Braised Chicken Thighs with Green Olives, Shallots and Prunes by Foodie’s Chef Laura Brennan
November 2, 2021
Prunes get a bad rap. I contend that they shouldn’t be judged so harshly-- they are remarkably soft, sweet and delicious. Many recipes try to by-pass the issue by calling for ‘dried plums’,which is in fact, what a prune happens to be…a dried plum. There’s a richness of simple ingredients in this recipe: whole shallots are braised along with the chicken thighs, carrots, prunes and green olives. The result is a tender braise, in a delicious sauce that can be spooned over mashed sweet or white potato puree.
- Prep: 40 mins
- Cook: 1 hrs
- Yields: 4 to 6 Servings
Ingredients
6-8 pieces boneless & skinless chicken thighs (about 1 ¾-2 pounds total weight)
2-3 tablespoons oil for searing, plus more as needed
Kosher salt & fresh ground pepper
8-10 whole shallots, about ½ pound, peeled but left whole
½ pound carrots, peeled
8-10 pieces whole prunes
¼ teaspoon dried thyme leaves
6-8 whole, pitted green olives
¼ cup dry white wine or dry sherry
1 cup low sodium chicken stock
1 bay leaf
Directions
Pre heat oven to 350 degrees
Pat the chicken dry with paper towels and lay each piece flat on the cutting board. Remove any large, visible pieces of fat. Gently (LIGHTLY) season each piece of chicken with a bit of kosher salt, on both sides. Cut each piece in half.
Warm a Dutch oven on the stovetop at medium-low for a couple of minutes. Increase heat and when pan is hot, add 2 or more tablespoons of oil to the bottom of the pan. Tilt pan to coat the bottom completely. When the oil is shimmering (and before it starts to smoke), carefully lay the chicken pieces in the bottom of the pan. Sear and turn over to sear the second side. Remove each seared piece to a waiting sheet pan. Continue until all the chicken thigh pieces are seared.
Leave about 1½ tablespoons of fat/oil in bottom of Dutch oven. Add the prepared (peeled) shallots, along with a pinch salt and pepper. Stir and turn Dutch oven to low and cover pan. Cook shallots for 3-5 minutes. Maybe they will take on a bit of color.
Cut the carrots into uniform pieces, the shape of the cut is up to you! Add to the cooking shallots and sauté for 3-4 minutes. Add the dried thyme. Deglaze the pan with the white wine or sherry; reduce by half.
Add the seared chicken thighs back to the pan. Add ½ the green olives and the prunes. Add enough chicken stock to the pan to come nearly to the top of the ingredients, but NOT COVER them. Bring to a gentle simmer on the stovetop. Turn off heat.
Cover the pan and put into the pre-heated oven. Braise for 30 minutes and remove pan from oven and turn the chicken pieces over. Put the pan back in the oven and continue to braise for another 25 minutes. Or until the chicken is fork tender.
To thicken the sauce, carefully pour off all the cooking/ braising juices into a separate saucepan. Reduce the liquid until it has some thickness and body. Pour the reduced juices/sauce back over the braised chicken carrots, shallots and prunes.
Taste. Add more salt and/or pepper to your taste. Add more green olives if you’d like. And, I added a small, tiny splash of white balsamic vinegar. Not too much—just enough acid to balance all flavors.
Serve with mashed sweet or white potatoes or rice pilaf or cooked pasta.
