Pomegranate Chicken

I had Pomegranate Chicken when we dined at La Mediterranee in San Francisco.  It was so good that I wanted to try to recreate this dish at home.  The best recipe I found is from the Pillsbury website.  I find this humorous considering anyone with a gluten intolerance is not able to eat their products!  I changed the chicken breasts to chicken drumsticks (which I had at the restaurant), and the sweetener to maple syrup.

Maple syrup is a versatile natural sweetener, and I find that it works just as well in meat recipes as it does in baking recipes.  I really like it with salmon and chicken recipes for the barbecue.  This recipe is not meant for the barbecue, although maybe the chicken could be grilled and basted on the barbecue.  If you try this, please let me know how it works:)


1/2 cup of POM pomegranate juice
1/3 cup of maple syrup
1/4 cup of balsamic vinegar
1 sprig (5 inch) fresh rosemary
8 - 10 chicken drumsticks
2 tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary leaves
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1 tablespoon of coconut oil
1/3 cup pomegranate seeds
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

Heat the oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit.  In a saucepan, heat to simmering the pomegranate juice, maple syrup, 3 tablespoons of the vinegar and the rosemary sprig.  Reduce the heat to medium-low, and cook until reduced to about 3/4 of a cup (this does not take very long, as I reduced the sauce too much the first time I made this recipe).  Remove from heat and discard the rosemary sprig.  Stir in the remaining 1 tablespoon of vinegar.  Set the glaze aside.

Rub the chicken with the chopped rosemary, salt and pepper.  In a skillet, brown the chicken drumsticks in the oil.  Remove the chicken to a roasting pan or I kept mine in my cast iron skillet (which can go in the oven).  Baste the chicken with 1/2 cup of the glaze.

Bake uncovered for 25-30 minutes or until the juices of the chicken run clear when the thickest part of the chicken is pierced to the bone.  Baste once during cooking with 1/4 cup of the glaze (be sure to save some glaze in the pan for the end of the cooking process).  When the chicken is finished cooking, drizzle the chicken with the remaining glaze.  Sprinkle with the pomegranate seeds and parsley.  I also sprinkled some toasted sliced almonds on top.