Yantaff (Holiday) Chicken and Rice
Submitted by Lyssa Kligman Harvey
My grandmother, Ida Lomansky Kligman, used to cook a chicken for Shabbat dinner in a particular pot every Friday. I have given this chicken pot to my daughter, Jordane Harvey Lotts, since she is such a good cook. Grandma Ida’s chicken would be the same delicious roasted chicken with rice. The chicken would be “fall off the bone” tender or the Yiddish term fatempt. This holiday yantaff chicken and rice recipe is not my grandmother’s. It is combination of many delicious chicken recipes that I have put together. I wanted a crispy but tender sweet chicken. Using the dried fruit and lemon gives it a special flavor for any holiday. I usually make this recipe for Passover as well.
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2 cut-up chickens (do not use the backs, if the breasts are large cut in half)
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2 cups of instant brown rice or wild rice
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4 cups of chicken broth
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1 onion, chopped up
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2 cloves of garlic, pressed
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1 jar of apricot preserves
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½ cup of dried apricots
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½ cup of dried pitted prunes
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½ cup of lemon slices
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Fresh oregano
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Olive oil
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Kosher salt
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Pepper
Salt and pepper the chicken. Brown the chicken in olive oil in a Dutch oven or large sauce pan and set aside. Brown the onions and garlic in the chicken juice and olive oil that is left in the pan. Oil the bottom of a large baking pan or Pyrex dish or aluminum pan and put the 2 cups of wild rice or brown rice in the pan. Place the chicken on top of the rice. Pour in the 4 cups of chicken broth. Put the onions and garlic and oregano on top of the chicken. Spread the apricot preserves on top of chicken. Sprinkle the apricots, prunes and lemon slices on top of chicken.
Bake the chicken covered for 1 ½ hours at 350 degrees.
Serve with the apricots and prunes and lemon slices on top of the chicken.