Montalcino Chicken With Figs - Rachael Ray

Fom Rachael Ray's 30 Minutes Meals. I watched this episode & the dish looked wonderful. Montalcino is a small town in Italy famous for its vineyards. Rachael suggests using Brunello wine in this recipe.

• Ready In: 30 mins
• Serves: 4

Ingredients

• 1⁄4 cup olive oil
• 1⁄3 lb pancetta, thick-cut, cut into strips
• 4  boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into large chunks
•  salt and pepper
•  flour, for dredging
• 1  large onion, thinly sliced
• 4  garlic cloves, crushed
• 14 -16  dried figs, halved
• 1  cup dry red wine
• 1 -1 1⁄2 cup  chicken stock
• 1⁄4 cup  chopped flat leaf parsley
• 1  lemon, zest of
• 1  tablespoon  chopped thyme

Directions

1. Heat a deep skillet over medium high heat.
2. Add olive oil and pancetta. Brown the pancetta 3 to 4 minutes then remove and reserve.
3. Season the chicken chunks with salt and pepper, dredge in flour then add to the hot pan. Brown the pieces a few minutes on each side over high heat.
4. Move the meat to the edges of the pan and add the onions, garlic and chopped figs. Saute 5 minutes.
5. Combine chicken with onions and figs then add the wine and cook it down 5 minutes or until only about 1/3 cup remains.
6. Add chicken stock, parsley, lemon zest and thyme to the chicken and stir to combine. Reduce heat to simmer cook another 10 minutes.
7. If you would like a more sauce, pour another half cup of stock into the pan.
8. Remove from pan & garnish with crisp pancetta sticks.