Braised chicken legs with cherry tomatoes

Tomatoes were everywhere at the market this week. Red, yellow, cherry, heirloom, green – it was hard to concentrate on anything else, especially knowing that tomatoes will be the first to disappear from the fall bounty. When I got home I realized I had bought only tomatoes.

The little cherry tomatoes from Keith’s Farm were very ripe and burst from the sun, and they immediately brought to mind a meal prepared by my friend Kate a few years ago: braised drumsticks with cherry tomatoes and lots of garlic. She made it in a large round earthenware dish she had just brought back from Morocco. It was stunningly beautiful and delicious. I’ve never asked Kate for the recipe but I have attempted to recreate it and make it quite regularly.

***

For 4

Olive oil

8 chicken thighs and drumsticks (or alternatively, only thighs or only drumsticks)

2 medium onions (red or yellow)

Cherry tomatoes

7 or 8 whole garlic cloves with skin

2 bay leaves

Fresh basil, marjoram, or oregano according to taste or availability

***

Preheat oven to 350°F (170°C)

In a large skillet heat olive oil and brown the chicken, a few pieces at a time. **When browning meat it’s important not to overcrowd the pan (the meat releases water and if the pan is too crowded it will stew rather than brown) and to let the meat get really nice and brown, which might take 7 to 10 minutes (light golden is not enough to caramelize and bring out the flavors).**

Remove chicken legs and set aside.

Thinly slice onions and add to pan in which you just browned the chicken (with a little more olive oil if necessary). Season with salt and pepper, and cook until golden.

In a large ovenproof dish make a bed with the onions,* add bay leaves and herbs, then the pieces of chicken, which should fit snugly without overlapping. Season with salt and pepper. Poke the cherry tomatoes with a fork or tip of a knife so the juice can escape, and throw them with the garlic cloves over the chicken. Season again. Place in oven and let simmer for about 30 to 40 minutes. The meat should fall off the bone.

*To limit the number of pans used and if the skillet is ovenproof, leave the onions in the skillet, add the herbs, chicken, tomatoes, and garlic, and slide it in the oven.

Roast chicken with lemon and fennel seeds

Spaghetti with cherry tomatoes, mozarella, and basil

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Tags: cherry tomato, chicken, meat

This entry was posted on 3 October 2010 at 20:36 and is filed under Fall, Meat / Poultry, Summer. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.

3 Responses to “Braised chicken legs with cherry tomatoes”

Ingalena Bengtsson Says:
3 October 2010 at 23:16 | Reply
Keep up this type of recipies.
- valerie Says:
  4 October 2010 at 08:31 | Reply
  Thank you, Ingalena. Will do!
Ingalena Bengtsson Says:
3 October 2010 at 23:13 | Reply
Excellent Blog!

Nettle and Quince