Fig-Glazed Chicken

So many sauces are built on tomato, pepper, or mustard, and it is easy to think flavor disappears once those step aside. This dish proves otherwise. A warm fig glaze gives you a sweet-savory note built entirely from foods that support your healing, and you can set it down on a weeknight and feel like you are eating well, not just eating around a list.

Chicken thighs are a quiet source of zinc and B vitamins, both involved in immune balance and steady energy through the day. Figs bring potassium and a little fiber, with a natural sweetness that needs no added sugar. This is food that feeds you while it pleases you, which is the whole point of cooking this way.

Take a moment before you eat. The bird gave its life for this plate. Warm the glaze, let the mint scent rise, and set the food down somewhere you can actually sit with it. A meal you slow down for lands differently in the body.

Ingredients

Glaze:

• 0.5 tbsp avocado oil
• 1 tbsp minced shallot
• 0.25 tsp sea salt
• 2 tsp apple cider vinegar
• 1/4 cup fig preserves
• 2 tbsp chopped fresh mint

Chicken:

• 1 lb chicken thighs or breasts
• 2 tbsp coconut oil

The source glaze includes 0.5 tsp mustard. Mustard is a seed-based spice, so it is left out here for the elimination phase. The apple cider vinegar and the shallot carry the savory edge on their own.

Method

• Warm the avocado oil in a small saucepan over medium heat. Add the minced shallot and cook until it softens.
• Stir in the salt, apple cider vinegar, fig preserves, and chopped mint. Heat through until the glaze is loose and glossy, then take it off the heat and set it aside.
• Coat the chicken in the coconut oil. Cook in a skillet over medium heat, about 15 minutes per side, until golden and cooked through.
• Brush the warm glaze over the chicken just before serving.

*Adapted from acleanplate.com*