Rosemary breasts and pears in maple syrup

Préparation :

10 min

Cuisson :

45 min

Portions

Ingredients

4 chicken breast halves or 8 chicken thighs, with bones
15 ml (1 tbsp) Dijon mustard
15 ml (1 tbsp) butter, melted
10 ml (2 tsp) rosemary, dry
2 ripe pears, but firm
45 ml (3 tbsp) maple syrup
2 pinches of salt
1 pinch of cinnamon
1 pinch of nutmeg

Preparation

Preheat oven to 200 °C (400 °F).
For easy cleaning, place aluminum foil on a large baking sheet with shallow edges. Lightly grease with oil or cooking spray. Remove skin from chicken if desired. Place on foil. In a small bowl, stir Dijon mustard with melted butter and 1 teaspoon (15 ml) maple syrup. Measure rosemary and crush it in mustard mixture and mix. (It is important to add rosemary to the coating ingredients and not just sprinkle it on top of the chicken as it will dry.) Pour over chicken and spread to completely cover top of pieces. Sprinkle generously with salt.
Cut pears into quarters and remove pits. Rub with remaining maple syrup and place around chicken. Sprinkle cinnamon and nutmeg over pears.
Bake in centre of preheated oven for 35 to 45 minutes or until chicken is spongy when lightly pressed and instant-read thermometer reaches 74°C (165°F). Check chicken after half hour. If it seems to be drying, baste with the cooking juices. If it becomes too brown, cover loosely with a piece of aluminum foil.

Notes and tips

Replace the rosemary coating with dried tarragon, dried thyme leaves or Provence herbs. Fresh rosemary also works very well, but you will need about two tablespoons (30 ml) of rosemary sprigs. Chop them into thin slices before adding to the coating, while stirring. Apples can easily replace pears, but they cook faster, so check them halfway through cooking.

You can roast the rest of your meal with the chicken and pears. Before preparing chicken, cut potatoes in half and place in a preheated oven with a dish of carrots or chopped squash. You can cook them on the grill under the chicken.

So few ingredients, yet so appealing! You won't find a better way to combine ripe pears with herbed chicken. Put potatoes in the oven with peppers or squash, and you'll have a super healthy hassle free meal. The maple syrup will surely please the younger ones.