Vinocotto Basted Chicken Fillet - David Franz Inspired (David Franz Vinocotto 2013)

On our recent trip to The Barossa Valley we were lucky enough to have had a private wine tasting with David Franz of David Franz Wines.  Well I cannot even tell you how many bottles David opened for us...many! The one that I can definately remember and ordered a beautiful 1.5Litre Magnum of was David's gorgeous 2013 Vinocotto.  I could not wait to try a recipe with it. Vinocotto is a grape juice reduction used to sweeten, brighten and balance flavours. Full bodied...absolutely delicious!

I've used it on tonights dinner - Vinocotto Basted Chicken Thigh Fillet flavoured with garlic and corriander, sprinkled with black and white sesame seeds for a subtle nutty flavour.

6 Chicken Thigh Fillets

Olive Oil - 1/4 cup

Salt / Pepper

Crushed Garlic

1/2 bunch Corriander - finely chopped

1/4 cup David Franz 2013 Vinocotto

Black and White Sesame seeds to sprinkle

3 Onions - sliced in rounds

Pre-heat oven to 180 degrees celsius

Place the chicken thigh fillets into a bowl and season with salt.

Add the crushed garlic, corriander and olive oil to the chicken and stir with a wooden spoon to combine.

Add the olive oil to your fry pan and bring to a medium heat.

Add the onion rounds and sweat until they turn clear. This will release their sweetness. Once soft remove from the fry pan and place on a baking tray.  Do not allow the onions to brown as they will release a bitter taste.

Bring the olive oil back to a high heat and add 3 chicken thigh fillets to the pan.  

Cook on both sides until nice and golden - approximately 6 minutes each side.

You do not want to completely cook through in the pan - the pan is starting the cooking process and giving the chicken some colour.  

Once the first batch of chicken is cooked remove and place on top of the onions in the baking tray.

Repeat with the second batch of chicken.

Once the chicken has been fried brush the Vinocotto on each piece, sprinkle with the sesame seeds and place in the pre-heated oven for 20 minutes to cook through.

Midway remove the baking tray from the oven and baste the chicken with the juices from the baking dish. This will form a gorgeous Vinocotto glaze on your chicken.

Serve with Steamed Jasmine Rice.

Enjoy!