With pound of leftover figs from our Fig & Rosemary Sparkling Cocktail and Fig & Prosciutto Flatbread Pizza, I was on the hunt for a yummy fall harvest inspired recipe.  When I stumbled upon Michael Chiarello’s Chicken a la Vendemmia recipe, I was sold.  What better way to use up our figs than with ripe grapes that could be pulled off of our own vineyard?  Since I was making this in LA and not at the Napa house, I opted to use table grapes instead, but next year when I’m in Napa for harvest, I’m definitely making this with grapes from our vines.  I sought out to replicated the dish with a few little tweaks along the way and was delighted with how simple and delicious this turned out to be. I’ve never cooked a bone-in chicken breast, but it was so juicy and wonderful that I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to cook a boneless/skinless chicken breast again – so much better!  The skin and fennel added just the right amount of savory crunch and it’s hard to go wrong with figs.  The combination of the figs and grape made for a sweet sauce over the chicken that paired wonderfully with a well balanced, lightly oaked Chardonnay. YUM!

Find the original recipe here and make sure you check out Michael’s restaurant, Bottega in Yountville the next time you visit Napa – it’s one of our favorites. Cheers!

Time: 1 hour
Yield: 2 servings

I N G R E D I E N T S

2 lbs grapes (seeded or seedless table grapes)
2 large bone-in chicken breasts (skin on)
Sea salt
Pepper
2 teaspoons fennel
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 cup shallot, thinly sliced
2 teaspoons minced rosemary
1 cup fresh figs (halved)

D I R E C T I O N S

1. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.
2. Using a food processor, puree the grapes and then strain.  You want to extract as much of the juice as possible so you may need to press the solids up against a sieve to do so.  2 lbs. of grapes should yield about 2 cups of juice.
3. Season your chicken breasts liberally with fennel.  Sprinkle each with sea salt and freshly ground pepper.
4. Heat an ovenproof skillet over medium/high heat.  Once your skillet is hot, add the olive oil and chicken (skin side down) and cook for 4-5 minutes.  Flip the chicken breasts over and cook for another 2 minutes.  Transfer pan to oven and cook until chicken is done (10-15 minutes).
5. Remove chicken from the skillet and discard all but 1-2 tablespoons of fat from the pan.  Add the shallot and cook until softened and slightly transparent.  Add rosemary for 10-15 seconds before incorporating your grape juice, stirring to evenly distribute the heat. Simmer for about 2 minutes (or until mixture starts to reduce) and add your figs.  Allow figs to warm throughout (about 1-2 more minutes before removing from heat).
6. Plate your chicken and pour the sauce and figs overtop.  Garnish with fresh rosemary and serve with a glass of ONEHOPE Chardonnay.  Cheers!