Braised Chicken With Tomatoes And Olives Recipes

BRAISED CHICKEN WITH TOMATOES AND OLIVES (POULET PROVENCAL)

Steps:

• Preheat convection oven to 400°F or regular oven to 425°F with rack in middle.
• Toss together tomatoes, onion, olives, sliced garlic, 2 tablespoons oil, 1 teaspoon herbes de Provence, fennel seeds, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper in a 13- by 9-inch or other 3-quart shallow baking dish. Push vegetables to sides of dish to make room for chicken.
• Stir together minced garlic, 1 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon pepper, remaining teaspoon herbes de Provence, and remaining tablespoon olive oil.
• Remove excess fat from chicken and pat dry, then rub inside and out with seasoning mixture. Tie legs together with string, then put chicken in baking dish.
• Roast until an instant-read thermometer inserted into thickest part of a thigh (do not touch bone) registers 170°F, about 1 hour in convection oven; 1 to 1 1/4 hours in regular oven.
• Let chicken stand 10 minutes before carving. Serve with vegetables and pan juices.

BRAISED CHICKEN LEGS WITH OLIVES AND TOMATOES

Steps:

• In a large heavy skillet, heat 2 tablespoons of the oil until almost smoking.
• Season the chicken legs with salt and pepper and cook over moderately high heat until well browned, about 5 minutes per side. Remove the chicken from the pan and pour off the fat.
• Heat 2 more tablespoons of oil in the skillet. Add the onion and 3 of the garlic cloves and cook over moderately high heat, stirring, until softened, about 7 minutes.
• Add the chicken to the skillet with the tomatoes, wine and rosemary; season with pepper and bring to a boil.
• Reduce the heat and simmer until the chicken is cooked through, 20 to 25 minutes. Season with salt. Transfer the chicken to plates and keep warm.
• Meanwhile, in a food processor, pulse the olives with the remaining 2 tablespoons of oil and 1 garlic clove to a coarse paste.
• Stir the olive paste into the pan sauce and warm over moderate heat. Spoon the sauce over the chicken and serve.

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 WITH TOMATOES, OLIVES AND CAPERS

Steps:

• Put the oil in a large, deep skillet or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. When it's hot, add the chicken, skin side down. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and cook undisturbed, adjusting the heat so the chicken doesn't burn, until the pieces are browned on the bottom and release easily from the skillet, 5 to 10 minutes. Continue cooking, turning the chicken every few minutes, until it's brown all over, 5 to 10 minutes more. Remove the chicken from the pan and pour off all but 2 tablespoons of the fat.
• Add the onions and capers and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions soften, 3 to 5 minutes. Add the garlic and tomatoes; cook until the mixture starts to bubble and the tomatoes thicken slightly, 2 to 3 minutes. Stir in the wine and let the mixture bubble for another 2 minutes.
• Add the olives and thyme, and return the chicken to the skillet, nestling the pieces into the sauce. Adjust the heat so the liquid bubbles gently but steadily, then cover the skillet. Cook, turning the chicken every 10 minutes or so and adding a splash of stock or water if the sauce looks too dry, until the chicken is tender and cooked through, 20 to 30 minutes (an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the thigh should read 155 to 165). Taste the sauce, and adjust the seasoning. Garnish with the parsley, and serve.

BRAISED CHICKEN WITH TOMATOES AND OLIVES

Steps:

• Pat chicken dry and season with salt and pepper. Heat oil in a 12-inch heavy skillet over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking, then brown chicken in 2 batches, about 8 minutes, transferring as browned to a plate.
• Pour off all but 1 tablespoon fat from skillet. Add onion, garlic, and thyme to fat remaining in skillet and cook over moderately low heat, stirring, until softened, about 3 minutes. Stir in tomatoes, olives, salt, and pepper and return chicken to skillet. Simmer, covered, turning chicken occasionally, until chicken is cooked through, about 25 minutes.

PROVENCAL CHICKEN WITH TOMATOES, OLIVES, AND BASIL

Steps:

• Sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper. Heat oil in heavy large skillet over high heat. Add chicken, skin side down. Reduce heat to medium-high; cook until golden, about 5 minutes per side. Transfer chicken to platter. Pour off all but 1 1/2 tablespoons drippings. Cool skillet 2 minutes; return to low heat. Add garlic; sauté 1 minute. Add tomatoes and wine. Increase heat to medium; bring to simmer, scraping up any browned bits. Cook until tomatoes are tender, stirring occasionally, about 2 minutes.
• Return chicken, skin side up, to skillet. Bring mixture to boil. Cover; reduce heat to medium-low. Simmer until chicken is cooked through, about 25 minutes.
• Transfer chicken to plate. Add last 4 ingredients to sauce in skillet. Bring to boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat; simmer until sauce thickens, about 4 minutes. Spoon sauce over chicken; 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.