Braised chicken thighs with cabbage and tarragon
If you want to keep up a healthy cadence of recipe publication, folks, I do not recommend trying to learn Kubernetes security fundamentals while winding up your deceased father's estate, then having a brain wobble and going to work for a startup in an entirely unrelated field. In fact, for the aspiring development chefs amongst us, I'd suggest that any two of those might make for a needlessly spicy eighteen months.
Anyway, I'm here now, and I brought brassicas.
This dish came out of trying to cook for one of those cool but pleasant days of this year's nominal summer.
I mean, we fucked the climate and now it's March all year round, with the odd heat wave and cold snap for texture. Sounds like we're braising chicken!
The instructions include a little choose your own adventure, because this will flex around your personal appetite for hassle, so you can shave off a fair bit of prep time.
Ingredients:
Chicken thighs, 8 (or 4 if they're massive, or just however much you'd portion for 4 people)
Savoy cabbage, 1 small or half a large - about 600g
Potatoes, 1 large (about 250g, preferably waxy)
Onion, 1
Tarragon, a few sprigs (about 2tbsp rough chopped leaves, but it's a strong flavour so you do you)
Cider vinegar, 2tbsp
Dijon mustard, 2tbsp
Chicken stock, 250ml
Serves 4.
This is quite sharp, which I like. You can go sweeter by substituting about half of the stock for apple juice.
Actually, this would probably take some wedges of apple, now I think about it. You could probably also swap out the potatoes for a tin of butter beans.
Can you tell it’s been a while since I did one of these? Anyway.
Instructions:
First, decide how fussy you're feeling. I offer three grades:
I ain’t busy, let’s do this
Bone the chicken thighs, fry them on each side, searing each side to start and then lowering the heat to get pervasive crispy browning on the skin side, probably 15 mins total, reserve, and add back for the last 15 mins of cooking.Medium
Leave the thighs bone-in, and quickly sear the skin for extra browning. We're talking 4-5 mins at high heat on the skin side and a quick sizzle on the bottom. Reserve.
The recipe proceeds assuming you're doing this. I take option one, but then we all knew I had zero chill.Bugger this for a lark
Just slap the thighs on top uncooked. The oven will handle browning. Crank the heat at the end for colour.
If you chose #1, get boning. Ahem. Otherwise carry on.
Slice the onions. Shred the cabbage finely - a mandolin(e) is your friend here, although perhaps not at its very finest grade. Cut the potato into small (1cm ish) dice, skin on. Remove the tarragon leaves from the stem and roughly chop.
Heat the oven to 180c
Get some oil hot in a heavy, oven-worthy stew pan and fry the chicken if you chose to. If you did, use the fat and juices etc to cook the onions. If you didn’t, just use oil.
Either way, get the pan to a medium heat and fry the onions for 10-15 mins until softening. Add the potatoes and fry for a couple of minutes, stirring, then the mustard, vinegar, tarragon, and stock. Get it to a simmer and add the cabbage. Depending on the size pan you're using, you may need to do this a few handfuls at a time, as it wilts down a bit to all fit in.
Give it a good mix and lay the chicken thighs on top (unless you picked the fussy option). Put it all in the oven, uncovered, for 30 mins.
At the 30 min point check the liquid level - we want this reduced but not boiled dry so you may want to add a splash of water/wine/apple juice. Add the thighs if you went with option 1.
Give it another 15 mins to crisp up a bit, and serve.
You should have succulent chicken, well cooked cabbage, and slightly sharp juices with that vinous-herbal tarragon tang in heaps.
I serve this on its own, as the potatoes give this a little bit of bulk and body as well as slightly thickening the sauce. But I would not judge you for an instant if you put it with mash. Or chips. I reckon it would be pretty great with chips.