Caramelised chicken with green olives and prunes

I enjoy trying different recipes for dinner so that I don't fall back into the chicken 'n' vege stir fry rut that I was in a couple of years ago. One of my favourite meats is chicken, and is the meat that I cook with most often.

When I read about Clotilde's birthday chicken, I knew I had to try it. I like the idea of meat and fruit together in the one dish - it seems quite exotic for a girl brought up on meat and three veg (or in my case, meat and potatoes, because I wouldn't eat veges!).

I loosely followed Clotilde's recipe for my version of the dish. By this, I mean that (a) I didn't marinade the chicken overnight because I didn't realise that I was supposed to until it was too late; (b) I left out the garlic because I forgot to buy it; (c) I used balsamic vinegar because I couldn't find sherry vinegar; (d) I used rose wine instead of white wine because that was what I had in the fridge; (e) I added coriander (cilantro) out of the tube to the dish before baking instead of sprinking fresh coriander on top afterwards; and (f) I forgot to toast the almonds before sprinkling on top!

Despite all of these variations, both accidental and by design, this dish tasted great! I served it with boiled rice and steamed vegetables, and it is a definite keeper. I loved the sweetness of the prunes with the chicken and the sauce was devine. Who knows, I might actually make it properly next time!