FIGalicious

I am crazy about figs! Not only are they are amazing dried, but a fresh fig is so exotic, plump, slightly sweet, seedy and simply beautiful.

I was soooo pleased to find a fig tree in the back yard of the house we purchased last year here in San Diego. It is that time of the year again where I have so many figs coming off of that tree, not only do get the pleasure of eating fresh figs every day, but I feel the biggest urge to call the previous owners to thank them for planting it!

I have been roasting my figs a lot lately in balsamic vinegar for salads, and especially love them stuffed with goat cheese and wrapped with proscuitto.

I found this recipe on one of my favorite blogs, The Whole Life Nutrition Kitchen for a simple balsamic roasted chicken and fig recipe so decided to make an adaptation of it for dinner tonight. It is in the oven as I write and I can't wait until it is done!

My notes:

I decided to use chicken breasts instead of a whole chicken since I didn't want to deal with the leftovers (which can be great for hubby's lunches but I just wasn't in that kind of mood tonight). I pan seared the chicken breasts in olive oil for a few minutes on each side to seal the juices. Set them aside. Added two sliced sweet onions and sauteed for a few minutes before deglazing the pan with white wine and allowing the onions to simmer in the wine. I then added one chopped russet potato, two chopped sweet potatoes, a handful of teeny tiny potatoes (from Trader Joes - adorable!) and allowed to cook for another 5 minutes or so. Turned off heat and added herbs de provence olives, a few sprigs of rosemary, and used store bought green figs in addition to my black mission figs. Topped with the balsamic mixture. All of this goodness is baking in the oven now for about an hour at 325 degrees.