the review: braised chicken with root vegetables

I know, I know. It’s spring and this is totally a fall dinner. Last week, we were eating Not Quite Summer Greek Pasta Salad. Pick a season, lady. But trust me when I say that it really is ok to make Braised Chicken Thighs with Carrots, Potatoes and Thyme in your kitchen right now. You will eat it and love it. And your kids will have seconds. Of vegetables. Especially if you let them make the Brussels sprouts on the side.

Why, yes. My sous-chef is dressed like Anna from Frozen.

I may have mentioned (sorry, Mom) that my Mom doesn’t cook a whole lot and therefore doesn’t have all of the accumulated spices that you would find in my kitchen. Paprika is one of those missing spices and it was called for to season the main event in this braised chicken recipe. I’ve never known what paprika does. For the longest time, I thought it was only used to decorate deviled eggs at Easter. Seems I was wrong as I do use it quite often. But whatever its added value, I did not purchase a jar of paprika for this recipe, nor did I purchase vermouth (which I am not sure that I would ever purchase), and the recipe came out great anyway. I also used chicken breast instead of thighs. While I did cut them smaller to cook, I would suggest reducing your cooking time so that the chicken isn’t over cooked. The breast is leaner and has slightly less flavor than the thigh, so adjust accordingly.

This recipe called for an amazing amount of vegetables – one pound of potatoes and eight carrots for four people. I used half of that and we had plenty. I also used half of a red onion instead of a whole. Once again, plenty. I did use all of the broth, wine, and thyme, which made a great sauce for the chicken.

This one-pot chicken dish involved very little prep. The most time consuming step was cutting the fresh thyme, but that can be done while you are waiting for the chicken and vegetables to cook. I prepped my vegetables and onion earlier in the day then threw everything together in thirty minutes. The Brussels sprouts take about ten minutes – sautée in olive oil and garlic with a little bit of lemon juice and salt and pepper. Overall, a well-balanced and flavorful meal that I would definitely make again.