Chicken Thigh & Olive Casserole

• 8bone-in skin-on chicken thighs, about 1.6 kg total
• 150 gpitted green or kalamata olives
• 1 x 400gtin chopped tomatoes
• 200 mldry white wine
• 1large onion, thinly sliced
• 4garlic cloves, sliced
• 2rosemary sprigs, about 10 g total
• 1 tspdried thyme
• 1 tspsmoked paprika
• 2 tbspolive oil
• 1 tbspcapers, rinsed
• Fine salt, to taste
• 250 mlchicken stock
• 1red pepper, diced
• Black pepper, to taste

Method

1. 1Pat the chicken skin dry. Season lightly with salt, pepper and smoked paprika.
2. 2Heat the olive oil in a large, wide casserole over medium-high heat until it shimmers. Lay the thighs in skin-side down in two batches; don't crowd the pan. All eight at once and the temperature drops, water leaches out, and you've stewed the skin instead of crisping it. Brown for 6–7 minutes per batch until the skin is deep mahogany and releases easily from the base. Flip for 2 minutes more, then lift out and set aside.
3. 3Reduce the heat to medium and pour off all but 1 tablespoon of the rendered fat. Add the sliced onion and diced red pepper and cook for 7–8 minutes, stirring now and then, until softened and starting to catch gold at the edges. Add the sliced garlic, rosemary sprigs and dried thyme. Cook for 30 seconds.
4. 4Pour in the white wine and let it bubble hard, scraping up every caramelised stuck bit from the base of the pan with a wooden spoon. Simmer for 2 minutes until the raw alcohol smell has gone and the liquid looks syrupy.
5. 5Tip in the chopped tomatoes and chicken stock. Bring to a steady simmer and taste the sauce. Season now with salt and pepper; the olives and capers will bring more salt later, but the base needs its own backbone.
6. 6Nestle the chicken thighs back in skin-side up, with the skin above the sauce. Scatter the olives and capers around them. Cover with a lid and cook over low heat for 35 minutes, giving the sauce a gentle stir once or twice so the sauce does not catch on the base.
7. 7Lift the lid and cook for a further 10–12 minutes until the sauce has reduced to a glossy, spoonable consistency ; the skin will soften during the covered braise. The chicken is ready when the meat pulls easily from the bone and reaches 75°C for 30 seconds at the thickest part, away from the bone. Fish out the rosemary sprigs.
8. 8Bring the casserole straight to the table.

Per serving

kcal

152

protein

2.4g

fibre

3.2g

carbs

11g

fat

8.9g