Cuisine: Cuisse de poulet dans sa compote de pommes et airelles

A new feature of "Words for the Wise" -- cooking, based on my earlier life as a food and travel writer.

So tonight I was feeling creative and threw together this dish with what we had sitting around. It turned out great and my wife was very impressed. So I am sharing it, and will make this a regular feature of the newsletter. Unfortunately, we dished it onto plates so fast I forgot to take a photo of it. I will do better next time.

Ingredients

Two skin on chicken thighs (for two people of course, adjust for more)

One large onion, chopped roughly.

Six garlic cloves, peeled but only sliced if they are very big.

Two crisp apples, peeled and sliced. 

Fresh or frozen cranberries (just enough, not too many)

Salt

Pepper

Urfa biber (optional if you have it, but if you don’t, I highly advise getting some!)

Paprika

Make the dish

Sauté onions and garlic cloves until they are turning gold and softening.

Add apple slices and cranberries and cook just until they soften too, covering briefly during the process.

Meanwhile salt and pepper the chicken thighs and add Urfa biber and paprika.

Put the compote mixture into a casserole and preheat oven to 425 degrees F (or preheat earlier).

Sauté chicken thighs on both sides, briefly, at fairly high heat until they are a bit brown.

Put chicken thighs on top of compote, moosh them down into the mixture, and bake in oven for 30 minutes on a rack placed two-thirds of the way up. Internal temperature should be at least 165 degrees F.

Enjoy!