Braised Chicken with Peppers. AKA "Katie's Chicken"
It's a good story. I save recipes from magazines. One day, I asked
my 12-year old daugther Katie to go through about 100 of them and pick out what we should make
for dinner that night. She narrowed the 100 down to 5, and I chose
this from the five. I did not have high hopes, because it came
from Food & Wine magazine (November, 2006),
whose recipes are typically
high-work and low-payoff. This one beat that trend - the sauce
with the peppers and olives was fantastic. So we now call it
"Katie's Chicken." I've modified
the original a little. The original called for "Peppadew" peppers
or cherry peppers. Whatever.
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 12 skinless chicken thighs (or 6 whole leg quarters, skinned)
- Salt and pepper
- 1/4 pound pancetta, sliced very thick (about 1/4-inch), and
cut into 1/2-inch pieces. I remove the fat and use only the
meaty pieces.
- 1 onion, chopped
- 1 carrot, chopped
- 1 celery rib, chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 cup jarred roasted red peppers, drained and cut into strips
- 1/4 cup jarred cherry peppers, seeded and sliced
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- 3/4 cup dry white wine
- 2 thyme sprigs, or 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 rosemary sprig, or 1/4 teaspoon dried rosemary
- 1/4 cup sliced pitted kalamata olives
- 1 cup chicken stock or low sodium broth
- 1 1/2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
Directions
Preheat the oven to 350. In a deep, oven-proof saute pan (we use
our Le Creuset dutch oven) heat the olive oil over high heat, season
the chicken with salt and pepper, and brown the pieces on both sides,
turning one. About 6 minutes per side (and I have to do this in
two batches). Remove the chicken to a plate.
Add the pancetta to
the pan and cook over moderate heat until lightly browned, about 5 minutes.
Add the onion, carrot, celery, garlic and both types of peppers, and cook
over high heat, stirring, until the carrot is softened, about 5 minutes.
Add the tomato paste and wine and cook until the wine is nearly evaporated.
Add the herbs and olives and season with salt and pepper. Add the chicken
back to the pan, mix well, then add the stock and bring to a boil.
Cover tightly, transfer to the oven to braise for 30 minutes. Return the
pan back to the stove, remove the cover, and boil over moderate heat,
uncovered, until the sauce is slightly thickened. While doing this, remove
the meat from the bones and discard the bones and fat. Return the meat to
the pan.
Finally, discard the herb sprigs, stir in the vinegar, and serve.