Sundays are somewhat of a double-edged sword. On one hand, they’re lazy, relaxing and involve Bloody Mary’s and long brunches. But then, as the night sets in, you feel the impending week full of to-do lists and getting up early just looming…
As a kid, Sundays were depressing. It was usually the day when I had to buckle down and do homework. You know, the homework that I had thrown to the side all weekend long because I was busy having fun. There was usually lots of whimpering and pouting and being a brat. There was usually a gigantic cloud over Sunday night. The only things that usually made it better was the tick, tick, tick sound from the opening credits of 60 Minutes and the smell of something mom was braising in the oven.
My mom had a braised chicken dish with tomatoes and spices that I loved. I have no idea what was in it and still don’t, but it was so simple and amazing.
I honestly haven’t braised much chicken and I’m not sure why because after making this dish a few times, I want to braise ALL THE CHICKENS!
It’s the best. This is inspired by a dish I had at Boule Bar in San Francisco. It was Moroccan-spiced, just like this one is and braised in a lemony cream sauce that was kinda to die for.
This is the dish that’s perfect for Sundays, and if you have the time, it’s not too bad of a week day meal either. It doesn’t take nearly as long to braise as it does with other meats like, say, beef or pork. Just an hour.
The potatoes and swiss chard are interchangeable – feel free to swap in other stuff like artichokes or squash or kale.
This dish is the best leftover meal EVER. It’s almost one of those dishes that tastes better the next day. Don’t you love dishes like that!?
Ingredients
- 3 chicken drumsticks skin on and bone-in
- 3 chicken thighs skin on and bone-in
- Salt
- Pepper
- Olive oil
- 2-3 Russet potatoes quartered
- 2 shallots minced
- 3 garlic cloves minced
- 1 teaspoons ground cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
- 3 sprigs fresh thyme
- 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
- 2-3 leaves Swiss chard roughly chopped
- 1 teaspoon lemon zest from 1 lemon
- 3 cups low-sodium chicken stock
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- Salt to taste
- Handful of Italian parsley chopped
Instructions
- Start by prepping your chicken: wash the chicken and thoroughly pat dry using paper towels. Sprinkle the chicken with a few pinches of salt and pepper on both sides.
- To a large pot, heat 2 tablespoons of oil over moderately medium to high heat. When the oil is hot, place the chicken, skin-side down and cook until the skin is crispy and browned, about 3 to 5 minutes. Flip the chicken, using a pair of tongs, and cook for an additional minute or so. You want to avoid overcrowding the pot, so you most likely will have to do this in batches. Remove the chicken from the pan and set it aside in a bowl.
- You may find that the chicken's skin has released a lot of grease. We don't want all of that in the dish so dump out most of it, leaving about 1 tablespoon (eyeball this measurement). Place the pot over medium heat and when hot, add the potatoes, cooking them on each side until browned and crispy, about 1 minute. Remove them from the pan and set aside.
- Throw in the shallot and cook until translucent, about 3 minutes. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Next, add the cumin, coriander and fresh thyme. Pour in the red wine vinegar and using a spoon, deglaze the bottom of pan, scraping up any browned, crispy bits. Add the swiss chard, lemon zest and chicken stock. Add the chicken and potatoes back to the pot, being sure to nestle them into the mixture.
- Bring the chicken mixture to a simmer and turn the heat to low; cover the pot and cook for 45 minutes, until the potatoes and chicken are cooked. Mix in the heavy cream and salt the mixture to taste (I added about 1 teaspoon). Cook for an additional 10 to 15 minutes. Divide between bowls and top with a sprinkling of fresh Italian parsley.
I made it today ready for dinner this evening. Had a little taste…amazing!
I am planning on making this oh so delicious looking recipe for Sunday dinner this weekend, but I have one questions: can the chicken be boneless thighs? While I do not mind the bones my family is not a fan. Thank you 🙂
Yes boneless thighs should work out great!
will the results be the same if i cook with a non-stick pot?
I think you should be ok. You’ll just want to make sure the oil gets nice and hot before adding it. But I’ve gotten a nice sear on meats before in a non-stick pan. Worse case scenario is that it doesn’t get super crispy. It’ll still be delicious! There are worse things that could happen.
Update: finished it and it was SO GOOD even though 1. I am horrible at browning things and my chicken-skin was only sort of golden at best and then got flabby and 2. I can’t braise at all on my stove because I have very little temperature control so it sort of boiled– even despite my shortcomings, this recipe! Is so good! We drank the broth in our bowls (there’s some on my shirt, I have no manners or shame) and we’re freezing the leftover liquid to re-braise something else in because yeah.
I am making this right now and the house smells so good. Even if the final dish doesn’t turn out (which will be because of a lack of skill on my part, not your recipe), the smell in the house right now is worth it.
Such a great looking braised chicken dish! Perfect for Sundays for sure – any day for me really. 🙂 Love 60 minutes.
This looks amazing! My Mom always made Chicken Paprika on Sundays, which is another braised chicken recipe that is absolutely to die for! So glad I found this recipe!