! The first time I used chicken breasts, and our friends were late so I left the chicken in the oven for an extra twenty minutes or so... I turned the temperature down and covered it. The chicken was dried out, of course, but the sauce was fabulous! It had thickened into a sweet-sour glaze and the lemons were practically candied. The next time I cut the time short and covered the chicken to keep it moist, only to find the sauce had not properly cooked! It was vinegary and runny, although the chicken was moist. The first sauce is now legendary in our family, so I will try again, probably with chicken thighs this time, leaving the skins on, and cooking it for the full length of time.

This chicken is just great!! I doubled the glaze mixture and came out perfect, I had to cover it with aluminium foil at the end of the cooking as it was getting too brown. I am Spanish and I cooked it for Spanish people who are quite reticent to "non-Mediterranean" food, they absolutely loved it. We served it with baked apples as a side-dish.

Maybe I was clueless, but I cut the lemon into slices, leaving the peel on, since the recipe did not say to peel the lemon first. I think the sauce would have been very good, but the peel gave the sauce and chicken a very bitter taste. Make sure that you peel the lemon first before putting it into the pan! I did not have enough figs, so I used prunes as well, which I think would have been really good. I may try the recipe again sometime, with that major change.

I followed this recipe as closely as I could. I bought a 9 ounce package of dried figs and that was plenty. 1 1/2 pounds would have been way too much. I used boneless, skinless chicken thighs because that was what I had in the freezer. My only complaint was that the sauce took a pretty long time to reduce to the right consistancy. My husband and I really liked this. A bite of chicken and a piece of fig on the same fork was wonderful. I will definately make this again.

This was delicious! I was looking for a new chicken recipe that I could eat during Passover (alas, no bread... or bread crumbs), and I found one! I did double the sauce before cooking, which was nice because it covered the chicken almost entirely in my smaller container, leaving just the top skin to brown a little. I also cut the rind off of the lemon and only used 5 chicken thighs. In my haste, I forgot to top it with salt and parsley before cooking, but it didn't need it! A scrumptious sauce with nice and tender chicken (50 minutes is just perfect). Will definitely make again.

This is a really good combination of flavours. I have made it a few times now; it also works with pork, and is really good sprinkled with goat cheese before serving

I really liked this. The flavor was great and so easy to make. The only think I would change is to use less dried figs. There were more figs than chicken! Really good though.

I used 8 fresh mission figs instead of 1.5 lbs dried figs and they turned out great, if a little too sweet. I also used breasts instead of thighs, it turned out nice and juicy.