Chicken Provencale
March 8, 2022 • 0 comments
This is a classic French dish and is absolutely fantastic, with complex flavors and textures. For a regional twist, swap the wine for apple cider and the figs for dried pears, currants, or even apple. Swap the herbs for ramps in the spring.
Ingredients
- Olive Oil
- 8 - 10 Chicken Thighs
- (chopped) 4 Shallots or 2 Yellow Onions
- (2 cups) Green Olives (Castelvetrano, Cerignola, Verdial, or others)
- (4 or 5 springs) Thyme Leaves, stripped
- (1 sprig) Rosemary Leaves, stripped and chopped
- (1 sprig) Lavender, chopped
- (1 cup) Dates, dried, pitted, chopped
- (1 1/2 cups) Dry White Wine
- (to taste) Salt and Pepper
Directions
Season pasture-raised chicken thighs with salt and pepper.
Fire grill or oven to around 400 degrees. (A grill makes this dish’s flavor profile even more complex.)
In a large skillet or French or Dutch oven, drizzle olive oil over medium heat on stove top or on the grill.
Place the chicken skin side down; brown. Don’t crowd the pan: fry in batches if needed.
Once it's browned on the skin side, remove chicken and place the shallots or onions in the pan; cook for 4 minutes, stirring frequently, until it starts to turn opaque.
Place the chicken back in the pan, skin side up.
Scatter olives, herbs, garlic and dates over the chicken. Pour in wine; bring to simmer.
Lid the Dutch or French oven, or cover in foil, and place in covered grill (a little smoke here makes it amazing!) or oven for an hour.
This can also be accomplished on a stovetop or open grill by covering when the wine has started to simmer; check often and adjust heat.
When finished, the chicken will have a crispy skin on top and be fall-off-the-bone tender. Briny olives complement the rich chicken and sweet dates. If you are lucky enough to have completed this on a grill or smoker with a touch of woodsmoke, you will be rewarded with an excitingly complex dish. (Ash, Apple, Pecan, or other mild wood is recommended for the smoke, and only a few chips are recommended with a grill or smoker).
Serve over crusty French bread, rustic mashed potatoes, polenta, or steamed riced cauliflower.
