Pan-Seared Chicken Thighs with Fig Pan Sauce

Who doesn’t love a hearty one-pan meal? I use my trusty cast-iron skillet that can go from the stove top to the oven to the tabletop. This combination of pan-seared chicken thighs and a quick pan sauce featuring fresh figs is weeknight simple, but tastes elegant enough to serve to guests. You can use chicken breasts instead of thighs, if you must, but chicken thighs are going to be more tender and flavorful, and will yield delicious juices that are key to a great pan sauce. This sauce is almost like a sweet and savory relish, along the same lines as Italian agrodolce. Be sure to have crusty bread on hand to sop up every drop. 

Makes 4 servings

Ingredients

• 4 large bone-in chicken thighs with skin
• 2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• Zest of 1 lemon cut into wide strips
• 3 to 4 short rosemary sprigs
• 1 cup thinly sliced shallots or red onion
• 2 tablespoons dark brown sugar
• 1/2 cup dry sherry
• 2 cups fresh figs, stemmed and quartered
• 2 tablespoons sherry vinegar
• Pinch of crushed red pepper flakes
• 1/2 cup pitted ripe green olives, such as Castelvetrano or Cerignola
• Garnish with fresh citrus zest and chopped rosemary leaves

Directions

Preheat the oven to 375°F. (Use convection if you have it.) Trim the excess skin from the sides of the thighs, leaving the tops uncovered. Season the chicken generously all over with salt and pepper. (If you have time, refrigerate the seasoned chicken, uncovered, overnight before cooking. It helps the chicken absorb the salt and makes the skin more crispy.) 

Warm the olive oil in a large oven-proof skillet over medium-high heat. Add the chicken skin-side down and let cook undisturbed until the skin is deeply browned, about 6 minutes. 

Flip the chicken. Add the rosemary sprigs and lemon zest to the pan. 

Transfer to the oven. Roast until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the meat registers 175° to 185°F, 20 to 25 minutes. Transfer the chicken to a plate and cover loosely with foil to keep warm. 

Return the pan to the stove top over medium-high heat. Discard the lemon zest and rosemary stems. Stir the shallots and brown sugar into the pan drippings and cook until beginning to soften, 3 to 5 minutes, stirring often. 

Pour in the sherry. Scrape the bottom off the pan to loosen all of the browned bits. Simmer until the liquid reduces a little, about 2 minutes, stirring often. 

Stir in the vinegar, pepper flakes and olives. Gently stir in the figs. Check the seasoning. 

Return the thighs and any accumulated juices to the pan and simmer gently until warmed through, 2 to 3 minutes. 

Garnish with lemon zest and rosemary, and serve warm.

Sheri Castle, award-winning food writer and cooking teacher, is known for melding culinary expertise, storytelling and humor, so she can tell a tale while making a memorable meal. Her creative, well-crafted recipes and practical advice inspire people to cook with confidence and enthusiasm. She's written a tall stack of cookbooks and her work appears in dozens of magazines. In 2019, the Southern Foodways Alliance named Sheri among Twenty Living Legends of Southern Food, calling her The Storyteller.

Sheri says that she's fueled by great ingredients and the endless pursuit of intriguing stories, usually about the role that food plays in our lives, families, communities and culture.

When she steps away from the kitchen or a local farm, Sheri enjoys spending quiet time at her home near Chapel Hill. She hails from the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina.