Braised Chicken with Tomatoes & Lentils

Ingredients

• 1000 g bone-in chicken thighs, skin removed
• 250 g dried Puy lentils, rinsed
• 400 ml chicken stock
• Crusty sourdough bread, to serve
• 2 celery stalks, finely chopped
• 2 carrots, finely diced
• 2 x 400g tins chopped tomatoes
• 1 tbsp tomato purée
• 2 medium onions, finely chopped
• 4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
• 6 fresh thyme sprigs
• 1 tsp smoked paprika
• 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 2 bay leaves
• fresh flat-leaf parsley, chopped, to serve

Method

1. Pat the chicken thighs bone-dry with kitchen paper — water means steam, and steam means no browning. Season generously all over with salt and pepper. This is your foundation seasoning; don't be shy.
2. Heat the olive oil in a large, wide casserole over a high heat until it shimmers. Lay the thighs in skin-side down and brown for 4 minutes per side until deep mahogany gold. Work in two batches — crowd the pan and the thighs steam in their own juices instead of building that crust. Set the browned chicken aside on a plate.
3. Reduce the heat to medium. Tip the onion, celery, carrot, and red pepper into the same pan with a pinch of salt — they'll lift the brown stuck bits off the base as they release their water. Cook for 8–10 minutes, stirring regularly, until the vegetables have softened and the onion is translucent with edges just starting to catch.
4. Stir in the garlic, tomato purée, and smoked paprika. Cook for 60–90 seconds, stirring constantly, until the garlic is fragrant and the paprika smells warm and woody — don't let the garlic colour past pale gold or it'll turn the whole braise bitter. Bloom the spice into the oil; raw paprika tastes dusty, bloomed paprika tastes of itself.
5. Add the Puy and red lentils and stir to coat them in the spiced base. Pour in the chopped tomatoes, the chicken stock, and the balsamic vinegar — the stock is what breaks the tinned tomatoes down into something that tastes of fruit rather than tin. Nestle in the thyme sprigs and bay leaves.
6. Return the chicken thighs to the pan, skin-side up, pressing them down so the lentils come halfway up the sides but the skin stays proud of the liquid. Bring to a steady simmer, cover, and cook over a low heat for 35 minutes.
7. Lift the lid. The Puy should be tender with a slight bite, the red lentils collapsed into the sauce, and the braise thick and glossy around the chicken. If it's looking wet, simmer uncovered for another 5–8 minutes. Fish out the thyme stems and bay leaves.
8. Taste the sauce, and taste it properly — adjust salt and pepper now, at the pan, not at the table. A second splash of balsamic vinegar wakes everything up if it's reading flat.
9. Serve straight from the pan: scatter the chopped flat-leaf parsley generously over the chicken and lentils, and bring crusty bread or a bowl of mash to the table for mopping the sauce.