Braised Chicken

With Green Tomatoes

by LEON BOUTEILLER

The end of the growing season is almost here. There are some vegetables in the garden that may produce a little bit longer but a killing frost could be near. No longer will you contend with too many zucchini and pole beans. The pumpkins and winter squash will find a home in your pantry. The last flowering shrubs and perennials will give their last hurrah. Some of the produce at the local fairs is looking sparse and a bit tired.

One crop that always seems to suffer a short growing season is the tomato. There can be an abundance of fruit that didn’t get enough time to ripen. Some may ripen after picking to save them from frost if they display a hint of color. The really firm and deep green ones will probably never ripen; they suffer a slow decay on the window sill.

But wait! There are many uses for these hopefuls and some are as good or better than with ripe tomatoes. We all know about fried green tomatoes and green tomato pickle. There is also green tomato chutneys, jams and green tomato pie, an apple pie that you substitute apples and with green tomatoes. Done deal.

Today I introduce another way to prepare green tomatoes. Use them in a braise for chicken as you would ripe tomatoes. I chose chicken but it could have been pork shoulder or lamb. It is much like a cacciatore or green herbal sauce for pasta using most of the same seasonings for a marinara. I created a braising sauce with a background of chutney flavors to be cooked like a stew in a Dutch oven. If cutting a whole chicken into ten pieces is too daunting then purchase an equal amount of bone-in chicken legs and breast. The hardest part, you separate the legs from the thighs and cut the breasts in half. Here is a really delicious braise of chicken.

BRAISED CHICKEN with GREEN TOMATOES
Serves 4 or 5

Ingredients:

  • 1 whole chicken, about 4 pounds, cut into ten pieces

  • 1 ½ pounds green tomatoes, cored and cut into 1/2 to 1 inch chunks

  • 1 large Spanish onion, chopped, about 2 cups

  • 1 cup diced celery

  • 1 red bell pepper cored and cut into 1/4 inch dice

  • 2 cloves garlic, minced

  • 1 cup white wine

  • 1 cup chicken stock

  • ½ cup dry currants or raisins

  • 2 tablespoons brown sugar

  • 2 tablespoons cider vinegar

  • 1 tablespoon mustard seed

  • 3 bay leaves

  • 1 teaspoon dry thyme

  • 1 teaspoon dry sage

  • 1 ½ teaspoons kosher salt

  • 1 teaspoon black pepper

  • ¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper

  • ¼ cup neutral oil

  • 2 tablespoons olive oil

  • Dredge for the chicken: 1/2 cup AP flour, 1 teaspoon fine salt, 1 teaspoon black pepper

Method:

  • Heat a Dutch oven over medium high heat with the neutral oil

  • Dredge the chicken in the seasoned flour. The easy way is to place the dredge in a plastic Ziploc bag along with the chicken and give it a shake. Shake off the excess flour and brown the chicken in the hot pan, half of the pieces at a time. Do not crowd the pan so you get a good browning. When you’re done just toss the bag in the trash.

  • When all the chicken has been browned top and bottom, remove the chicken to the side and drain the fat from the pan, careful to drain it into a heat proof container until it’s cool

  • Return the Dutch oven to medium high heat with the olive oil

  • Add the onion, red pepper, celery and garlic to the pan and cook until the onion has started to brown around the edges

  • Add in the wine, stock, vinegar, currants and all of the seasonings. Give ia stir to combine and then add the green tomatoes and stir again

  • Nestle the browned chicken into the green tomatoes so that the pieces are mostly submerged

  • Bring the whole thing to a strong simmer, lower the heat to low, place the cover on the pot and walk away for 35 to 40 minutes. By this time the chicken should be cooked through. Remove the chicken pieces from the braise and keep them warm in a low oven

  • Turn the heat up to medium high, uncovered, and cook until the sauce has reduced by 1/3 to 1/2 depending on your desired consistency. Stir fairly often to prevent sticking and burning.

  • Adjust the sauce for seasoning, remove the bay leaves and return the chicken to the pot. Keep warm until time to serve.

This braise is to be served with rice or another cooked grain. You could use mashed potatoes. Just another way to find a good use for those green tomatoes.

Enjoy!

Leon G Bouteiller was born and raised in Northwest Connecticut. He has held several jobs as chef in the community. He is now retired and living in Cornwall with his wife Patrice and a love of the outdoors. They are joined by their pets, a Greater Swiss Mountain Dog named Banjo and two rescue cats called Ricky and Lucy.

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