Apricot chicken with a frangipane tart in background.

If you are at all a fan of the 1970s, then you should be dancing … yeah?

… and eating apricot chicken pot roast!! 🪩

I like to think of apricots as the smaller cousins of peaches and nectarines. They’re the little kid at the back of the pack, trying to keep up, always vying for attention. Well, this recipe gives it to ’em!

Apricot chicken, like tuna mornay, is one of those dishes that originated out of pantry staples, designed to make life easier in the kitchen (or sell some product, if you’re cynical). Packet of French Onion soup mix? Check. Tin of apricots? Check. Only problem, I never have soup mix. It seems to be one of those kitchen fashions that faded with the rise of home cooking shows.

Also, I like to do my own seasoning. Quite frankly, I think the apricot chicken recipe works with the seasoning I use for roast chicken all the time, namely salt, pepper, dried herbs and the secret ingredient, soy sauce. The link also has other tips for roasting chicken.

Now, a quick word to the wise. Apricots make the meal delicious, yes. But they are a stone fruit. You know what stone fruit (also known as drupe) are good for? To do with your digestive system? Well, it may pay to remember that when you’re serving out the portions of apricots and apricot nectar. You won’t find that advice in most food blogs, let me tell you.

“Five tender apricots in a blue bowl, a brief and exact promise of things to come.”
-Frances Mayes, In Tuscany

Ingredients

2 kg whole chicken
410 g can apricot halves in nectar, drained. Keep the nectar, you need 2 cups. Or get extra nectar
1 lemon
3 garlic cloves crushed
1 red onion, cut into wedges
fresh thyme and parsley
olive oil, soy sauce, dried herbs of your choosing, salt and pepper

Instructions

Prepare chicken in advance by rinsing and drying with paper towel. Fill cavity with lemon. Rub soy sauce, a little olive oil, herbs, salt, pepper and dried herbs of your choosing all over the skin. (Traditional recipes used French onion soup mix and you can use that instead if you wish). Pay attention to wings and legs with the salt especially. You can keep covered in cling film in fridge until ready to roast.
Preheat oven to 220℃/428℉.
Place chicken in baking dish. Add nectar, garlic, several sprigs of thyme, and ⅓ cup cold water to dish. Season again with salt and pepper.
Bake for 15 minutes at 220℃/428℉. Then turn the oven down to 180℃/356℉. Roast for an hour.
Add onion and apricots to dish. Bake for 30 minutes.
Chicken is done when juices run clear when thickest parts are pierced with skewer.
Discard any fat from nectar surface. Sprinkle chicken with thyme and parsley to serve.

Hello!

Apricot Chicken Pot Roast