Hoboken Foodie Serves Up Bold Fall Flavors in New Chicken Zucchini Dish

Making use of fall ingredients is easy when the season’s produce yields such delicious and hearty flavors. One ingredient that’s as versatile as it is tasty is apple butter. Typically, apple butter is a sweet spread used in desserts or for breakfast on toast, but when blended with something spicy or smoky, it adapts layers of rich and vibrant flavor.

My favorite apple butter comes from Briermere farms in Long Island, NY, and pairs perfectly with the spice of the chipotles and adobo sauce.

Chipotle peppers have numerous health benefits in addition to their bright flavor. Spicy peppers help to lower cholesterol, triglycerides and improve circulation, all of which helps to reduce heart disease.

For this recipe I decided to use chicken thighs because they’re much juicier and richer than chicken breasts. Although they do have a higher calorie count, chicken thighs also pack more iron than breasts and are often much cheaper.

This dish can be paired with a number of sides and eaten all year round, but zucchini corn fritters are a seasonal, tasty way to incorporate many of fall’s best farmer’s market finds.

What You Need to Prepare the Chicken

4 Chicken Thighs

1/4 Can of Chipotle Peppers in Adobo Sauce (about 2 to 3 Peppers, diced)

1 Teaspoon of Adobo Sauce

2 Tablespoons Apple Butter

1 Teaspoons Apple Cider Vinegar

1/2 Cup Flour

2 to 4 Tablespoons Vegetable Oil (for frying)

Salt and Pepper

What You Need to Cook Zucchini Corn Fritters

1 Large Zucchini (should yield about 1/2 cup once shredded and dried)

2 Ears of Corn (with the kernels scraped off)

1/2 Cup of Chopped Scallions

1 Large Shallot

½ Cup Cherry Tomatoes (sliced in half)

2 Eggs

1/2 Cup Flour

1 Teaspoon Paprika

1/2 Teaspoon Red Pepper Flakes

1/2 Teaspoon Salt and Pepper

3 Tablespoons Vegetable Oil For Frying

½ Cup of Greek Yogurt for dipping

Chicken Cooking Instructions

Step 1: Sprinkle each piece of chicken with salt and pepper and coat with flour. Place in a pan over medium heat once oil is hot.

Step 2: In a bowl combine chipotles, apple cider vinegar, 1 teaspoon adobo sauce and apple butter and stir well.

Step 3: Cook the chicken about 5 to 7 minutes on each side, or until golden brown and crispy. After a brownish, crisp color is achieved, cover the chicken in the chipotle mixture and lower the heat and cover.

Zucchini Corn Cakes Cooking Instructions

Step 1: Coarsely grate the zucchini and wring dry in a towel to remove excess water. Place in bowl and add scallions, paprika and salt and pepper, set aside.

Step 2: In a pan over low heat, warm corn and shallots until shallots are translucent. Add to bowl with zucchini.

Step 3: In a separate bowl, whisk together eggs and flour until smooth. If the mixture is too thick, add about a teaspoon of milk. Pour into bowl with vegetables and mix together.

Step 4: Heat oil in a pan over medium heat and spoon tablespoon size spoonfuls of the mixture into the oil. Let cook about 2 to 3 minutes on each side, until golden brown.

Step 5: Serve with grape tomatoes and Greek yogurt or sour cream.

*For extra flavor, add about 1/2 teaspoon of adobo sauce to the Greek yogurt.

Laura Denby is a Hoboken resident, writer and avid home cook. She creates, tests and tastes a variety of inventive recipes on a daily basis. Denby focuses mainly on pairing classic favorites with surprising and unique flavors.

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