This recipe usually requires hours to boil, but the boneless chicken version is done much faster.
| Prep Time: | 30 mins |
| Cook Time: | 45 mins |
| Total Time: | 1 hr 15 mins |
| Servings: | 4 |
| Yield: | 4 servings |
Ingredients
- 1 (3 to 3 1/2 pound) whole chicken
- 12 pearl onions
- ½ cup water
- 2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
- ½ teaspoon white sugar
- 4 large mushrooms, cleaned and quartered
- ⅓ cup finely chopped onion
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 ½ cups dry and robust red wine (such as Syrah or Grenache)
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 sprig thyme, leaves picked
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- ¾ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 2 tablespoons red wine
- 1 teaspoon potato starch
- 4 slices bread, crusts removed
- 2 teaspoons canola oil
- 2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh parsley
Instructions
- Cut wings from the chicken, cutting at the joints into 3 pieces. Cut the remaining chicken into 4 pieces, 2 breasts and 2 legs. Remove skin and bones from the breasts. Set breasts aside with the 4 meatier wing pieces.
- Pull of skin from the chicken legs and remove tips from the drumsticks. Cut down each side of the thigh bone and slide your knife under the bone to separate meat from it. Holding the thigh bone, cut all around the joint at the knee and pull out the bones. Add the legs to the breasts and wings.
- Combine pearl onions, water, 1 tablespoon olive oil, and sugar in a large saucepan; bring to a boil and cook until water is evaporated and onions begin to fry, 2 to 4 minutes. Continue cooking and stirring, shaking the pan occasionally, until onions are lightly browned and glazed on all sides, 5 to 7 minutes. Add mushrooms; cook and stir for 1 minute. Remove from heat and cover.
- Heat remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat; add chicken wings and cook, stirring frequently, until lightly browned on all sides, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the legs; cook and stir until browned, 2 to 3 minutes per side. Add breasts; cook and stir until browned, 2 minutes per side. Transfer chicken pieces to a plate.
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
- Place onion in the same skillet used for the chicken; cook and stir for 1 minute. Add garlic; cook until fragrant, about 10 seconds. Add 1 1/2 cups red wine, bay leaves, thyme, salt, and pepper; bring to a boil. Return legs and wings to the skillet; cover and simmer gently for 5 minutes. Add chicken breasts and simmer gently until chicken is no longer pink in the center, about 6 minutes.
- Stir 2 tablespoons red wine and potato starch together in a bowl until dissolved; stir into chicken mixture until sauce is thickened, 2 to 3 minutes. Add pearl onions and mushrooms with their juices; keep warm.
- Cut each slice of bread diagonally in half to form 2 triangles. Trim each triangle into a heart shape. Spread canola oil onto a baking sheet and press bread hearts into the oil so they are moistened on both sides.
- Bake in the preheated oven until croutons are browned, 8 to 10 minutes.
- Dip the tip of each crouton into the sauce; press into parsley until coated.
- Cut chicken breasts and legs in half. Serve 1 breast piece, 1 drumstick or thigh, and 1 wing per person with 2 croutons and spoonfuls of sauce and vegetables. Sprinkle remaining parsley over chicken.
- Substitute 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme for the fresh thyme, if desired.
- Use 2 whole boneless chicken legs and 2 whole skinless, boneless chicken breasts in place of the whole chicken, if desired.
- From “Poulets and Legumes: My Favorite Chicken and Vegetable Recipes” (2016) by Jacques Pepin. Reproduced by permission of Houghton.
Nutrition Facts
| Calories | 691 kcal |
| Carbohydrate | 23 g |
| Cholesterol | 146 mg |
| Dietary Fiber | 2 g |
| Protein | 50 g |
| Saturated Fat | 9 g |
| Sodium | 758 mg |
| Sugars | 4 g |
| Fat | 36 g |
| Unsaturated Fat | 0 g |
Reviews
I know this goes against the “quick” part, but I made this in the crock-pot. Great recipe. Very tasty. I had time to kill.
My husband loved it! I used boned and skinned thighs and breasts. I made mashed potatoes and had buttered French bread on the side. I also used a full bottle of French Grenache (less the glass I drank while cooking) and added 1/4 cup of Cognac for richer flavor. I added frozen carrots at the end. Only part that was time consuming was the pearl onion prep. My local grocery stores do not carry frozen any more. This was truely delicious and I will definitely make it again.
Such a great shortcut to this comfort food classic. I used frozen pearl onions and that cut down on prep time. For the wine, I used a syrah from Washington state, and it tasted great!! Because I didn’t have potato starch, I subbed cornstarch and it worked just fine. I will definitely make this dish again!!