Everyone loves a good sale, right? When I saw that this Staub cocotte was discounted, I called my mom and we agreed it was a must for our kitchen. Before getting this Staub, we didn't have a Dutch Oven, so I would call it a justifiable purchase. I desperately wanted to use it, so I looked online for some recipes that require a Dutch Oven, and I found this standout one for Lemon Rosemary Chicken.
This recipe was the perfect new challenge for me, and required me to make a couple adjustments. I haven't worked with meat as much as I have with other foods, so it is a learning process which I love. The recipe calls for 5 bone-in chicken thighs, but we didn't have that, so I used 4 boneless chicken thighs instead. That ended up working better for our family anyways, because with my brother off to college, we only have three people who will eat chicken when it has actual flavor to it. I don't quite understand how my little siblings deny delicious food night after night, but I am still holding out hope that their taste buds will develop.
We also did not have fresh rosemary, and that was an easy fix as well because though we missed out on the freshness, the flavor of the dried rosemary came out nicely. As a general rule of thumb, when substituting dried herbs for fresh herbs, it is smart to add less dried herbs because they tend to be stronger than the fresh herbs. A good conversion for this is for every tablespoon of fresh herbs, use one teaspoon of dried herbs.
We happened to have cannellini beans on the shelf, but the one thing I completely switched for this recipe was that I used Farro rather than Orzo. I love Orzo, but we didn't have any conveniently waiting in the pantry, so I improvised. My go to with Farro is a salad like combination with cucumbers and feta cheese, but it shouldn't be limited to just that! Good thing I substituted the Farro in because without it, the ratio between broth to solid foods would have been too unbalanced. Omitting the Farro completely would have left me with beans, carrots and celery as the hearty part of the stew below the chicken. The Farro added a lovely fullness to the base.
Yields: 5 chicken thighs Active Time: 20 mins Total Time: 1h 20
Ingredients ~
1 tablespoon oil
1 tablespoon butter
5 bone-in chicken thighs, trimmed and patted dry
salt and pepper for seasoning
3/4 cup chopped onion
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup sliced carrots
1 cup chopped celery
1 teaspoon dried rubbed sage
1 tablespoon fresh rosemary, chopped finely
2 cups chicken broth
1 can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
1/2 cup uncooked orzo
1 lemon, sliced
additional fresh rosemary sprigs for garnish
Instructions ~
In a 5 1/2 quart Dutch oven, melt butter and oil over medium high heat. Season both sides of the trimmed, dry chicken thighs with salt and pepper. When the pan is hot, sear the chicken in two batches until both sides are nicely browned.
Remove the chicken from the pan to a separate plate, and drain the excess oil from the pan, reserving about 2 tablespoons in the pan.
Add chopped onions, sautéing until soft and translucent. Add minced garlic and cook for 2 more minutes, stirring constantly. Then add carrots, celery, and herbs. Season with salt and pepper. Sauté 2-3 more minutes and then add chicken broth, scraping the browned bits on the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon.
Add the beans and orzo (or Farro) to the broth, and bring to a boil. Then add the chicken back to the Dutch oven, top with lemon slices, and reduce heat to low so that broth is gently simmering. Cover and cook for 25-30 minutes, or until chicken is cooked through (with an internal temperature of 165 degrees F) and orzo (or Farro) is tender. Taste the broth for seasoning and add salt if needed.
Place each chicken thigh in a shallow bowl, and ladle a portion of the beans, orzo (or Farro), veggies and broth in each bowl. Garnish with rosemary and lemon slices if desired.
Recipe From: Lovely Little Kitchen
Comments