Description
This recipe uses what I had hand in the fridge or freezer. I assume you will have some of the items at the ready. I’d be shocked if you have all of them. That’s not the point. This isn’t a follow-along recipe. It’s a reach-in-and-grab demonstration. Dinner shouldn’t be prescriptive. Improvise. Let your imagination fly and see what meal emerges from the oven once heat and time have worked their magic.
Scale
Ingredients
- 3 pounds chicken breast, bone in, skin removed (this would work for thighs as well)
- 2 tablespoons oil
- 2 onions, peeled and sliced in half moons
- 2 carrots, peeled and cut in large pieces
- 2 cloves garlic, crushed
- 3 sprigs fresh thyme
- salt and pepper
- 1 cup (about 1/3 bottle) fruity dry white wine (pinot grigio)
- 1/4 cup pear ice wine (pear nectar or apple juice will do if you don’t have it)
- finely grated zest of 1 lemon
- juice of 1/2 lemon
- 1/4 cup cream
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 300°F.
- In a heavy Dutch oven, heat the oil over medium-high. Place the fleshy side down and cook for a few minutes until golden. Set the chicken aside on a plate. Add the onions, carrots and garlic. Cook until the onion begins to brown, about 5 minutes. Nestle the chicken breasts in the onions, bone side up. Be sure to add any juice that escaped while the chicken rested. Tuck the thyme in with the breasts. Give a good grinding of salt and pepper. Add the wine and the ice wine (or juice). Cover and cook 90 minutes to 2 hours or until the meat is fall-off-the-bone tender. The time will vary with how big your chicken breasts are.
- Remove the chicken from the cooking liquid and place on a plate with a rim. Place a fine mesh sieve over a bowl and strain the cooking liquids through it, pressing the moisture out of the onions and carrots with the back of a ladle. Return the strained liquid to the Dutch oven and place over medium to medium-high heat. Add the zest and lemon juice and bring the mixture to a gentle boil. Reduce heat to a simmer. Add the cream and any juices from the resting chicken. Whisk in to combine and taste, adjusting salt and pepper as needed.
- Gently, pull the meat from the breast bone, then cut into thick slices. Return the chicken slices to the sauce. Serve immediately.