Monday, March 31, 2008

Orange-Pineapple Chicken with Walnuts

Made this again recently and I had forgotten how good it is! I recommend mixing the sauce ingredients together and letting them stand an hour before starting to cook. Roma tomatoes work better than other kinds in this recipe, but if all you have is diced, canned tomatoes, they work as well. It comes from Betty Crocker's Complete Chicken Cookbook (c 1994).

Orange-Pineapple Chicken with Walnuts

1 tablespoon vegetable oil
8 chicken drumsticks (about 2 pounds)
1 can (15.25 oz) pineapple tidbits, undrained
3/4 cup orange juice
1 medium onion, cut into thin wedges
1/3 cup raisins or currants
1/4 cup rum or orange juice
1 tsp. ground coriander
1/2 tsp. ground allspice
1/4 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. pepper
3 tablespoons cold water
1 tablespoon plus 1 tsp. cornstarch
1 cup coarsely chopped tomatoes (about 1 medium)
1/3 cup chopped walnuts

Heat oil in 12 inch skillet over medium heat until hot. Cook drumsticks in oil about 15 minutes, turning occasionally, until brown on all sides; remove from skillet. Drain drippings from skillet.

Mix pineapple, orange juice, onion, currants, rum, coriander, allspice, salt and pepper in skillet. Return chicken to skillet. Heat to boiling; reduce heat. Cover and simmer 30 to 35 minutes, stirring occasionally, until juice of chicken is no longer pink when centers of thickest pieces are cut.

Remove chicken from skillet, using tongs; keep warm. Mix water and cornstarch; stir into mixture in skillet. heat to boiling, stirring constantly. Boil and stir 1 minute. Stir in tomato and walnuts; heat through. Serve sauce with chicken. Serve over hot cooked rice, if desired. 4 services.