Chianti Braised Chicken With Roasted Root Vegetables Two Ways

Posted by Food Rockz Man at 2/12/2008 8:30 AM and is filed under Wine,Cooking Adventures,Root Vegetables,Chicken,Vegetable Sides
Photo of chianti braised chicken with roasted root vegetables two ways—whole and pureed 02/09/08

Over the course of several days late last week, I put together a delicious but simple dish of Chianti braised chicken with roasted root vegetables two ways—whole and pureed.  The dish definitely didn't require "several" days, but sometimes I get lazy.  I began marinating the chicken last Thursday, intending to cook it after work Friday . . . but got home Friday night and instead decided to lay on my couch and watch a movie.  I then spent Saturday wasting about 4 hours in a failed attempt to make molded chocolates for the first time.  I don't really feel like recalling the chocolate disaster at the moment, but I'll tell you all about it sometime soon . . . hopefully in the context of telling you about a gloriously successful molded chocolate making adventure.  Before beginning to clean up my chocolate mess, I threw this dish together and into the oven.  It was done cooking by the time I was done cleaning.  (About 20 minutes of active cooking time and a total of one hour from start to finish.)

Here's what I used for the two-way vegetable side dish (serves 4):
  • 4 pounds of mixed root vegetables—I used radishes, turnips and carrots, roughly chopped into bite-sized pieces if necessary (I used whole radishes, whole baby carrots and some turnips I needed to chop.)
  • 2 tablespoons of whatever hearty herb you have on hand . . .  I used thyme . . . rosemary works well, too.
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1/2 cup chicken stock
  • salt and pepper
And here's how I used it:
  1. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees F.
  2. Scrub the root vegetables clean and chop if necessary.
  3. Toss the vegetables in a bowl with olive oil, herbs, salt and pepper to mix and coat the veggies.
  4. Spread on one or two baking sheets, depending on the size of your baking sheets, so the veggies are in a single layer.
  5. Roast in the oven (along with the braising chicken) until the veggies are soft when pierced with a fork, about 40 minutes, depending on the size of your pieces.
  6. About 5 minutes before the veggies are done, heat the chicken stock in a small saucepan.
  7. Put half of the roasted root vegetables in a blender with the warm chicken stock and blend into a puree—then salt and pepper the puree to taste.
  8. Serve together with the whole roasted root vegetables.
Here's what I used for the chicken dish (serves 4):
  • the breast/legs/thighs of one chicken (breast split, leg/thighs left whole) with skin left on
  • 2 cups Chianti (I used Caposaldo 2005)
  • about 2 cups chicken stock
  • 2 Tablespoons olive oil
  • 2 Tablespoons all-purpose unbleached flour
  • salt and pepper
  • a few leaves of fresh basil
And here's how I used it:
  1. Marinate the chicken pieces in the Chianti and chicken stock in an airtight container overnight.  I used a large Tupperware-like container, but a large ziploc works well, too.  Add the wine first and then add only enough chicken stock to cover the chicken completely.  Put any remaining chicken stock away, you won't be needing it.
  2. Remove the chicken pieces from the marinade and dry them well with paper towels.  Reserve the marinade—you'll be using it as your braising liquid and then to make a pan sauce.
  3. Heat olive oil in dutch oven or other heavy bottomed large pot over medium-high heat.
  4. Brown chicken pieces . . . two at a time will probably work best because they won't brown properly if they're crowded.  This should take about 5 minutes per batch.
  5. Return all 4 pieces of chicken to the pot and add enough of the reserved marinade to cover one-quarter to one-half the height of the chicken pieces . . . you don't want the chicken submerged in liquid, which would be "boiling" . . . we're braising here.  The actual amount of liquid needed will depend the surface area of the bottom of the pot you're using.  Reserve any extra marinade . . . you'll be using it to make a pan sauce.
  6. Bring the braising liquid in the pot with the chicken to a boil, put a lid on the pot and put it in the pre-heated oven.  (I usually put a layer of foil between the pot and the lid to create a better seal to trap the steam for braising.  If you have some foil on hand, try it.)
  7. I cook chicken by temperature, using a simple digital probe thermometer.  (You can pick one up for $20 or less.)  I cook breasts to 165 degrees F and legs/thighs to 175 degrees F—checking the temperature in the thickest part of the piece.  The breasts I cooked were done in 25 minutes and the legs/thighs in 30 minutes.  Another good guide is to cook chicken until the juices run clear.  So if you don't have a thermometer, pull out a leg/thigh, put it on a cutting board and pierce it with a knife or fork to check the juices.  I pulled the two breast pieces out before the legs/thighs and kept them warm by tenting them with foil.
  8. Remove the chicken from the pot and tent it with foil to keep it warm.  Place the pot on the stove top over high heat and add whatever marinade is left.  Whisk in the flour to thicken your pan sauce and continue reducing the liquid until it reaches your desired consistency—this is a matter of personal taste.
  9. Salt and pepper the pan sauce to taste.  Plate the chicken with the roasted root vegetables, drizzle with the pan sauce, top with some fresh basil and pour yourself a glass of Chianti—you're done!

 

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