Summer has finally arrived, bringing with it long warm days spent outdoors, ripe and juicy stone fruit and gatherings with family and friends. This sheet pan chicken recipe brings the best of the season; pairing bright citrus, fresh herbs and sweet stone fruits. Adding fruit to this dish provides added nutrients, vitamins and minerals as well as lots of great for your gut dietary fibre. And best of all, it’s the perfect low-lift dinner for those days when you’ve been out adventuring and just want to throw everything on one pan and call it a day! Enjoy this savoury, sweet and summery recipe from Cook Simply, Live Fully by Yasmin Fahr.

For a long time, I was very anti-fruit-in-savory-foods, but I was wrong. There’s something they add—maybe it’s a sense of lightness, summery joy, or freshness with their inherent sweetness—that lifts up savory dishes like this one.

Zippy ginger adds a bit of a kick, while honey encourages caramelization and browning on the chicken.

It’s a beautiful meal for company when you’re sitting outside on a deck or balcony on warm summer nights (before the mosquitoes come and ruin it all) but also for a weeknight dinner too.

For this recipe, look for slightly firm stone fruit, as ones that are too ripe will become mushy. It works well for fruit that isn’t quite as sweet as you want it to be—the ones that you don’t want to eat solo.

Serve with a light green salad or orzo tossed with lemon and olive oil for something heartier.

Ingredients

Serves 4

  • 1 teaspoon ground cumin
  • 2 teaspoons grated fresh ginger (from a 2-inch piece)
  • 2 teaspoons honey
  • 1 medium orange, zested and cut into thin rounds
  • 3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
  • 2 to 2½ pounds bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs
  • Salt
  • 4 or 5 plums or apricots or 3 or 4 peaches or nectarines, quartered and pitted
  • ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
  • ¼ cup fresh mint or basil leaves, gently torn or chopped
  • ½ cup crumbled feta

Instructions

  1. Heat the oven to 400°F. In a large bowl, combine the cumin, red pepper flakes, ginger, honey, orange zest, and 2 tablespoons olive oil. Pat the chicken dry, then season all over with salt.
  2. Coat with the ginger mixture, sneaking some under the skin.
  3. On a sheet pan, add the orange rounds and stone fruit, drizzle with the remaining olive oil, and lightly season with salt.
  4. Toss to coat and spread out around the pan. Add the chicken, skin side up, to the sheet pan, nestling it between the fruit pieces and layering on the oranges, if necessary.
  5. Cook in the oven until the chicken skin is crispy and juices run clear when pierced with a fork, 40 to 45 minutes.
  6. Top with the mint, sprinkle the feta around the sheet pan, and serve.

Excerpted with permission from Cook Simply, Live Fully by Yasmin Fahr, Harper Collins Publishing, April 2024.

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Please note that any advice in this article doesn’t replace personalized medical advice from a professional.