When the temps start climbing in the summer time, I move as many of our cooking operations out to the backyard in our Ooni Pizza Oven outside. It’s so much more fun than using a grill, it makes me feel creative and typically results in every meal feeling like some kind of special event. It’s an amazing reward for sweltering summers in the high desert, and living in a mid-century house with no air conditioning. (Ha.)
There isn’t *that much* difference between cooking on an open fire or in a pizza oven over cooking indoors. In fact, most recipes I find or create are easily adaptable to both with one caveat; when we’re cooking over open fire, we MUST pay attention, and allow the cooking to be top of mind rather than setting and forgetting something, or shoving it in the oven to do it’s work while we go about our business. The reason for this is that we’re literally playing and working with FIRE, and we don’t want to get burned (in case that wasn’t blatantly obvious.)
I would love to say that this challenge of cooking outdoors makes me an endlessly creative cook, and that we’re constantly innovating and celebrating everyday meals but I’m a full up human too, after all. What does end up happening is that I end up creating a few staple meals that we recreate over and over again, because they’re fast, easy, straightforward and satisfying…and this Braised Chicken is an exceptional example – one of our most-cooked recipe this summer. And for good reason…
Full disclosure: the idea for this dish came from a Food+Wine recipe. But many elements of the formula quite literally made it a recipe for disaster when trying to balance pitta in the summer. So, I made some adaptations. I use chicken breasts here, instead of chicken thighs. Then, I removed the wine that’s used to deglaze the pan, reduced the salt, garlic and onion, subbed in vegetable stock, reduced the olives, included fresh apricots instead of dried, and added some lemon zest to balance the dish. By making these swaps, I reduced the high impact that this salty, fatty inspiration would have on the doshas (specifically pitta) and made it friendly for all constitutions for summer enjoyment.
Active bodies NEED protein in the summer, but it can be tricky to find one that doesn’t pack pitta-promoting fat. Chicken is the exception to the rule. From a nutritional standpoint, chicken (especially breast or thigh without skin) is:
High in protein for muscle repair + recovery
Lower in fat than red meat, making it easier to digest in heat
Packed with B vitamins (like niacin + B6) that support energy metabolism—helpful when you’re sweating buckets and moving hard
So you get solid fuel without the heavy, boggy aftermath of beef or lamb.
In the recipe below, we use skin-on chicken and pour off some of the rendered fat to ensure that we’re still getting all of the goodness this component of the bird provides.
Indeed, whole juicy apricots (or plums, or peaches I suppose) are tossed in to create a little juicy braise for the chicken. Recall that the big caution sign from Ayurveda when it comes to mixing fruits with other foods comes when we consume RAW fruits with proteins and fats. In this case, cooking the ingredients together breaks down some of the quick-digesting sugars in the fruit, marries it with the chicken, and brings a sweetness to the dish that softens pitta and eases digestion, instead of compromising it.
Has been my favorite thing to eat, and make.
I organize all of the simple components on a little tray and port them out to the Ooni, then get to work, often sipping something refreshing with friends while they gather around my makeshift kitchen, or mingle with Leo in his adjacent sandbox. I’ve come to know the smells when it’s time to advance through the steps of the recipe; browning the chicken, sauteéing the onions, caramelizing the apricots, and braising the chicken. When this dish emerges from the fire, it’s crispy, golden and fragrant; just a bit briny, sweet and with the tiniest char – a full flavored delight.
I often serve it up with the Heat Wave Summer Salad and simple steamed rice; I simply make a little extra shallot dressing and we drizzle it all over everything on our plates. An easy, bright, fresh meal that showcases all the best parts of summer.
The recipe below gives directions for how to make this in your own pizza oven, or on the stovetop. If you’re doing it in a pizza oven, it’s pertinent that you watch the temperature. I suggest not allowing the oven temp to rise above 400°F to ensure that you don’t overcook your chicken or burn the braise.
That's ok, just sign up or log in to see this recipe.