Sunday, July 10, 2016

Comfort after a long short week (Tarragon Braised Chicken with Tarragon, served with spiralized zucchini, corn, mushrooms and tomatoes.)



Just before I added the sauce -
love the colors
The first week of July was a long short week.  At work and in the world in general.  After a day of running errands, all I wanted to do Saturday evening was stay in, watch a movie and cook up some comfort food.  

For many, comfort food means anything with cheese.  For me it’s a braise. Short ribs, lamb shanks, deep rich stews, and our family favorite, osso buco  — my list of comforting braises is long. They all have a few common elements:   fragrant aromatics - think rosemary, thyme, garlic, tarragon - good quality “dark meat” protein, just enough liquid and a relatively long trip to the oven in a sturdy dutch oven.

Last night I opted for a cut of chicken that many overlook, leg quarters.  This cut combines two dark meat favorites into one, the thigh and the drumstick.  I like to remove the skin and keep the joints intact. 

Prepped veg - and yes, those are
tarragon flowers in the mix...
This recipe also made use of my new favorite toy, the spiralizer, which turns a zucchini or other similar shaped vegetable into long strands that look like pasta.  In my opinion, the texture is much better than most ways of preparing squash, but any sauté of vegetables goes great with this dish.

Here’s how I pulled together the dish.

Tarragon Braised Chicken with Tarragon, served with spiralized zucchini, corn, mushrooms and tomatoes.
(Serves 4 hungry souls)


Ingredients

For the Braise

  • 4 chicken legs with thighs attached, skin removed
  • Kosher Salt
  • Fresh Ground Pepper
  • Poultry Seasoning - a couple of Tablespoons
  • Olive oil to coat bottom of pan (about a Tablespoon)
  • 1/2 Valhalla onion (or other sweet onion)
  • 6 cloves of garlic, peeled and left hold
  • Enough water to reach the 1/2 way point of the chicken, about 1/2 cup of water (white wine would be great here, too)  The important thing is not to add so much liquid that you turn this into a stew rather than a braise.

For the Veg Sauté 

  • 2 cobs of corn, kernels cut off
  • 1 spiraled zucchini  
  • 1 cup sliced mushrooms
  • 1 cup cherry tomatoes, sliced
  • 2 TBS fresh thyme chopped (you can use about a teaspoon of dried if you don’t have fresh)
  • 1/3 cup nonfat half & half (you can use regular half and half as well)
  • 1/4 cup of parmesan cheese
  • Salt and pepper to taste

Method

Preheat oven to 375 degrees


  • Season the chicken with salt and pepper
  • Heat a dutch oven or other heavy bottomed, lidded pan with olive oil.  
  • Brown the chicken over a medium high heat, two pieces at a time
  • When the second batch is browned, remove the chicken from the pan and dust with the poultry seasoning.
  • Add the onion and garlic cloves to the pan and sauté until the onion is just softened
  • Now add the chicken back into the pan, pour in the water, heat to a boil, cover with a lid and pop into the oven for 45 minutes.

Pour yourself a nice glass of white wine, chill out for a while…. the house will soon smell amazing…


  • When the chicken is done, remove it and the onions and garlic from the pan and cover with foil to keep warm in a heat resistant disk like a glass pie pan. 
  • Then skim away any fat with a spoon.  I also like to lay a paper towel atop the liquid and lift away andy residual fat.

The recipe up to this stage can be completed up to an hour ahead of serving.


  • About 15 minutes before you are ready to serve,  crank up the heat to medium high and reduce the liquid to about half.
  • While the sauce is reducing, fire up the broiler, uncover chicken, garlic and onions, spoon a bit of the sauce on all surfaces, and place under the broiler until they are crispy and golden brown.  Keep an eye on this throughout to avoid burning.

As the chicken finishes up,  lets get those veggies ready….


  • Heat the dutch oven again and add in about a teaspoon of olive oil. Add in all of the veggies and half of the tarragon. Add a pinch of salt and about 6 grinds of pepper and sauté  for about 5 minutes or until everything is just getting soft.  
  • Now add in the half and half and remainder of the tarragon and the parmesan cheese. Stir to combine. 

To serve:
I like to serve in a pasta bowl, placing the chicken down first, then a scoop of the veggies and a bit of the sauce along the bottom of the bowl, as opposed to over the top of the chicken. 

Enjoy.