A Sephardic-inspired main course that is elegant enough for a Passover seder, but easy enough to make any night of the week. For full recipe, see Valley Fig Growers blog.
One of the first fruits to be cultivated by people, figs are as meaningful and symbolic as they are sweet and delicious. Jews consider figs to be particularly holy because they were one of the seven staple foods, known as the Seven Species, eaten by Jews in the land of Israel during Biblical times.
Because they produce multiple crops every year, fig trees symbolize fruitfulness in Jewish literature. The medieval Jewish philosopher and scholar Maimonides considered figs, grapes and almonds to be the best of fruits. They are certainly one of my favorites. Thus, when Valley Fig Growers asked me to create a Passover recipe using their California Figs, I leapt at the opportunity.
Figs are a common ingredient in Sephardic cooking because they are native to the Middle East. (It was the Spaniards who first brought figs to the Americas in the early 1500’s. Figs made their way to California through the missionary priests who planted them up and down the coast from San Diego to Sonoma. The “Mission Fig” actually takes its name from this history. Isn’t that fascinating?)
Thus, I turned to classic Sephardic ingredients, like almonds and preserved lemons, when developing this recipe. With the briny tanginess of preserved lemons, a hint of sweetness from California figs, and warm spices of cinnamon and allspice, this Sephardic-inspired chicken dish will wow your guests this Passover. Serve with quinoa or mashed potatoes to soak up the fragrant sauce.
For the recipe for Preserved Lemon Chicken with Almonds and Figs, visit the Valley Fig Growers blog. I think you will pleasantly surprised by how easy this recipe is to make and by what a fun change it is from typical Passover fare.
Full disclosure time: I developed this recipe for Valley Fig Growers as a paid assignment. As always, all opinions expressed here are entirely my own.
