Gin, Rhubarb & Tomato Chicken
Gin Rhubarb & Tomato Chicken
Chicken covered in that beautiful sauce
Rhubarb, not just for crumbles!
When I was a kid, I used to sit on the front doorstep with a stick of fresh rhubarb, freshly picked by my Dad, along with a teacup full of sugar to dip it into.
Not something I let my teeth indulge in at my middle age anymore, instead, I find new ways of using it in cooking
I can hear people giving a little wince at the thought of putting rhubarb, chicken and gin together in the same pot!
If that’s you, time to open your mind, and pantry, and give this recipe a good go.
Remembering rhubarb from childhood, or more recent crumbles we’ve all eaten, it’s easy to think of it as something that is just used in sweet puddings, but it’s not until sugar’s added, that it turns from a tart mouthful into a saccharine dessert.
Because it’s all about the sauce, gin is the key to this recipe. I was gifted some gin by G & Tea so of course i had to give that a go, so i used their Cornish Cream Tea Gin and it worked really well with the rhubarb, but if you’ve not got a bottle of that gin hanging around, (follow the link to their website to buy yours) use your favourite gin.
My thinking is , if it’s good enough tot drink it’s also good enough to cook with!
It’s the botanicals in gin that make the individual flavours of the dish come together so the rhubarb and tomato sauce is worthy of getting out that crusty loaf and dunking away!
Another thing in this recipe you might have spotted is the addition of anchovies?!
My personal thoughts on anchovies in a jar, is that they are the devils work and should be confined only to cooking, fresh anchovies are a completely different story ( about that another time).
Those tiny salty jarred fish may not be something i want to snack on, but in cooking, they melt into the sauce and add a richness that comes from no where else.
So alway great to have a jar in olive oil stashed away in the fridge.
Give it a go and enjoy your sweet life!
Ladle all of the sauce on top of the chicken to serve
Gin, Rhubarb & Tomato Chicken
What You Need
50 ml Gin
200g Bacon Lardons - Unsalted
4 Large Chicken Thighs – Skin on & Bone in – See Tip Box
2 Sticks of Rhubarb – Very Finely Chopped – See Tip Box
1 Small Red Onion – Very Finely Chopped
3 Large Tomatoes – de-seeded and finely chopped – See Tip Box
1 Lime - Zest
4 Anchovy Fillets – Finely Chopped
4 Tbsp. Vegetable Oil
3 or 4 Sprig of Fresh Thyme – Leaves removed for use
3 Spring onions – finely chopped
30 g Butter – Chopped into small pieces
1 Tbsp Runny Honey – See Tip Box
· Needed – Shallow, heavy bottom pan with well-fitting lid.
Some of the ingredients and a small bottle of G & Tea Cream Tea gin.
How It’s Done
Add the vegetable oil to a heavy bottomed shallow pan along with the bacon lardons.
Cook the bacon on a medium heat until the bacon is crispy.
Once cooked, remove from the bacon from the pan and place onto some kitchen paper to drain until needed.
Place the chicken into the same pan as the bacon had been in, skin down, to cook on a low to medium heat until the skin is a golden brown – be patient this may take 20 plus minutes – See Tip Box
Once golden brown, turn the chicken over and continue to cook on a low to medium heat until cooked on that side too.
Remove the chicken and place it on a plate until needed
Spoon out some of the fat, leaving approx. 4 tbsp.
To the same heavy bottomed pan, add the chopped rhubarb, onion garlic and thyme leaves and cook on a low heat until the rhubarb and onion are just soft.
Make sure to scrape the pan to get all of the tasty brown bits mixed in to the sauce.
Once soft, add the gin, chopped tomatoes and chopped anchovies, stir well to combine.
Add salt and pepper to taste and the lime zest, give it another stir and then place the chicken pieces on top, skin side up.
Place a lid tightly onto the heavy bottomed pan, reduce the heat to low and let the chicken cook until it’s piping hot and cooked all of the way through – Approximately 20 mins – See Tip Box
Once the chicken is cooked, remove it and place onto a serving plate.
Put the butter into the pot and stir it in to the sauce to thicken it slightly.
Add half of the spring onions, stir once again
To serve, pour the sauce over the chicken pieces and sprinkle with the remaining spring onions.
Having the ingredients chopped to the same size helps with cooking
Tip Box
Chopping – Try to chop the onion, rhubarb and tomato approximately the same size. It will help with cooking.
Chicken – 1) I used large chicken thighs with the bone in and skin on because they stay juicy when cooked. If you are cooking for more people, this recipe is perfect to double up the ingredients.
2) Be patient when browning the skin of the chicken. Don’t have the pan over hot or the skin will burn and stick. When cooking the skin, don’t move them around too much at first as the skin will stick to the bottom of the pan and tear. It’s worth the wait.
3) Cooking once the lid is on the pot can vary, so adjust cooking time accordingly.
Tomatoes – De-seeding tomatoes is an easy thing to do and stops any dish they’re used in from being too liquid.
To de-seed, chop into quarters and then cut out the middle pieces, where the seeds live.
Honey – It may seem strange to add honey to this dish, but the additions of tomatoes can make a dish too acidic and the honey will counteract this without making the dish sweet in flavour.
Get that chunky bread out for the sauce
