Chicken & Fruit Casserole

Name: Chicken & Fruit Casserole
Cook time: P1H30M
Total time: P1H50M
Yield: 6
Cuisine: Fusion
Ingredients: chicken pieces; salt; peppercorns; cloves, ground; cinnamon; sugar; sherry; garlic; vinegar; white onion; tomatoes; apples; pears; bay leaves; thyme; oregano; vegetable oil; plantain; capers; green olives

Submitted by muffnugget

Slow-cooked chicken layered with apples, pears, tomatoes, and warm spices, finished with fried plantains, capers, and olives. A Latin-inspired sweet-savory stew bursting with bold flavors.

YIELD

6 servings

PREP

20 min

COOK

90 min

READY

110 min

This casserole lands somewhere between a Spanish escabeche and a Caribbean stew, and it’s absolutely magnificent. Layers of chicken, sliced fruit, tomatoes, and onions slow-cook in a sherry-vinegar sauce spiked with ground peppercorns, clove, and cinnamon until everything melds into something deeply aromatic and complex.

The sweet-tart apples and pears soften into the sauce, balancing the vinegar’s bite and the warm spice blend. Then it gets topped with golden fried plantain slices, briny capers, and green olives for a garnish that adds crunch, salt, and a pop of color.

This is a showstopper for a dinner party. It feeds six generously and tastes even better the next day.

Chef Tips

Grind the whole spices fresh. Whole peppercorns, clove, and cinnamon stick ground just before cooking release oils that pre-ground spices lost months ago. The difference is night and day.
Uncover for the last 30 minutes. This reduces the liquid into a concentrated, glossy sauce that clings to the chicken instead of leaving it swimming in broth.
Fry the plantain slices until deep golden. Pale plantains taste starchy. You want caramelized edges with a slight crunch that contrasts the tender stew.
Choose firm, slightly underripe fruit. Apples and pears that are too ripe will dissolve completely during the long cook. You want them soft but still holding their shape.

Ingredients

4 ½

POUNDS CHICKEN PIECE

SALT *

EACH PEPPERCORN *

WHOLE CLOVES, GROUND *

1 ½

INCH PIECE CINNAMON *

TABLESPOON SUGAR

CUP SHERRY
dry *

CLOVES GARLIC
minced

CUP VINEGAR

LARGE WHITE ONION
thinly sliced

MEDIUM TOMATOES
peeled and sliced

SMALL APPLE
peeled, cored and thickly sliced *

SMALL PEAR
peeled, cored and thinly sliced

BAY LEAVES *

⅛

TEASPOON THYME *

⅛

TEASPOON OREGANO

For garnish

CUP VEGETABLE OIL

EACH PLANTAIN
peeled and sliced *

TABLESPOONS CAPERS
drained

EACH GREEN OLIVES
pitted, halved *

Directions

Sprinkle the chicken with salt.

Grind the peppercorns, clove and cinnamon together in a spice mill and mix with the sugar, sherry, garlic, vinegar and 1½ teaspoons salt.

Spread ⅓ of the onion in the bottom of the crockpot; cover with ⅓ each of the tomatoes, chicken and fruit.

Add the bay leaves and sprinkle with some of the seasonings and pour on half the vinegar-spice mixture.

Repeat the layers, finishing up with a topping of onion, tomatoes and fruit.

Cover and cook for about 1 hour, then uncover and cook for 30 minutes longer, or until the chicken is tender and some of the juices have been reduced.

Discard bay leaves.

For The Garnish: Heat the oil and fry the plantain slices until deep golden brown.

Remove and drain.

To serve, cover the top of the stew with the capers, olives and plantain.