Time for more chicken!

I love a good chicken recipe and I love certain ingredients, leeks being one and vinegar another. Happily I found a recipe that included these and more. It is from the April issue of Food & Wine by Grace Parisi. I have been stuck on F&W for awhile which is amazing because I also receive Bon Appetit and Saveur at home and look at blogs online. I also really enjoy recipes by Grace Parisi and have used them before with very good results. Since this dish has leeks and peas in it I did not make any side dishes but I did add small red fingerling potatoes.

Vinegar-Braised Chicken with Leeks and Peas my way

4 skinless chicken thighs
kosher salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
1/2 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 large leeks, halved lengthwise and cut into pieces
~1 cup chicken broth
1/4 cup sherry vinegar
4-5 small fingerling or new potatoes cut into bite size pieces
~8 ounces frozen baby peas, thawed
1 sprig fresh tarragon, chopped
1 small handful fresh parsley, chopped
1/4 cup crème fraîche

Preheat the oven to 425° and position a rack in the upper third. Season the thighs generously with salt and pepper.

In a large nonstick skillet, heat half of the oil. Add the chicken and cook over medium high heat until browned, 5 minutes. Turn over and cook the chicken for 1-2 minutes. 

In an over proof skillet or cast iron pan, add the butter and the other half of the oil and cook the leeks over medium high heat until just beginning to soften, about 2 minutes. Add the broth and vinegar and bring to a boil. Season with salt and pepper.

Set the chicken on the leeks, roast for about 25 minutes.

In the skillet that you cooked the chicken in immediately add the potatoes and cook over high heat about 3 minutes, stirring frequently until they begin to brown, Add the potatoes to the pan in the oven with the chicken and leeks and stir.

Turn over the chicken and roast another 2-3 minutes, until cooked through and the potatoes are done. Transfer the chicken to a plate.

Place the oven proof pan over a burner (be careful I burned my hand) and boil over high heat until the liquid is reduced by half, adding more stock if necessary (my liquid was nearly gone when I removed it from the oven). Add the peas, herbs and crème fraîche and simmer until the sauce thickens slightly and is heated through. Season with salt and pepper.

Place the chicken thighs in shallow bowls and spoon the vegetables and sauce over the chicken to serve.

Wow, this was really wonderful. The shallots were meltingly tender and the peas tasted fresh and the sauce was amazing. I'm thinking you could use yogurt. There is not alot of crème fraîche used but it might save some fat and be handier. Mike and I both loved it and I don't make many things twice but this could be an exception. We did not have wine but F&W suggested a Cotes-du-Rhone Blanc. I looked it up; it's like a Viognier, I believe. Enjoy!