Chicken Braised in White Wine
This meal is best described as Chicken stew. This simple braised dish gets a boost from chicken demi-glace. A secret ingredient of professional chefs, demi-glace is made by simmering stock and aromatics for hours so it develops intense, complex flavors. It can be purchased at Williams Sonoma, or at a specialty grocer. I can't always afford this pricier ingredient, so I cheat! I use half Chicken bullion and half vegetable bullion, which seems to be a suitable substitute.
Ingredients:
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
1 chicken, 3 to 4 lb., cut into 8 serving pieces
3 Tbs. extra-virgin olive oil
1 yellow onion, thinly sliced
8 oz. white button mushrooms, quartered
3 cups white wine
2 Tbs. chicken demi-glace
3 garlic cloves, crushed
4 fresh flat-leaf parsley sprigs
3 fresh thyme sprigs
1 bay leaf
1 lb. red-skinned potatoes, cut into quarters
Directions:
Preheat an oven to 375ºF.
In a large bowl, combine the flour, salt and pepper. Add the chicken and toss to coat evenly.
In a deep sauté pan or Dutch oven over medium heat, warm the olive oil. Add half of the chicken and brown on all sides, 3 to 4 minutes total. Transfer to a plate. Brown the remaining chicken and transfer to the plate.
Add the onion and mushrooms to the pan and cook, stirring occasionally, until golden, about 5 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and add the wine and demi-glace. Set the pan over high heat and bring to a boil, stirring to dissolve the demi-glace, about 5 minutes.
Return the chicken to the pan and add the garlic, parsley, thyme, bay leaf and potatoes. Bring to a boil, cover and transfer to the oven. Cook until the chicken is very tender, about 45 minutes. Season with salt and pepper, remove the bay leaf and serve immediately.
