Pomegranate-Honey Chicken

In addition to the usual festive meals that we prepare for the Jewish holidays, for Rosh Hashana we try to step up our game a little bit by preparing simanim, or foods which serve as signs or symbols of our hopes and prayers for the new year. As a young girl, in our house simanim were limited to challah dipped in honey and the tzimmes or sweet carrots that accompanied the roast chicken. But the list of simanim is quite a bit more extensive than that, including foods as diverse as pomegranates, beets, black-eyed peas, fish, leeks, gourds and dates.

Pomegranate-Honey Chicken

There are many customs related to eating the simanim but my favorite way is to incorporate the different foods right into the menu and double points are awarded for including more than one siman food into a dish. This recipe for pomegranate-honey chicken by the inimitable Susie Fishbein, in her classic cookbook, Kosher by Design Cooking Coach, is on my Rosh Hashana menu this year. Chicken covered in a date honey glaze and studded with garnet-hued pomegranate arils is a delicious way to symbolize our prayers for a sweet and meaningful New Year.

Assemble your ingredients. I used bone-in chicken thighs for this recipe. You can use 8-12 pieces of any chicken part that you like. Set the chicken in a roasting pan preferably without crowding the pan. Season the chicken lightly with kosher salt and freshly ground pepper. Preheat the oven to 400 F.

Combine the sauce ingredients. Cook the sauce mixture over medium-high heat until it thickens slightly and starts to turn syrupy. This may take 2-3 minutes. Set aside 1/4 of the thickened sauce. Brush the remaining thickened sauce generously over the chicken parts. 

Bake the chicken uncovered for 60 minutes, basting with the sauce in the bottom of the roasting pan every 15 minutes. After 60 minutes, drain the liquid from the bottom of the pan and set the chicken under the broiler for 2-3 minutes, to crisp up the skin. Watch the chicken very carefully. You don’t want it to burn!! Transfer the chicken to a serving platter and brush it with the sauce that you set aside right at the beginning of the recipe (remember?). Garnish with pomegranate arils and serve. Smile modestly.

Print Recipe

Pomegranate-Honey Chicken

Meat, Chicken and Fish

By Susie Fishbein, Kosher by Design, Cooking Coach – Serves: 8

Prep Time: 15 minutes – Cooking Time: 60 minutes – Total Time: 75 minutes

Chicken covered in a date honey glaze and studded with jewel-toned pomegranate arils

Ingredients

• nonstick cooking spray
• 12 chicken parts, bone-in, with skin, legs, thighs, breasts (I used thighs)
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
• Sauce
• 1/2 cup silan date syrup or honey
• 1/4 cup dark brown sugar
• 1/4 cup pomegranate juice
• 1/4 cup teriyaki sauce (I used Kikkoman brand)
• 2 tablespoons cornstarch
• 1 teaspoon tomato paste
• 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
• 2 cloves fresh garlic, minced
• 1 tablespoon margarine
• fresh pomegranate seeds, for garnish

Instructions

1

Spray a baking dish or roasting pan with baking spray. Arrange the chicken in a single layer. Season the chicken with kosher salt and freshly ground pepper.

2

Preheat oven to 400 F.

3

In a small pot over medium-high heat, whisk the silan or honey, brown sugar, pomegranate juice, teriyaki sauce, cornstarch, tomato paste, thyme, and garlic. Bring to a simmer and cook for 2-3 minutes until slightly thickened. Whisk in the margarine. Reduce heat slightly. Cook for 1 more minute. Pour off 1/4 of the thickened sauce into a bowl and set it aside for later.

4

Generously brush the glaze mixture on each piece of chicken. Drizzle additional sauce over the top of each piece.

5

Bake uncovered for 60 minutes. Baste the chicken with the sauce in the roasting pan every 15 minutes during cooking. After 60 minutes drain off the liquid from the bottom of the pan, turn on the broiler and broil the chicken until the skin is brown and crispy, about 2 minutes. Be careful. Don't allow the chicken to burn. Brush the chicken with the extra sauce that you set aside in the beginning. Garnish with fresh pomegranate seeds and serve.

Notes

Reproduced from Kosher by Design Cooking Coach by Susie Fishbein with permission from the copyright holders ArtScroll/Mesorah Publications, Ltd.