As viewed on The Chew
This will be a dish I will make often. It's such a simple dish to put together, but tastes like a lot of effort been put into this dish. Almost like eating a French-style dinner because of the tarragon herb. A lesson learn is to make sure you check your pantry to see if you have all the ingredients to any recipe before proceeding. A mental check is not thorough enough. I had everything for this recipe, except tarragon. I thought I had it in the pantry, but could not find it. So I had to stop and make a trip to the supermarket just for the tarragon. The oven is preheated, all the meat and vegetables are placed in the roasting pan, the sauce is ready to go, except for that one missing herb. I was thinking to omit the tarragon because I didn't have it, but tarragon is such a unique herb and cannot be substituted with another herb. It's hard for me to describe the unique flavor of tarragon...mild licorice-like...fennel-like?! I know it's commonly used in French cooking. It turns out that I am glad I made the trip to the supermarket just to get this herb to complete this recipe. I love this dish for its simplicity and flavor. Tastes like a home-style French comfort meal.
HEALTHY NOTE: The original recipe uses chicken thighs and drumsticks with the skin. To make this dish healthier, I used entirely chicken thighs without the skin amd remove all visible fat. Since I removed the skins, I decrease the roasting time by 10 minutes.
3-1/2 to 4 pounds chicken thighs with bone (about 9 thighs), skins and all visible fat removed
1 cup frozen artichoke hearts, thawed (6 ounces)
1 medium-size onion, cut into large chunks to match the sizes of artichokes (8.5 ounces)
1 pound cremini mushrooms, halved or quartered
2 tablespoons brown mustard (0.8 ounce)
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil (1.7 ounces)
1/4 cup red wine vinegar (2.0 ounces)
1/4 cup Cabernet Sauvignon wine (2.0 ounces)
1 large clove garlic, minced (0.3 ounce)
1/4 teaspoon dried basil
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
1/4 teaspoon dried tarragon
1 bay leaf
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Position oven rack to the center of the oven.
Lightly salt the chicken on both sides and place skinless-side up evenly in a large roasting pan. I used a Le Creuset roasting pan measuring 9-3/4-inches by 14 inches. Evenly distribute the onions, artichoke hearts, and mushrooms around the thighs and trying not to cover the chicken meat too much. If chicken is covered too much with the vegetables, just lift the chicken up slightly so most of the chicken is exposed (see photo above).
In a small bowl, combine the mustard, olive oil, red wine vinegar, wine, garlic, basil, thyme, tarragon, bay leaf, salt and ground black pepper. Whisk until thoroughly combined.
Pour sauce evenly over the chicken and the vegetables. Bake for about 1 hour and 20 minutes, basting every 20 minutes.
First basting after 20 minutes of baking: I use a turkey baster for basting.
Second basting after 40 minutes of baking.
Third and final basting after 1 hour of baking.
Remove from oven after 1 hour and 20 minutes.
Close up view of the finish dish. Even the chicken thighs looks brown without the skin.
Serve with mashed potatoes and a vegetable side dish. The chcken is moist and delicious; the onions melts in your mouth; the artichokes and mushrooms are roasted to perfection...and the flavor is amazingly delicious. I cannot wait for leftovers tonight.
Yield 4 to 5 servings
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