Spring Chicken Thighs with Vegetables & Wine
*serves 4-6

I’ve been making this very chicken thigh dish for at least 9 or 10 years now. I love it so very much as an alternative to chicken marsala and even chicken cacciatore. Loaded with fresh spring vegetables in a white wine and herb sauce, this dish is a simple one pan dinner to make on a weeknight but it could easily impress your family or guests on a weekend.

This dish is made with skinless, boneless chicken thighs which are way more flavorful and tender than chicken breasts because they are more fatty. Don’t fear the fat. Fat from meat adds flavor that cannot be replaced through butter or olive oil alone. Paired with light veggies like carrots, onions, peas and string beans this dish has a lightness to it; it’s not heavy or fatty — but juicy, satisfying and bursting with flavor. The additional of herbs and white wine really create a tasty broth and one that doesn’t use flour or any binders to thicken it either.

At the base of this meal are also caramelized onions, which cannot be beat for punching up the flavor profile of a chicken dish. The carrots melt into the onions and chicken in as little as 15 minutes and parboiling the string beans helps to also alleviate cooking time. Look no further than adding a handful of frozen peas in the end and this meal is made in just about 40-45 minutes.

I prepared this dish on a weeknight for my aunt and uncle. It was served with warm, hearty, fresh bread to sop up all of the delicious juices from our plates and the pan. Never waste that pan juice! It can easily be served over a bed of rice or your grain of choice — you can even toss in cubes of potatoes to soak up the broth and make it more starchy if you like.

Here’s the basic ingredient list:
—Boneless, skinless chicken thighs
—Onions
—Carrots
—String beans
—Frozen Peas
—Salt + Freshly ground pepper
—Thyme (fresh or dried)
—Lemon
—White Wine
—Chicken stock

You can begin making this dish by preparing all of the vegetables and chicken. While I sliced the onions by hand, I used a food processor fitted with the slicing blade to get a very thinly sliced carrot. I removed the ends from the string beans and took the peas out of the freezer to thaw.

Next I trimmed some fat from the chicken thighs and, although they are tender, I pounded them out a little bit between two pieces of wax paper so that they were all somewhat even in their respective thickness. I did this for cooking purposes and timing.

I seasoned the chicken thighs liberally with salt, black pepper and thyme — then put them aside. Now, typically I would cook the onions with the carrots, but this time I decided to cook the onions down first since I was making a large portion of this meal and wanted a bit more room in the pan when I added the carrots.

I added olive oil to a large skillet and started to brown the chicken over a medium flame, then I added the onions back in — plus the carrots and a pat of butter — then I tossed everything together.

I added a healthy douse of wine and chicken stock and then covered the chicken thighs, carrots and onions — over a medium low flame — for an additional 30-35 minutes.

Finally, add the peas and parboiled string beans, adjust salt, pepper and add additional thyme and or liquid if necessary and cook for an additional 10-15 minutes until string beans and peas are warmed through.

Spring Chicken Thighs with Vegetables & Wine
*serves 4-6

Ingredients
3 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons of butter, preferred salted
4 medium yellow onions, thinly sliced
1 ½ pounds of boneless, skinless chicken thighs, fat trimmed and pounded
3 teaspoons of kosher salt
1 ½ tablespoons of dried thyme
Freshly ground black pepper
3-4 carrots, peeled + thinly sliced
1 ½ cups wine
1 cup of chicken stock
1 ½ cups of frozen peas
1 10 oz bag of string beans, trimmed and parboiled
Zest of 1 lemon + its juice

Instructions
—Heat 1 tablespoon each of olive oil and butter in a large skillet over medium heat
—Add the onions and sauté until translucent, sprinkle with salt and continue to cook for 10 minutes
—Season chicken thighs with 1 teaspoon of salt, freshly ground black pepper and 2 teaspoons of thyme
—Add additional olive oil to the pan, adding the chicken and begin browning the meat — about 3-4 minutes on each side
—Add carrots and the remaining butter and mix with the chicken and onions, cooking for 5-8 minutes
—Add wine and chicken stock and cook covered for 30 minutes over a medium low flame — be sure to watch the pan to make sure the chicken is not sticking and there is ample liquid in the pan for cooking
—Add the string beans and peas, adjust salt, add additional thyme
—Serve hot with fresh bread or your grain of choice