Apples & Honey Mustard Chicken
While it may not feel like it here on the West Coast, believe it or not, we’ve hit fall season. Apples and citrus are starting to line produce shelves and pumpkin spice seems to be everywhere. Once those flavors start showing up, that can only mean one thing: Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur aren’t far behind. As a matter of fact, Rosh Hashana starts at sundown this Friday.
Food of Rosh Hashana
Rosh Hashana is the first of the High Holy Days. It’s the Jewish New Year and it’s all about celebrating. Families gather together to pray and eat great feasts. While those feasts can be made up of anything from chicken to brisket, you will always find round raisin-dotted challahs, apples and tons of honey on Jewish tables across the world. While the challah is usually just a simple braided loaf, on Rosh Hashana, it’s baked into a round shape to symbolize the cyclical nature of life. The raisins are sometimes added for a sweet new year. The honey also symbolizes a sweet new year, while ancient Jews believed the apples had healing properties.
Since apples and honey are such a big part of Rosh Hashana, this recipe from Danielle Renov’s Peas Love & Carrots cookbook seems like the perfect way to celebrate while feeding your family. I love this book from Renov. It’s stunning to look at and the recipes are super accessible. While there are plenty of options for the Jewish holidays including a challah, Moroccan Matzah Ball Soup and Potato Chip Shnitsel, there are also numerous choices, like her Raspberry Oat Bars or Fig and Balsamic Chicken, that you could whip up just because. I’ve already made two chicken dishes and both were so amazing, I can’t wait to make another. As a matter of fact, I’ve already flagged so many pages in this book, I could easily be cooking from it for the next month. But today I want to tell you about this amazing Apples & Honey Mustard Chicken.
Apples & Honey Mustard Chicken
I love a chicken dish that is simple to make but looks and tastes like it took all day. This is just such a dish. Made with all the fall ingredients you probably already have in your pantry, this chicken comes out looking and smelling just like autumn. The sweet apples, tangy mustard and crunchy breadcrumbs combine to create a spectacle for your taste buds, and is so delectable, it’ll be impossible to keep from going back for seconds. Everyone in my family wanted another helping. While you could serve this all by itself since it’s got fruit, and breadcrumbs, adding rice, vegetables or a salad would make a lovely, well-rounded dinner. A dinner I can’t wait to make again this Friday… or any evening now through December and beyond.
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup honey
- 1/3 cup Dijon mustard
- 3 tablespoons mayonnaise
- 1 large yellow onion, halved and thinly sliced
- 2 Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored and thinly sliced
- 1 whole chicken, cut into 8-10 pieces
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1 cup panko breadcrumbs
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Coat a 9x13 baking dish with nonstick cooking spray and set aside.
- Whisk together the honey, mustard and mayo in a small bowl and set aside.
- Place the sliced onions and half the apples in the bottom of the baking dish. Lay the chicken pieces on top and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
- Drizzle the chicken with the honey mustard mixture. Then sprinkle with the breadcrumbs until the chicken is fully coated. Place the remaining apples in the little nooks and crannies all around the chicken.
- Spray the breadcrumbs with nonstick cooking spray, cover tightly with tin foil and bake for 1 hour and 20 minutes. Remove the foil, transfer the chicken to the broiler and cook for another 3-5 minutes until the top is crispy and the chicken is cooked to your liking. Serve immediately.
