Recipe: Curried Chicken Fricassee

After all that turkey and comfort food we've been having lately, this dish was a nice change of pace. It smelled wooonnddeerrffuull while it was cooking and was delicious! This is my own modified version of a recipe I found in a magazine (I modified it so much that I guess I can call it my own!).

8 chicken thighs (about 2.5 pounds), with skin, bones in

1/2 tsp. coarse salt

1/4 tsp. freshly ground black pepper

2 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil

1 Tbsp. curry powder

2 tsp. Tastefully Simple Green Tea Peppercorns

1-1/2 Tbsp. fresh rosemary, chopped

1-1/2 Tbsp. fresh thyme, chopped

3 medium onions, chopped

5 cloves garlic, crushed

1 cup white wine

4 cups chicken broth

8 oz. frozen petite peas

Serve over brown rice

1. Wipe the chicken thighs dry; season with salt and black pepper. Heat olive oil in a deep stockpot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Place chicken (skin iside down) in the pot and cook 6 to 8 minutes, until skin is golden brown. The chicken will give off a lot of it's own fat. Add curry power, green tea peppercorns, and herbs sprinkling evenly over chicken. Stir it around to mix it up.

2. Turn chicken with tongs and continue cooking. Scrap bottom of pot with wooden spoon to loosen the skin off the bottom if it's stuck. After 5 minutes, add onions and continue cooking about 4 minutes, stirring occasionally. Deglaze the pan by adding garlic and wine just enough time to lose its acidity. Add enough broth to cover the chicken, about 4 cups. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, then cover the pot and reduce heat to a simmer.

3. Cook slowly, 1-1/2 hours. Prepare rice (I used organic brown long-grain rice which takes 40 minutes). Cook peas and set aside.

4. Remove chicken and keep warm. Reduce the sauce over high heat until thickened (10 to 12 minutes), season to taste, (hubby suggested I add a bit of corn starch next time to thicken the sauce). Layer rice, then peas, then chicken, then sauce and enjoy!