One Pot French Style Chicken

Throughout the period of the pandemic, I have routinely made dishes that are easy and can be made on sheet pans or in one pot for ease of clean up and cook time. This is one of those recipes that requires a little time up front to braise the chicken but once it goes in the pot you are back to working on your computer and it takes no time at all prior to serving. It’s also affordable since it uses bone in chicken thighs, which tend to be a reasonable choice. It’s the perfect Winter comfort food and goes great with a crusty loaf of bread and a green salad.

Ingredients

8 bone in chicken thighs

Sea salt

1 tbsp. olive oil

1 small onion, chopped

6 garlic cloves, minced

1 anchovy, minced

Pinch of cayenne pepper

1 cup white wine

1 14 oz can of diced tomatoes

1 cup chicken broth

2 ½ tbsps. Tomato paste

1 ½ tbsps.. dried thyme

1 tsp. dried oregano

1 bay leaf

1 lemon zested

½ cup pitted green or black olives

1 tbsp. chopped Italian parsley

Preheat oven to 300 F. Season chicken thighs with salt and pepper. Heat 1 tbsp. olive oil in Dutch oven over medium high heat. Add 4 thighs skin side down and cook without moving, until browned for 5 minutes. Turn chicken over using tongs and cook for another 5 minutes. Transfer to plate when finished and repeat the process with the remaining 4 chicken thighs. Pour off fat leaving only 1 tbsp. in pan.

Add onion to pot and cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until browned about 4 minutes Add garlic, anchovy, and cayenne pepper and cook stirring for about 1 minute. Add wine and scrap the browned bits on the bottom of the pan. Stir in tomatoes, broth, tomato paste, thyme, oregano, and bay leaf. Remove and discard skin from chicken thighs. Submerge the chicken in the liquid and increase heat to high, bring to a simmer, and cover, transferring to the oven. Cook for about 1 ¼ hours.

Remove chicken from pot using slotted spoon. Transfer to platter and place foil over top to keep warm. Discard bay leaf. Set pot over high heat and stir in lemon zest, bring to boil and cook until thickened. Stir in olives. To plate, place chicken on plates over white rice and spoon sauce overtop. Top with parsley and serve.