Anne's Braised Chicken Thighs

Total Time: 1 hr 30 mins Preparation Time: 30 mins Cook Time: 1 hr

Ingredients

• Servings: 4
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 8 chicken thighs
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/4 lb pancetta, diced
• 2 onions, julienned
• 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 1/2 lbs mushrooms, assorted (shitake, oyster, cremini)
• 1 1/2 cups dry wine
• 3 -4 cups chicken stock (low or no salt)
• 1 bunch fresh thyme
• 4 bay leaves
• 1/2 cup almonds, toasted

Recipe

• 1 heat olive oil in a large, deep pan over medium high heat.
• 2 pat chicken skin dry, lightly season with salt and pepper, and add to pan - skin side down.
• 3 when the skin in brown, turn the chicken over and brown the other side. about 4 minutes per side. remove from pan.
• 4 drain excess oil, lower heat to medium, add pancetta and brown.
• 5 add onions, lightly season with salt, crushed red pepper, and cook 8 minutes.
• 6 add garlic and cook for a minute, then add mushrooms, lightly season with salt, and cook for about 5 minutes.
• 7 add the wine and cook until reduced by half.
• 8 return the chicken to the pan, and add enough chicken stock to almost cover the chicken, and the bay leaves and thyme. bring to a boil, and reduce to a simmer and cook about 30-35 minutes. (add more chicken stock or water, if needed.).
• 9 while the chickenis cooking, puree the almonds in a food processor. drizzle in a little oil while machine is running to make a loose paste.
• 10 once the chicken has cooked, remove from pan. stir in the almond puree, bring to a boil and simmer for about 5 minutes. i added a spoonfulf of flour (mixed with a little water to make a slurry) to thicken the sauce, and cooked another 5 - 10 minutes.
• 11 spoon sauce over the chicken.