Chicken Provençal

Well, as not the biggest  fan of chicken, I wasn't blown away by the meat.  Plus the whole on  the bone thing gives me the willies.  I had one tenderloin; the sauce was pretty great.  Not particularly hard to make, but it took much longer than the recipe said.  I didn't delete this recipe, but I an not anxious to make it again. I realized at the last minute I didn't have a starch, so I quickly made some star shaped pasta with butter and parm.


Chicken Provençal

1 T  cooking oil
1    chicken (about 3 to 3 1/2 pounds),cut into eight pieces
3/4 t  salt
1/2 t  fresh-ground black pepper
1    small onion,chopped
4 ea garlic,minced
1/2 c  red wine
1 1/2 c  canned crushed tomatoes with their juice
1/2 t  dried rosemary
1/2 t  dried thyme
1/3 c  black olives,such as Niçoise or Kalamata, halved and
1 t  anchovy paste
1. In a large, deep frying pan, heat the oil over moderately high
heat. Season the chicken with 1/4 teaspoon each of the salt and pepper
and put it in the pan. Cook the chicken until browned, turning, about 8
minutes in all. Remove the chicken from the pan. Pour off all but 1
tablespoon fat from the pan.
2. Reduce the heat to moderately low. Add the onion and the garlic and
cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion starts to soften, about 3
minutes. Add the wine to the pan and simmer until reduced to about 1/4
cup, 1 to 2 minutes. Add the tomatoes, rosemary, thyme, olives, anchovy
paste, and the remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt and simmer for 5 minutes.
3. Add the chicken thighs and drumsticks and any accumulated juices.
Reduce the heat to low and simmer, covered, for 10 minutes. Add the
breasts and cook until the chicken is just done, about 10 minutes more.
Add the remaining 1/4 teaspoon pepper.
Menu Suggestions: Simple roasted new potatoes or boiled green beans
would be excellent with the gutsy flavors here.
Wine Recommendation: There are lots of interesting wines from the
region of Provence that will be ideal with this dish. For a lighter,
summer wine, look for a ros from that region. If you prefer a red, try
a Ctes de Provence.
Food & Wine JANUARY 1997