Organic Crispy Braised Chicken Recipe with Fennel, Olives, Lemon?and Bacon

Aimee got me a great cookbook for Christmas – Thomas Keller’s Ad Hoc At Home and I immediately really began to enjoy  the organic, seasonal recipe that were featured in the book.  This is one of the first recipes that caught my eye, so I wanted to make it.  Braised chicken perhaps doesn’t do as well in the braising pot as beef or pork, but when you can keep the skin crispy and have a delicious piece of dark meat, it’s awesome.

This dish combines some excellent flavors that aren’t typically found in your typical braise – the first of which has to be one of my favorite vegetables – Fennel.  There’s also some good olives and the infusion of some lemon zest which adds a great kick.

Plus, there’s just something wholly comforting about a braise in the winter.  It makes you whole house or apartment smell awesome, yet is easy to make and even better to eat.  I served this over some simply cooked egg noodles and topped it with the chicken and braising liquid which I cooked down a bit after the chicken was done. I also added bacon to the equation (how can you go wrong, right?) which added a certain richness.  This version of the dish serves 2, so double or triple it if you’re cooking for a larger group.  Here’s how it’s done:

Serves 2

4 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs
2 slices good quality bacon – cut into lardons
1/4 cup good dry white wine
1/2 – 1 cup good quality (low sodium) chicken stock (homemade preferred)
1 medium head fennel – stalks and end removed – layers separated and sliced lengthwise into 1/2″ spears
1 medium carrot – peeled and diced
1/2 a large yellow onion – diced
3 cloves garlic – diced
1/2 cup pitted green Spanish olives
2 peels of lemon zest (cut with a vegetable peeler)
1 tsp. red pepper flakes
1 dried bay leaf
1 tbsp. thyme leaves – off the stalks and chopped
Splash of canola oil
Salt to taste

Season the chicken with a little salt and preheat the oven to 375 F.  Prep the vegetables and heat a heavy bottomed braising pot or dutch oven over medium heat and add the canola oil.  When the oil is almost smoking, add the chicken, skin side down and cook for 5 minutes or so, until the skin nicely browned and crispy.  Flip and sear the skin on the other side for a minute or two.  Remove from the pot and place on a cooling wire rack or parchment paper.

Turn the heat down to medium/low and add the bacon.  Brown it for a few minutes and then add the onions and carrot. Cook the onion mixture for 5 minutes until they become soft and sticky.  Next add the fennel and garlic and cook for a solid 10 minutes until it becomes tender.

Turn up the heat a little bit and add in the wine and let the alcohol cook off for a couple minutes.  Next add in the olives, red pepper, lemon zest, bay leaf and thyme and stir to combine.  Taste the broth and season with salt as needs be.  Add in the chicken stock, then return the chicken to the pot skin side up and place into the oven.

Cook for around 15 minutes until the chicken is cooked through.  Remove the pot from the oven and turn on the broiler.  Place the chicken pot back into the oven under the broiler and crisp up the skin (making sure it’s out of the liquid) for a couple minutes being careful not to burn it.  Serve with the braising liquid over cooked egg noodles or rice or whatever you like.  Enjoy!