Chicken Thighs with a Swiss Chard & Tomatoes

 

8 chicken thighs

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 large onion - ¼ inch thick slices (2 cups)

1 tablespoon tomato paste

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 anchovy fillet, minced

1 can (14½ ounces) diced tomatoes, drained

2 cups chicken broth

¼ cup dry red wine

¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes

1½ tablespoons chopped fresh thyme leaves

1bay leaf

12 ounces Swiss chard, washed and dried

½ cup balsamic vinegar

 

1.    Preheat oven to 350°.

2.    Salt and pepper chicken thighs.

3.    Heat oil in Dutch oven over medium-high heat and add chicken thighs.  Brown 10 to 12 minutes. Turn and brown about 5 minutes longer.  Transfer thighs to large plate.

4.    Pour off all but 1 teaspoon fat from pot. Add onion and tomato paste and cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally and scraping bottom of pot with wooden spoon, until tomato paste begins to darken for about 4 minutes (1 to 2 tablespoons water may be added).

5.    Add garlic and anchovy and cook, stirring constantly, until fragrant, about 1 minute.

6.    Stir in tomatoes, chicken broth, and wine, scraping up browned bits with wooden spoon.

7.    Add red pepper flakes, thyme, and bay. Submerge chicken in liquid, adding any chicken juices accumulated on plate. Increase heat to high, bring to simmer, cover, then place pot in oven.

8.    Cook until chicken offers no resistance when poked with tip of paring knife but meat still clings to bone, 40 to 55 minutes.

9.    While chicken cooks, trim stems from Swiss chard. Cut stems crosswise into ¼ inch pieces, halve leaves lengthwise, and then cut crosswise into ¼-inch-thick strips. Set stems and leaves aside separately.

10. Also simmer balsamic vinegar in 8-inch skillet over medium-high heat until thick, syrupy, and reduced to ¼ cup, 3 to 5 minutes

11. Using slotted spoon, transfer chicken to plate and tent with foil and discard bay leaf.

12. Bring liquid in Dutch oven to simmer over medium-high heat.  Add chard stems and cook, stirring occasionally, until almost tender, about 8 minutes. Add chard greens and cook until wilted, about 2 minutes.

13. Stir about ⅓ cup sauce into balsamic reduction to loosen, and then stir mixture into sauce.  Add salt and pepper as needed. Return chicken and accumulated juices to sauce, cook until heated through, about 2 minutes, turning chicken once or twice. Use slotted spoon to transfer chard to serving dish or individual bowls; place chicken thighs on chard, then spoon sauce over.

 

Serve with polenta.