Chicken à la Provençale
Serves: 4
Preparation time: 40 min.
The use of tomatoes, olives and persillade is a recurrent theme in the Provençal kitchen. No wonder, the appeal of fresh tomatoes and the irresistible aroma of garlic, olive oil and parsley make any dish glorious. Poulet à la Provençale is one of many chicken recipes in the Provençal cuisine. It's simple, requires little time to prepare and is a hit at family dinners.
Ingredients:
- 1 frying chicken, about 1,5 kg (3 lb), cut into serving pieces
- salt and freshly ground pepper
- flour
- 4 tbsp (1/4 cup) olive oil
- 1 small onion finely chopped
- 125 ml (1/2 cup) dry white wine
- 750 gr (1 1/2 lb) tomatoes, peeled and coarsely chopped
- 125 gr (1/2 cup) black olives
- 1/2 teasp. dried oregano or 1 teasp. fresh oregano leaves
- 1/2 teasp. dried thyme or a twig of fresh thyme
- 1/2 cup of Persillade (parsley/garlic mix)
Preparation:
Season chicken pieces with salt and pepper. Coat them with flour shaking off any excess. Warm olive oil over medium heat and sauté the chicken pieces (except the breast pieces) until they are golden on all sides, about 10 min. Add the breast pieces and sauté for 10 min. longer.
Transfer the chicken pieces to a platter and keep it warm (foil or oven). Add the onions to the pan, sauté until golden and pour in the wine, scrapping up the bits with a wooden spoon. Raise the heat and continue stirring until all brown bits have dissolved into the wine. Add the tomatoes and salt to taste. Cook over high heat, stirring continuously until excess liquid has evaporated.
Add the chicken pieces, Persillade and black olives to the pot. Coat it all well with the sauce. Warm it up gently, do not let it boil. The fragrance of the Persillade will announce the beginning of a great meal.
Put the chicken pieces in a serving dish and sprinkle it with fresh Oregano leaves (optional). In the Provence this dish would be accompanied by a crusty bread and a good glass of wine.
