Portuguese Braised Chicken

OK. We need to talk, people. If you're a meat eater, you must must must make this dish. This weekend. I'm not even kidding. I'm posting this recipe today so you'll have ample time to go to the grocery and get everything you need to make this. Because really, this is amazing.

I'm been on a big roasted chicken kick lately, but this braised chicken from the most recent edition of Bon Appétit was out of this world! They claim that winter is for braising, and if that lets me eat stuff like this for the next several months, then I'm down with winter cooking. (Even if I keep flirting with the idea of firing up the grill...)

Lucky for me (and my house guests for the weekend), I'm making this again Saturday night! Just thinking about this makes me want to make it right now...

Portuguese Braised Chicken
Source: Bon Appétit February, 2011

1 cup all-purpose flour
1 tbsp plus ¼ tsp paprika
1 3½ lb chicken, cut into 8 pieces
2 tbsp olive oil
1 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes
4 slices bacon, cut into ½ inch pieces
12 pearl onions, peeled
2 roasted red peppers from a jar, cut into ¾ inch strips
6 large garlic cloves, smashed
4 large springs Italian parsley
4 bay leaves
½ cup dry white wine
½ cup sherry
1 tbsp Dijon mustard
1 tbsp tomato paste
1 tbsp butter

Preheat oven to 350°.

Mix four and 1 tbsp paprika with 1½ tsp salt and ½ tsp black pepper. Coat chicken in flour and set aside. In a large heavy bottomed skillet, heat olive oil over medium-high heat. Brown chicken in oil, 3-6 minutes per side. Remove the chicken to a large heavy pot. Add tomatoes, bacon, onions, red peppers, garlic, parsley, and bay leaves.

In the same skillet that the chicken was browned in, add wine and sherry. Bring to a boil and deglaze the pan by scraping all of the browned bits stuck to the bottom. Add mustard and tomato paste and whisk until combined. Pour sauce over the chicken. Cover the chicken and transfer to the oven.

Cook chicken until tender, about 1½ hours. Remove the bay leaves and parsley. Transfer chicken to a platter and using a slotted spoon scoop out the tomatoes, peppers and onions. Return the pot with the sauce in it to the stove and heat over medium high heat. In a small bowl, stir butter and flour into a paste. Add the butter paste to the sauce and stir to combine. Add salt and pepper to taste and cook sauce until desired thickness.

Serve chicken with the delicious, thick sauce, crusty bread and rice.

Enjoy!