Chicken Provençal

Comfort foods evoke different images with different people. Sometimes it’s a dish from childhood. Sometimes it’s a food that’s creamy, rich, and filling. For me, it’s anything from Southern France or Italy – fresh pasta dishes, crepes, croissants with butter, slow-cooked meats, seasonal vegetables cooked in herbs and olive oil. These are dishes that make me feel warm and comfortable. One of my favorite recipes that fits this mold is Chicken Provençal. Not only is it quick to prepare and incredibly delicious, but the smells of roasting chicken, vegetables, and an herb mix that includes lavender, fennel, basil, and thyme, your home will smell as if you’ve been transported straight to the Mediterranean. 

Preparing this dish is a breeze. After slicing your vegetables, you can throw them directly into the baking dish, sprinkle on the seasonings, and toss everything until it’s blended. The only dirty dishes end up being a cutting board, measuring spoons, a knife, and the baking dish.

The vegetables in this dish can be customized to your taste, but I highly recommend using the ones in the recipe. If you don’t like one thing in particular, throw it in anyway and let it cook with the other vegetables so it can lend its flavor. You can easily pick them out after cooking. 

My chicken preference for this dish is a whole cut-up chicken, bone-in, and skin-on. Not only is it cost effective, but bones and skin add extra moisture and richness to a meat that has a tendency to dry out when cooked for a long time. The vegetables will also render their juices, so even if you decide to go the boneless, skinless chicken breast route, the meat will still be juicy. 

After you rub the spice mixture onto the chicken, nestle it in with the vegetables and roast it for one hour.

I like to serve this with basic white rice that’s had olive oil added while cooking. The rice will soak up the pan juices and act as a starchy platform for the vegetables. This dish is perfect for any situation: a quiet evening in with your favorite TV show or as the crowd-pleasing centerpiece of a dinner party. Bon Appétit!


Chicken Provencal   [Serves 4-6]

Ingredients:

• 1 pound tomatoes (3 to 4 medium), cut into 8 chunks
• 1 large onion, cut into wedges
• 1/2 cup drained Kalamata olives, pitted and halved
• ·4 large garlic cloves, sliced, plus 1 teaspoon minced
• 3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
• 2 teaspoons Herbes de Provence, divided
• 1/2 teaspoon fennel seeds
• 3 1/2 lbs of chicken [I use a cut up whole chicken, bone-in, skin-on. You could use just thighs, just breasts, skinless, skin-on or any combination.]

Directions:  

Preheat oven to 400°F.

Toss together tomatoes, onion, olives, sliced garlic, 2 tbsp oil, 1 tsp Herbes de Provence, fennel seeds, 1/2 tsp salt, and 1/4 tsp pepper in a 9”x13” baking dish.

Stir together minced garlic, 1 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp pepper, remaining tsp Herbes de Provence, and remaining tbsp olive oil. Rub mixture all over chicken pieces and nestle into baking dish with vegetables.

Roast for about one hour. 

Note: I’ve never had problems with any of the chicken cooking through at this time and temperature. If you want to make sure, use a thermometer to make sure the chicken’s internal temperature is 165°F. Or just cut into the thickest pieces of the chicken to make sure the inside is void of pink.

Adapted from unknown source