This lazy version of the French classic still takes a long time to cook, though inactive on your part, but preparing it couldn't be easier; you can do it with one hand tied behind your back (or to a second bottle of Côtes du Rhône)!
| Servings | Prep Time |
| 6 - 8 | 20 minutes |
| Cook Time | Passive Time |
| About 2 hours | 1-1/2 hours |
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This lazy version of the French classic still takes a long time to cook, though inactive on your part, but preparing it couldn't be easier; you can do it with one hand tied behind your back (or to a second bottle of Côtes du Rhône)!
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Ingredients
- 4 ounces pancetta cubitti or bacon
- 1.5 - 2 pounds chicken thighs boneless, skinless
- 12 - 14 ounces frozen pearl onions completely thawed and very dry
- 8 cloves garlic whole and unpeeled
- 1 carrot cleaned and broken in half
- 1 celery rib cleaned and broken in half
- 1 750ml bottle red wine Côtes du Rhône preferred
- 5 tablespoons Brandy VSOP, divided
- 1-1/2 tablespoons tomato paste
- olive oil as needed
- 3 - 4 tablespoons butter divided
- 1 tablespoon flour
- 3 stalks parsley
- 5 sprigs thyme
- 1 carrot top or leafy inner celery stalk optional
- 2 bay leaves
- 1-1/2 t-spoon kosher salt
- 1/4 cup fresh minced parsley
- About 4 ounces mushrooms preferably a“gourmet” blend of shitake, cremini and oyster mushrooms so you can just tear them
- 2 pounds baby new potatoes
Servings:
Instructions
- First begin by padding your chicken very dry with paper towel and seasoning with kosher salt. Set aside. Then, with either a piece of cheese cloth or butchers’ twine, tie up the parsley stalks, thyme, bay leaves and optional carrot tops (cheesecloth works best in my opinion). Set aside.
- Next heat 2 tablespoons of butter in a Dutch oven or some other large, heavy-bottom pot. Heat until melted and sizzling. Add in the thawed and bone-dry pearl onions, season with a little bit of the salt, and cook on medium-high to medium heat for about 7 - 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. You want these to start to caramelize on the outside but make sure they don’t start to burn, in which case turn the heat down.
- Once bronzed, remove them from the pot with a slotted spoon to a separate dish. Tip in the lardon of choice. Bring the pot back up to temp and stir around, cooking the pork pieces (or just crisping them in the case of the prosciutto—see note) and getting their salty fats to ooze out. Once crisped and cooked, remove from the pan with a slotted spoon and let them mingle with the onions while you continue on.
- Remove all but a thin coating of the fat from the pan, but don’t discard yet. Let the pan get hot yet again, adding another pad of butter. Working in two batches, add your dry, salted chicken to pot, “skin-side” (or what was once the skin-side) down. Cook for about 3-5 minutes or just until it becomes golden brown and seared. Flip it over and cook another minute or two on the other side.
- Remove the chicken, discard any fat in the pan, only leaving a thin coating on the bottom, and throw in your celery and carrot, both snapped in half, garlic cloves, and the tomato paste. Stir around to melt the tomato paste down.
- Pour the ¼ cup of brandy into a measuring cup, pour in and stand back in case it ignites. Scrape the bottom of the pan of any crusty-brown bits.
- Continue stirring while you pour in the wine so everything combines. Add the chicken, pork-of-choice, and caramelized pearl onions back in. Throw in the bundle of herbs and bring to a rolling boil. Once boiling, turn down to the lowest flame and simmer for 1 ½ hours – until the chicken is tender and almost falling apart.
- Remove the carrots, celery and herb bundle from the stew, and bring back to a boil.
- In a separate bowl, mash together 1 tablespoon of butter and flour and, once the stew is boiling, plop it into the pot. Stir it to combine and melt the beurre manié. Let it bubble away for 2-3 minutes before reducing the heat to simmer until thickened—about 3 – 5 minutes. If you’re using cremini mushrooms exclusively, they can go in once the beurre manié is whisked in; more delicate blends with oyster and shitake should go in in the last 3 – 5 minutes of simmering, only long enough for you to chop some parsley and grab some bowls.
- Splash in the last tablespoon of brandy, stir and serve.
- You can serve it as it is or with some rustic French country bread, cut thick, toasted and rubbed down with garlic. Or, to really call this a stew, with 2 pounds of baby new potatoes, rubbed down with olive oil and salt and roasted at 400° for 20 - 30 minutes, until they’re crisped on the outside and buttery-soft within. Divide them among the serving bowls and top them with the stew. I know typically we’d put the potatoes in with the stew but roasting them separately keeps them from turning to complete mush. Perfection
Recipe Notes
- In a pinch, desperate for speed and staying true to not having to use a knife, I've bought a package of pre-diced prosciutto from the grocery store. Rather than cooing it for a few minutes to render out any fat, I just tumble it in the pan long enough to crisp it. I know its not the same thing as pancetta or bacon, and it's probably culinary sacrilege to use it, but it gets the job done when you're desperate.
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