Chicken with tomato apricot salsa

What we end up accomplishing so often turns out to be very different from what we set out to do. Take this blog, for instance. Blogspot, which keeps better track of such things than I do, notes that this is my 600th post on this blog. I started out with the idea that I would cook at least one new recipe from every one of my cookbooks throughout the year, figuring it would help keep me on track with that lofty goal to do my collection justice. (I have WAY too many cookbooks. Yes, that actually is possible.) I figured on posting a weekly wrap-up of the new recipes I'd tried.

Alas, 2014 turned out to be a fairly crummy year, and that ambition unraveled faster than a ball of yarn in a kitten's paws. But while I've never been able to return to that goal, and maybe now don't even want to attempt what would turn out to be a recipe-making death march, it's still had its uses as a way to keep track of what I've tried and what worked or didn't. And over time, I've started mixing in posts about old stand-bys to share favorites and have recipes in a readily searchable place.

Today's recipe is definitely a longtime go-to, at least a couple of decades in the recipe box. I make a batch or two of the tomato apricot salsa during tomato season and portion it out in freezer containers to pull out mid-winter for a taste of summer. With the salsa made ahead, this is a fast weeknight fix that's good enough for company if need be. Great option to have in your back pocket if you've got longer term house guests and need something fast, flexible and just fancy enough. That salsa also works well on fish or pork and adds a bright punch to a sandwich.

Chicken with tomato apricot salsa
I believe this recipe from cookbook author Colleen Miner of Edina appeared in the Star Tribune many years ago, or else in a press release or newsletter of some kind. I would link to it, but it appears to predate online archiving and can find no sign of it online to know which of her cookbooks it may have appeared in originally. You can still buy her cookbooks here.

Ingredients
For the salsa:
2 tablespoons olive oil
½ cup chopped onion
2 tablespoons minced fresh ginger
8 ounces dried apricots, chopped
½ cup fresh cilantro leaves, chopped
1 cinnamon stick
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon ground white pepper
1 quart whole plum tomatoes, diced
½ cup apricot preserves
1 tablespoon lemon juice
½ teaspoon salt

For the chicken:
8 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
¼ cup olive oil
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon dry white wine
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
½ teaspoon dried thyme leaves
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon ground black pepper

To prepare salsa, heat olive oil in medium sauce pan. Cook onions and ginger until onions have softened. Stir in apricots, cilantro, cinnamon, coriander, white pepper, tomatoes, preserves, lemon juice and ½ teaspoon salt. Cook for 20 to 30 minutes until mixture has thickened somewhat. Can be made in advance and refrigerated, and later served either cold or reheated.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Combine olive oil, lemon juice, wine, mustard, thyme, 1 teaspoon salt and ½ teaspoon black pepper in a shallow dish large enough to hold chicken. Add chicken and coat on both sides. Marinate for ½ hour to 1 hour. Place chicken in a roasting pan in single layer and cook until done, between 20 to 30 minutes depending on thickness of the breasts. Serve topped with salsa. Couscous or rice help soak up the tasty sauce.

Rating: Worth making a couple of times a year. Really nicely pungent flavors in the salsa to perk up a basic, most chicken breast. 

Note: I've also made this by grilling the chicken in clement weather instead of baking it. So, not that often in Minnesota. (Sorry. Just a little bitter about that really thick heavy sludge of snow-slush we had to heave off the sidewalks this morning. It always seems worse when we previously had pockets of ice-free pavement.)