Braised Chicken Thighs With Polenta

Braised Chicken with Polenta

Now that the weathers turning, my mind is beginning to wander towards heavier, casserole type dishes. A thick sauce with rich flavors is comforting as the weather cools. So in keeping with that vein of thought, I decided to braise some chicken thighs and serve them on a nice bed of coarsely ground polenta. This was pretty simple to put together and came out very tender and tasty. I hope you try this and enjoy it as much as Ginny and I did.

Recipe

Ingredients:
1 small green pepper, thinly sliced
1 small yellow onion, thinly sliced
6 cloves of garlic, smashed
1 tbsp of dried thyme
1 small bay leaf
2 tbsp of olive oil
1 large can of peeled tomatoes
6-8 green, stuffed olives, quartered
1 cup of polenta
4 cups of water
kosher salt
pepper

Recipe.

Add two tbsp of olive oil to a dutch oven or pot and heat on medium high heat. Season your chicken thighs and add to the pot, skin side down. Brown the chicken thighs on both sides, shaking the pot to keep the skin from sticking.

Once the chicken has browned, remove the chicken and pour off the fat, reserving for future use. Turn the heat to high and deglaze the pot with white wine. Reduce the wine to about 1 tbsp of liquid. Reduce the heat to medium and add 1 tbsp of the reserved oil. Add the onions, green pepper, and olives, cooking until tender (about 5 minutes).

Now add the chicken, thyme,and bay leaf to the pot. Follow this by pouring the juice from the whole, peeled tomatoes into the pot followed by the tomatoes, crushing them in your hand to release the juice. These do not need to be pulverized, just crush lightly. Turn the heat to medium high until the mixture begins to boil, then reduce to simmer. Cover the pot and let cook for twenty minutes.

After the chicken has cooked, plate your polenta and arrange your chicken ans sauce on top. Add some garlic bread, a little wine to drink, and enjoy.