Braised Chicken With Green Beans, Tomatoes and Balsamic Vinegar

"This is a favorite fall/winter recipe in my house. I modified it from a Cook's Illustrated recipe because no one (but me) likes Swiss Chard in my family. When browning the chicken, avoid overcrowding the pot--brown the thighs in two batches if all eight do not fit comfortably. Polenta, wide noodles or mashed potatoes go really well with this dish. Also, it has less calories than the Nutrition Facts calculate because you remove the skin after browning."
 
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Ready In:
1hr 10mins
Ingredients:
15
Serves:
4
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ingredients

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directions

  • Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position; heat oven to 350 degrees. Season chicken thighs with salt and pepper. Heat oil in nonreactive Dutch oven over medium-high heat until shimmering but not smoking; add chicken thighs skin-side down and cook without moving them until skin is crisped and well browned, 10 to 12 minutes. Using tongs, turn chicken pieces and brown on second side, about 5 minutes longer; transfer thighs to large plate.
  • Pour off all but 1 teaspoon fat from pot. Add onion and tomato paste and cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally and scraping bottom of pot with wooden spoon, until tomato paste begins to darken, about 4 minutes (if bottom of pot becomes very dark and sticky, stir in 1 to 2 tablespoons water, juice from tomatoes or some of chicken broth).
  • Add garlic and anchovy and cook, stirring constantly, until fragrant, about 1 minute.
  • Stir in tomatoes, chicken broth, and wine, scraping up browned bits with wooden spoon.
  • Add red pepper flakes, thyme, and bay.
  • Remove and discard skin from chicken thighs, then submerge chicken bone-side up in liquid, adding any chicken juices accumulated on plate.
  • Increase heat to high, bring to simmer, cover, then place pot in oven.
  • After 30 minutes add green beans. Cook chicken for another 10 minutes or until done (when it offers no resistance when poked with tip of paring knife but meat still clings to bone).
  • While chicken cooks, simmer balsamic vinegar in 8-inch nonreactive skillet over medium-high heat until thick, syrupy, and reduced to 1/4 cup, 3 to 5 minutes (begin measuring volume when vinegar begins to cling to sides of saucepan). Set aside.
  • Using slotted spoon, transfer chicken to plate and tent with foil (I don't always tent it, too lazy); discard bay leaf.
  • Bring liquid in Dutch oven to simmer over medium-high heat and cook until the beans are of the tenderness you like.
  • Stir about 1/3 cup sauce into balsamic reduction to loosen, then stir mixture into sauce; adjust seasoning with salt and pepper.
  • Return chicken and accumulated juices to sauce, cook long enough to warm chicken, turning once or twice. Serve immediately.

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Reviews

  1. I've been addicted to Food.com (RecipeZaar) for a few years now, and this is my first recipe review. I have made this twice now, both times served on a bed of polenta, and it was FABULOUS both times. I don't have a Dutch Oven, so I did everything on the stovetop, and even used boneless skinless chicken thighs and it was still amazing. This will be a year-round favorite in our house!
     
  2. This was surprisingly bland for all of the flavors that are in it. We won't make it again.
     
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RECIPE SUBMITTED BY

I'm a busy work at home mom of 2 young boys. My husband is frequently out of town for long spells for his work and that's when I turn to the 'zaar for inspiration. My husband loves to cook so when he's home it's all up to him and when he's gone it's fun and sometimes frustrating to plan menus that will not be rejected by the kiddos while containing wholesome ingredients. I'm pretty picky about the foods we eat. I only buy organic meats and dairy, nothing with high fructose corn syrup and as many local and/or organic fruits veggies that I can get my paws on. We have a wonderful delivery company called Greenling that I rely on for local fruits and vegetables. They serve Austin and San Antonio but it's a wonderful idea that I hope crops up everywhere. I'm also a huge fan of the 100 Mile Diet http://100milediet.org/home/ , the Slow Food movement http://www.slowfood.com/ ,the book The Omnivore's Dilemma http://www.michaelpollan.com/omnivore.php and the movie The Future of Food http://imdb.com/title/tt0427276/ . If you haven't heard about any of these things it's time to check it out. It's eye opening. I believe it is very important to know where our food comes from. That said, I'm not a food nazi, I just like to know that I'm feeding my family the best quality food available. It's not cheap but I think it's worth more than money. <img src="http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b399/susied214/permanent%20collection/adoptedspring08.jpg">
 
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