A New Chicken Braise to share

Last week, Thursday, I tried a new recipe that I adapted from Cuisine at Home.  Regular readers know that Cuisine at Home is my go to source when making my Weekly Menus.  I have been getting Cuisine at home for about 15 years now and have no intentions of ever letting my subscription expire.

This recipe was so good that I am very anxious to share it with you.  It is the best new chicken recipe I have had in a long time.

As always, I simply used the recipe as a guideline and made it my own.  The original recipe called for whole chicken, halved.  I had used the white meat of my chicken to make White Chicken Chili and Chicken Tetrazzini which I will be sharing with you at a later date.  So I was left with the dark meat which is perfect for braising and the exact amount needed if cooking for two.  Feel free to double the amounts if you are cooking for a family.

The recipe also called for the chicken to be braised and then removed and put under the broiler as you added lemon rind and prunes to the sauce on the stovetop.  Who has time for all that jive??  I threw lemon slices and prunes in before the braise and the chicken, in my humble opinion, did not require broiling afterwards.  I also left out the olives that were in the recipe because I didn't have any on hand.  Feel free to add a handful of pimento stuffed olives if you have them.  It would probably add a wonderful briny flavor to the sauce.

The results were a wonderful, tender chicken in a flavorful, decadent sauce of which we couldn't get enough.  I served this with a Lemon Mint Couscous as suggested in the original recipe and we drizzled drenched it with the sauce.  YUM!!

Chicken Braised with Prunes and Lemons

adapted from Cuisine at Home, Issue # 53 (Oct.2005)

1/2 small onion, diced

1 carrot, scraped and sliced

1 stalk celery, sliced

1 clove garlic, minced

1 T. ginger paste

dash of paprika

dash of red pepper flakes

1 bay leaf

2 T. olive oil

2 chicken leg quarters

1/4 c. flour

salt and pepper to taste

2 t. tomato sauce

2 t. leftover dredging flour

1/4 c. white wine

1/2 c. chicken broth

1/4 c. apple cider

6 whole prunes

1/2 lemon, washed and sliced

In a large, oven safe skillet, heat olive oil over med high heat.  Place flour, salt and pepper into a bag or bowl and shake or dredge the chicken pieces until covered.  Place chicken, skin side down, into the skillet and saute until well browned, turn and brown other side (about 8 minutes per side).  Remove from skillet and set aside.

Add the prepared vegetables, garlic, ginger, paprika, red pepper and bay leaf to the same pan and saute until soft, about 5 minutes.  Add the tomato paste and flour and stir until vegetables are coated. Leaving the veggies in the pan, add the wine and deglaze scraping any browned bits from the bottom of the skillet.  Add the broth and cider and bring to a boil.  Return the chicken to the pan, skin side up.  Add the prunes and lemon.  Cover and place in a preheated 350* oven for 30 minutes.  Print Recipe

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