Apricot Chicken

Justine Schofield brings the 1970s Australian dinner-party staple back. Chicken thighs floured and seared, then simmered with onion, carrot and potato in a sauce built on dried apricots. Slow-cooked at low heat until the gravy turns thick and faintly sweet. Comfort food from the era of casserole pots.

Apricot chicken is the Australian household dish that defined a generation of Sunday-night cooking. The original recipe (built on the bright orange French onion soup mix and a can of apricot nectar) was the convenience-food shortcut of the 1970s; the modern version skips the packet seasoning and uses dried apricots simmered into the sauce for a more layered, less aggressively sweet final result.

The flour dredge before searing is the structural cooking technique. Each piece of chicken thigh dusted in seasoned plain flour develops a deeper crust during the sear; the flour that ends up in the pan thickens the cooking liquid naturally as the dish simmers; no later cornflour slurry needed. The thicker, glossier gravy is the visual signature of a properly executed apricot chicken.

Dried apricots (the soft, plump Turkish variety, rather than the firmer sun-dried Australian) are the right fruit. Plumped briefly in warm water before going into the pan, the apricots soften through the cook and partially dissolve into the gravy, providing the sweet-tart counterpoint to the savoury chicken. The carrot and potato cooked in the same pot absorb the apricot-sweetened gravy and turn into proper meal-on-a-plate vegetables. Serve with steamed rice or buttered green beans alongside; a glass of dry Riesling.