Pasta With Braised Chicken

Pasta With Braised Chicken

Last night my housemates cooked dinner for me. I'll have to find a way to swipe their recipe because it was great! They made a butterflied chicken that was roasted at high heat over potato slices. Everything had a buttery, garlicky flavor. I don't have their recipe yet, so I can't share it. Never fear, I'll find it.

While I was thinking about getting their recipe, I thumbed through my chicken recipes. I found this recipe for chicken  braised with a tomato sauce for pasta. This cooks a little while and it has a rich flavor. 

If you'd like, you could substitute rabbit or duck for the chicken. Oh, wait. I realize there is not much chance of you cooking rabbit or duck, so never mind.

I like chicken thighs. I think they have a little more flavor than chicken breasts. Most stores sell boneless, skinless chicken thighs for fairly cheap. I think the bacon gives a nice touch, don’t you? Then again, bacon gives a nice touch to just about anything.

6 strips of bacon
6 boneless, skinless chicken thighs

3 shallots - minced
2 garlic cloves - minced
1 onion - chopped
2 stalks of celery, minced
1 carrot grated
1/2 tsp. thyme
2 branches of rosemary
1 cup dry white wine
1 can crushed tomatoes - 28 oz.

1/2 cup fresh chopped basil 

Tabasco - to taste (that means a lot)

Salt and pepper

Preparation

Heat a large saucepan or Dutch oven until hot. (It must be big enough to hold all the chicken in a single layer and deep enough to hold all the ingredients with room to spare; so put that little skillet away.) 

Cook the bacon until crisp and chop and reserve the bacon. Pour off most of the bacon fat. Sear the chicken in the hot fat for about five minutes per side. When you turn the chicken over, add the shallots, onions, garlic, celery and grated carrot. Cook until the onions start to soften and clarify.

Stir the chicken and vegetables and then add the thyme, rosemary and white wine. Simmer to reduce the liquid by half. Add the can of tomatoes and the bacon and stir. Cover and simmer very gently for about an hour. Stir often. If you want, you can do this in the oven at about 275º for an hour or more, but still stir often.

Add the chopped basil and plenty of tabasco. Taste for salt, pepper and sugar and adjust accordingly. Simmer for 2 minutes and serve.

Serving

To serve this, place the chicken on the plate next to a big pile of linguine. Cover both with the sauce. All you need to add is some baked eggplant, a salad, fresh baked bread with butter and a good Chianti. Not too shabby for a meal starting with a cheap package of chicken thighs!