Chicken Thighs Make Me Feel Good, And They Are Almost Always Delicious

Chicken thighs — bone in and skin on — have been on heavy rotation at The Brockhaus home kitchen lately. I prefer dark meat — thighs and legs over breast for me (though I do make an exception for the perfect scaloppine made with chicken breast, second only to veal in my book for this) — and cooking pieces of poultry that have not been deboned almost always results in more flavorful dishes.

I like to trim the excess skin from the thighs, pat them dry with a towel, place them on a rack on a quarter sheet, and season them liberally on both sides with salt and black pepper (and other spices and herbs, depending on what I’m making.) We let them rest for 20 minutes or so while we do other prep work.

A few nights ago I decided to make what I’ll call chicken puttanesca. I had thighs, and I had some olives, green and black, and capers. The thighs, prepped as noted above, I put skin-side down in a large skillet that contained a tablespoon of shimering olive oil. Heat was medium high. Be patient, don’t manipulate the chicken; when the skin is ready it will release from the skillet. Six or 8 minutes should do it. Flip, brown the other side. Remove the chicken to a plate.

Which Onion Should I Choose?

You’ll have thinly sliced an onion — I used a white onion, but red works as well. In addition, 10 garlic cloves are sliced razor thin, and a red and yellow bell pepper are sliced. If you want, and if necessary, remove all but a few tablespoons of fat from the skillet, but know that that liquid is full of flavor. Add the onion slices and soften them for a few minutes, stirring a few times; add the peppers and cook for 5 more minutes. Then throw in that garlic and a teaspoon or so of fresh crushed red pepper, more if you like it hot, because some do. Cook for three minutes more, then push the mixture to the side of the skillet and squirt some tomato paste into it. I say 2 tablespoons of it. Stir the paste for 4 minutes.

Time for tomatoes. Don’t fret if you can’t get ahold of fresh tomatoes, but if you can, use them. (Score a small “x” on one end of each tomato, boil for 45 seconds or so, then put them in an ice bath until they are cool enough to peel. I won’t judge you if you skip the seeding process. Use about 30 ounces of tomatoes.) I had a 28-ounce can of whole San Marzano tomatoes, and I crushed them in my hands over the skillet. Keep some chunks in your sauce, this is not a thing over which to stress. Once the tomatoes and juice are in the mix stir everything, being sure to scrape the bottom of the skillet. About 5 minutes later I am in the habit of adding a cup of good red wine, perhaps a Chianti or a tempranillo. Stir and let simmer for another few minutes, at medium high.

Here come the olives and capers. I prefer 1 cup of olives, whole, and 3 tablespoons of capers. Put them among the chicken mixture and stir it all. The thighs can now go back into the skillet; tip the plate they were resting on over the skillet, because you don’t waste the liquid. It tastes good. Oh, I forgot to write that I from time to time add some chicken stock along with the tomatoes and wine. This time I did, because I had made stock earlier in the week and needed to either use or freeze it. Lower the heat to low, partially cover the skillet, and simmer for 20 minutes or so. When done, if the sauce is too thin, remove the chicken and raise the heat for a few minutes, cover off, to thicken the sauce. Taste and season.

Rigatoni or Polenta? You Decide

Now you decide how you’ll serve this. I like rigatoni, or another tube pasta, as the sauce plays well with that, and that’s what I did on that evening, but polenta is another option. Crusty bread? Yes. Sprinkle some Italian parsley over the bowls, and grate some Parmigiano-Reggiano over it all. Drizzle some good olive on this if you like that. I’ve served to this many people, and they all, with the exception of one individual, still like me. Pair with that Chianti.