Blackberry Ginger Balsamic Mango Chicken

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As most of you know, we have two very large mango trees.  Each has a totally different kind and tasting mango.  Sadly the tree with the smaller and sweeter mango’s has just given me my last two mango’s.  Very sad day for me.  I anticipate these sweet tropical fruits every year.  Don’t get me wrong.  I got my share of mango’s this year.  After eating our fair share I put up about 10 gallon bags of these sweet tangy delights.

So tonight I decided to do what my mother, grandmothers and aunt Carol always taught me.  Use what’s fresh and ready as it comes available.  Growing up with gardens and family with farms, we always had something fresh and delicious from spring till fall.  I never knew what mom would come up with for dinner.  Sometimes it was just fresh green beans, green onions and tomatoes with some homemade cornbread.  Those simple meals were some of the best I ever had.

I decided to take these two beautiful mango’s along with some rosemary I grabbed out of the garden and come up with an amazing chicken dish.  Well.  I think I did.  I love the deep, rich flavor of the balsamic vinegar against the sweet flavor that comes from the mango. The rosemary was an amazing accent to both the balsamic and the mango. I hope y’all will try out this recipe and let me know what you think.  Also let me know if there are any adjustments you made and how it turned out.

*For those of you who don’t have access to mango’s, I’m sorry….  But you can substitute fresh peaches.  If you can’t find the blackberry ginger balsamic that I get from  my friends at Joe & Son’s Olive Oils in Tampa, you can just use a deep rich balsamic.  Better yet, head over to their website if you’re not in Tampa and order some of their amazing products.  Believe me, you won’t be disappointed.

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 small sweet onion – sliced thin
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh sprigs fresh rosemary
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon Pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon ginger (if you don’t have the blackberry ginger balsamic)
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 2 large mango’s – sliced (peaches alternatively)
• 1/4 cup honey
• 3/4 cup Blackberry Ginger Balsamic Vinegar
• 10 Chicken Thighs, skin removed

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
2. In a  saute pan, heat the olive oil till rippling.
3. Add the onion, rosemary, salt, pepper, cinnamon, garlic powder and ginger if using it.  Saute until the onion is translucent and soft.
4. Now add the mango slices, the honey and balsamic vinegar to the pan and bring to a simmer. Simmer for about 5 minutes, or until the sauce has reduced by about half and the mango is softened. Don’t reduce too long or it will caramelize and possibly burn.
5. Place the chicken thighs in baking dish and pour the mango/balsamic sauce over the chicken, spread evenly to cover chicken.
6. Bake 45-55 minutes, or until it’s cooked through (165 degrees f.)
7. Remove from oven and pour the liquid back into saute pan. (the chicken will have let out a lot of juice and thinned the sauce)
8. Bring the sauce to a boil over high heat and let boil down to a thick sauce, about 2-3 minutes.  Stir continuously so it doesn’t burn.
9. Pour the sauce back over the chicken and serve.

As you can see in the picture.  I made a fresh mango salsa with some green onions and tomato.  I coated with about 4 teaspoons of white peach white balsamic  and dried parsley and tossed.  It gave a great cool sweet contrast to the rich tangy chicken.