Braised Chicken Thighs With Greens And Olives Food

SAUTéED CHICKEN WITH GREEN OLIVES AND WHITE WINE

Steps:

• Put oil in a deep skillet or casserole, preferably nonstick. Turn heat to medium-high. When oil is hot, add chicken, skin side down, and brown it well, rotating and turning pieces as necessary, about 10 to 15 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
• With chicken skin side up, add wine and olives. Adjust heat so mixture simmers vigorously, 10 to 15 minutes.
• When chicken is almost done, place sliced lemon on it, and cook 2 to 3 minutes more. Arrange chicken and lemon on a platter, and stir walnuts into sauce. Taste, and adjust seasoning, then spoon sauce over chicken. Sprinkle with parsley, and serve.

BRAISED CHICKEN LEGS AND THIGHS WITH TOMATOES, POTATOES, OLIVES AND CAPERS

Steps:

• Let the chicken come to room temperature, then pat the pieces dry and season with salt and pepper. Place the flour in a shallow, flat container and dredge the chicken in the flour, shaking off any excess. Set aside.
• In a large heavy-bottomed skillet or a Dutch oven designed for braising, heat the oil over medium-high heat for 1 minute. Add the butter, let it melt and heat until it begins to turn brown, about 2 minutes. Add the chicken and cook until browned on all sides, about 4 minutes per side. Transfer the chicken to a large platter and set aside.
• Pour off all but 2 tablespoons of the fat from the skillet and return the skillet to the stovetop over medium-high heat. Add the shallots and garlic and cook, stirring, until softened, about 1 minute. Add the wine and deglaze the pan, scraping the brown bits off the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon, and cook until the wine has reduced by half, 1 to 2 minutes. Add the stock and tomatoes and raise the heat to high and bring the liquid to a boil. The add the potatoes, olives, capers, and thyme, and stir to combine. Bring the liquid to a boil again, then reduce the heat to low so the liquid is simmering, and return the chicken to the pan. Cover and cook until the chicken is tender and the potatoes can be easily pierced with a knife, 25 to 35 minutes.
• To serve, place one chicken leg and one thigh in each of four shallow bowls. Spoon the sauce on top, getting some of the tomatoes, potatoes, olives and capers in each portion. Serve immediately.
• Place the chicken, carrots, celery, onion, parsley and thyme in an 8-quart stockpot. Add enough water to come up to 2 inches from the top of the pot. Place the pot over high heat and bring the liquid to a lively simmer--do not let the liquid boil. As soon as the liquid starts to simmer, reduce the heat so that you maintain a lively simmer throughout. (This could be anywhere from low to medium heat depending on the strength of your range.) Skim off any gray scum that floats to the top of the stock. Cook the stock, uncovered, for about 2 1/2 hours -- it should reduce in volume by one-quarter to one-third. Strain the stock through a fine-mesh strainer into a large bowl or clean stockpot, pressing on the solids in the strainer to extract all the liquid. If you like, season with salt to taste--I prefer to keep my stock salt-free.
• Use right away or transfer to air tight containers and refrigerate or freeze. The stock will keep for up to 1 week in the refrigerator or up to 3 months in the freezer.

BRAISED CHICKEN WITH LEMON AND OLIVES

Steps:

• Pat chicken thighs dry with paper towels. Season well with salt and pepper and place in an earthenware baking dish in one layer, skin side up. Sprinkle with red pepper, garlic, fennel and rosemary and drizzle with olive oil. Rub seasoning into thighs on all sides. Tuck lemon wedges here and there. Let marinate for 15 minutes. Heat oven to 375 degrees.
• Put baking dish in oven, uncovered, and roast until skin browns lightly, about 20 minutes. Scatter olives evenly over chicken and add broth. Cover tightly and bake for 1 hour, until meat is very tender when probed with a skewer.
• Remove thighs and lemon wedges and arrange on a platter. Keep warm. Pour pan juices into a saucepan and quickly skim fat from surface. Over high heat, simmer rapidly until reduced by half. Spoon juices over chicken, sprinkle with parsley and serve.

BRAISED CHICKEN THIGHS WITH GREENS AND OLIVES

Steps:

• Season chicken thighs well with salt and pepper. In a large heavy-bottomed skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat. Add the chicken thighs, skin-side down, and cook undisturbed until nicely browned, about 5 to 6 minutes. Flip and brown the other side, about 4 to 5 minutes more. Transfer to a plate and set aside.
• Pour off all but 2 tablespoons of fat from the pan and return to medium-low heat. Add red onion, and cook until it begins to soften, about 1 to 2 minutes. Add garlic and red-pepper flakes, if using, and cook for 30 seconds more.
• Add chopped greens to the pan and stir, tossing to coat in the residual chicken fat. It may seem like a lot of greens, but they will cook down. Add the chicken thighs and any juices that have accumulated back to the pan and lay them on top of the greens. Pour in enough of the chicken stock to come up to the chicken about halfway. Bring the chicken to a gentle simmer. Partly cover and allow the chicken to finish cooking through, about 20 minutes more.
• Stir in olives and raisins and cook uncovered until they are warmed through, and the raisins are nicely plumped, about 1 minute more. Garnish with parsley, if using, and serve. Season with flaky salt, if desired.

SKILLET CHICKEN THIGHS WITH OLIVES AND GREEN BEANS

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 400˚ F. Heat the olive oil in a large ovenproof skillet over medium-high heat. Pat the chicken thighs dry with a paper towel; season all over with salt and pepper. Place skin-side down in the skillet (they will fit snugly) and cook until the skin is very crisp and golden brown, about 8 minutes. Flip and lightly brown the other side, 2 minutes. Remove the chicken to a plate.
• Drain off all but 2 tablespoons of the fat from the skillet. Reduce the heat to medium, add the garlic and thyme and cook until the garlic starts to brown, 1 to 2 minutes. Add the wine, increase the heat to high and simmer, scraping the pan with a wooden spoon, until syrupy, about 2 minutes. Add the vinegar and cook until reduced by half, 1 to 2 minutes. Add the chicken broth, brown sugar, olives, prunes and chicken, skin-side up; bring to a simmer. Transfer the pan to the oven and roast until the chicken is cooked through, 15 to 20 minutes.
• Meanwhile, microwave the green beans according to the package directions. Season with salt and pepper.
• Divide the chicken and green beans among plates. Simmer the sauce over medium-high heat until thickened, 2 to 5 minutes; season with salt and pepper. Spoon over the chicken.

BRAISED CHICKEN THIGHS WITH OLIVES AND POTATOES

Steps:

• Season the chicken with 1/2 teaspoon salt and a few grinds of pepper. Heat a large Dutch oven or pot over high heat and add the olive oil. Add the chicken, skin-side down, and cook until golden, 3 to 4 minutes per side. Remove to a plate and set aside.
• Reduce the heat to medium high. Add the garlic and cook 1 minute. Stir in the onion, carrots, tomato paste, sage and rosemary. Cook, scraping up any browned bits from the bottom of the pot, until the vegetables are slightly softened, 3 to 4 minutes.
• Add the wine, olives and their brine, and the potatoes to the pot. Nestle the chicken in the mixture. Bring to a boil, then add 2 cups water and return to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium low, cover and simmer until the chicken is cooked through and the potatoes are tender, about 20 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

QUICK-BRAISED CHICKEN WITH GREENS

Steps:

• In a large pot over medium-high, heat the oil. Add the onion, season with salt and cook, stirring just a few times, until translucent and browned, 6 to 9 minutes. Add the peppers, tomato paste, brown sugar and cumin, and cook, stirring constantly, until the paste is a shade darker and starts to stick to the bottom of the pot, 2 to 3 minutes.
• Add the broth, chicken, greens and pickled-pepper brine. Season with salt and stir to combine. Cover the pot, keep on medium-high and bring to a simmer. Uncover, reduce heat to low, and cook uncovered until the chicken is cooked through and the greens are tender, 15 to 20 minutes. Using two forks, shred the chicken right in the pot into pieces, then stir to combine. Taste and adjust with salt, sugar (if it's too tangy or spicy) and brine (if it's too sweet or flat). Eat with starch of choice.

BRAISED CHICKEN WITH OLIVES AND CITRUS

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 400°F.
• Put the chicken, olives, onion, preserved lemon, dried limes, lemon slices, oil, honey, salt, cilantro, garlic, turmeric, cumin, paprika, and chile flakes in a large bowl. Using your hands, mix everything thoroughly, making sure the chicken pieces are well coated with the spices and herbs.
• Arrange the chicken pieces skin-side down in a deep baking dish in a single snug layer. Arrange the rest of the mixture over the chicken. Whisk the stock with the orange juice in a measuring cup and pour over the chicken.
• Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 40 minutes. Remove the foil and, using tongs or a couple of spoons, turn the chicken pieces skin-side up. Bake, uncovered, for another 20 to 25 minutes, until the chicken is cooked through and the skin is nicely browned and crackly. To check for doneness, make a small incision in the thickest part of a chicken thigh and make sure the juices run clear. If they are still pink, baste the skin with the pan juices to prevent the chicken from drying out and roast for another few minutes.
• Sprinkle with the cilantro leaves (if using) and serve over couscous.

ORANGE BRAISED CHICKEN THIGHS WITH GREEN OLIVES

Steps:

• Rinse chicken and pat dry. Season chicken with salt and pepper. In a heavy skillet heat oil over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking and brown chicken, transferring as browned to a plate.
• Pour off all but about 1 tablespoon fat from pan. Reduce heat to moderate and in skillet cook garlic, stirring, until it begins to turn golden. Add onion and cook, stirring, until pale golden. Stir in cumin, citrus juices, and salt and pepper to taste and add chicken and olives. Simmer chicken, covered, 25 minutes, or until tender.

BRAISED CHICKEN WITH POTATOES, OLIVES, AND LEMON

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Season chicken with salt. Heat a large, heavy ovenproof skillet (preferably cast iron) over medium-high heat. Swirl in oil. Cook chicken, skin side down, until browned, about 5 minutes. Flip chicken, and push to side of skillet. Add 1 cup stock and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Add potatoes to liquid. Bring to a boil. Add garlic, olives, lemon wedges, and thyme to liquid. Return to a boil.
• Transfer skillet to oven. Roast, stirring potatoes halfway through, until potatoes are tender and chicken is cooked through, about 30 minutes.
• Return skillet to stove. Mix cornstarch with remaining 1/4 cup stock, and stir into pan. Bring to a boil to thicken sauce. Serve immediately.