So I made some poached (maybe braised?) chicken thighs in a pan sauce, severely adapted from Gratineed Chicken in Cream Sauce (Poulet a la Fermier) that I found over on epicurious.com
I was inspired by the Chicken with Lemon and Olives I once had at Marrakesh in DC, a Moroccan restaurant that serves you family style (while you sit on big sinky couches with lots of pillows).
I braised the chicken with lots of good stuff and piled it high with sliced green olives. If you pull it off, the chicken will be nice and juicy, with lots of bright lemon and contrasting salty olive flavors.
The part I didn't pull off right though, was the mashed potatoes. I was utterly flabbergasted, but my nice roomie A. assured me that it was the potatoes, not me. Uh-huh. As you can maybe see here, the potatoes resembled wallpaper paste, both in texture and flavor. Pretty awful. I learned the valuable lesson that potatoes and immersion blenders don't mix. But I was just so excited to use my new blender!
 |
| FAIL. |
Just mash your potatoes by hand, mmkay?
Braised Mediterranean Chicken Thighs
Adapted from epicurious.com
1 pound chicken thighs
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
Salt and pepper
3 fresh parsley sprigs
2 fresh thyme sprigs
2 fresh rosemary sprigs
2 cloves garlic, sliced
1/2 cup dry white wine
1/2 cup chicken stock
Juice of half a lemon
1/2 cup green olives, pitted and sliced
Pat chicken dry and season with salt and pepper.
Heat butter in medium-sized wide bottom sauce pan over moderately high heat until foam subsides. Brown chicken all over and remove from pot. Reduce heat to medium and briefly saute garlic (being careful not to burn). Add wine and deglaze pan by scraping up any brown bits.
Tie fresh herbs into cheesecloth to create a bouquet garni. Add to pan along with chicken, skin side up, and any juices that may have accumulated on the plate. Add stock and olives, and simmer, covered, for 25 minutes. Chicken is done when it reaches an internal temperature of 165 degrees F and the juices run clear.
Before serving, add lemon juice to pan sauce and stir. Note: Because of the small amount of liquid this recipes calls for, I did have to add more stock while the chicken was cooking. If your sauce is too thin when the chicken is finished, just reduce it by heating uncovered over medium-high heat until it is half the original volume.