Sweet-and-Sour Chicken-Apricot Skewers: RECIPE

Serve with hot cooked couscous and a spinach salad with currants and toasted pine nuts.

Ingredients
1/2 cup apricot jam 1 1/2 tablespoons soy sauce 1/2 teaspoon dried basil 1/4 teaspoon cayenne 2 lemons (5 oz. each) 1 pound boned, skinned chicken breast halves About 1/2 cup dried apricots Salt and pepper

How to Make It
Step 1
In a small microwave-safe bowl, heat jam in a microwave oven at full power (100%) until melted, 30 to 45 seconds. Stir in soy sauce, basil, and cayenne.

Step 2
Rinse lemons and cut crosswise into 1/8-inch-thick slices. Discard ends and any seeds.

Step 3
Rinse chicken and pat dry; cut into 1-inch pieces.

Step 4
Thread 2 pieces of chicken onto an 8- to 10-inch-long skewer. Fold 1 lemon slice around 1 dried apricot and thread onto skewer through both sides of lemon slice. Repeat to fill 4 skewers equally. Set skewers on a rack in a foil-lined 10- by 13-inch broiler pan. Brush jam mixture generously all over chicken and fruit.

Step 5
Broil about 4 inches from heat, turning once, until chicken is no longer pink in the center (cut to test), 8 to 10 minutes total. If desired, set pan over high heat, add any remaining jam mixture, and stir, scraping up browned bits, until boiling; pour into a small bowl and serve with meat. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Source: Spar