Quick-Braised Chicken with Greens

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Quick-Braised Chicken with Greens

There’s a family of dishes that are both tangy and cozy: hot and sour soup, braised collard greens, puttanesca, brisket and now, this pot of braised chicken and greens. Its bite comes from hot pickled peppers and their brine, while the comfort comes from browned onions, tomato paste, cumin and chicken broth — and the knowledge that you can make this dish quickly with boneless thighs and any dark, leafy greens in your fridge. Eat the stew on top of something starchy to soak up the broth; it’s especially good with crunchy olive oil-fried toast (see Tip).

Rating

Ingredients

  • 3tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1large yellow onion, thinly sliced
  • Kosher salt (Diamond Crystal)
  • 1/2cup sliced hot pickled peppadew, cherry or pepperoncini peppers, and 2 tablespoons brine reserved, plus more to taste
  • 1/4cup tomato paste
  • 1tablespoon light or dark brown sugar, plus more to taste
  • 1teaspoon ground cumin
  • 4cups chicken broth
  • 1 1/2 to 2pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs
  • 1 1/2pounds (1 to 2 bunches) dark leafy greens, such as kale, Swiss chard or escarole, de-stemmed and coarsely chopped
  • Fried toast (see Tip), pasta, boiled or mashed potatoes, mashed cauliflower, or grains, for serving
Set base servings to enable scaling:

Directions

In a large pot over medium-high, heat the oil. Add the onion, season with salt and cook, stirring just a few times, until translucent and browned, 6 to 9 minutes. Add the peppers, tomato paste, brown sugar and cumin, and cook, stirring constantly, until the paste is a shade darker and starts to stick to the bottom of the pot, 2 to 3 minutes.

Add the broth, chicken, greens and pickled-pepper brine. Season with salt and stir to combine. Cover the pot, keep on medium-high and bring to a simmer. Uncover, reduce heat to low, and cook uncovered until the chicken is cooked through and the greens are tender, 15 to 20 minutes. Using two forks, shred the chicken right in the pot into pieces, then stir to combine. Taste and adjust with salt, sugar (if it’s too tangy or spicy) and brine (if it’s too sweet or flat). Eat with starch of choice.

Notes

To make olive oil-fried toast, heat ¼ cup olive oil over medium in a large skillet, add four ½-inch-thick slices of crusty or sourdough bread and fry until crispy on both sides, 1 to 2 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

Nutrition

Info
Trans Fat: 0 gramsFat: 16 gramsCalories: 358Saturated Fat: 3 gramsUnsaturated Fat: 11 gramsSodium: 1084 milligramsSugar: 8 gramsFiber: 6 gramsCarbohydrate: 19 gramsProtein: 35 grams
Chicken & Poultry

Source: https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1022855-quick-braised-chicken-with-greens