Poulet au Vinaigre (Chicken with vinegar) is a very easy, very, very flavorful chicken dish. After some simple preparation it  finishes on its own with a braise in the oven, allowing you time to prepare some Quinoa Pilaf to serve it over and a simple Zucchini and Feta salad for the side. A glass of wine (okay maybe two)- a table in the garden and you’re set for the evening!

Poulet au Vinaigre

• 9 bone-in skin-on chicken thighs, rinsed and patted dry
• salt and pepper to season chicken
• 3 Tablespoons butter, divided
• 2Tablespoons olive oil, divided
• 1/3 cup minced purple shallots
• 1/4 cup minced fresh garlic
• 1/2 cup cider or red wine vinegar
• 1-1/2 cups wine of choice, make sure it’s on the dry side and one you would like to drink
• 2 Tablespoons tomato paste
• 1-1/2 cups chicken stock, hopefully home made
• 1-1/2 cups mushrooms of choice(such as button or cremini), cleaned and halved
• 1/2 chopped fresh herbs- combine tarragon and flat leaf parsley in the proportion you enjoy

Preheat the oven to 375F. Melt the 2 Tablespoons of the butter and 1 Tablespoon of the olive oil in a large heavy bottomed skillet- large enough to fit all of the thighs in one layer. Brown for about 5 minutes and turn each piece with tongs to brown all on the other side for an additional 5 minutes. Remove the skillet from the heat and remove the chicken to a large deep casserole that is oven proof. Pour off almost all of the chicken fat from the skillet but leave the browned bits. Put the skillet back over medium heat and add the remaining Tablespoons of butter and olive oil. Add the minced shallots and garlic and sauté stirring constantly until translucent. Add the wine and vinegar and cook for about 10 minutes or until slightly reduced. Whisk in the tomato paste and cook reducing more for about 5 minutes. Slowly add the chicken stock and whisk all together.  Pour the sauce from the skillet over the chicken in the casserole and put the mushrooms on top. Bake for about 40 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through. Serve over mashed potatoes or Quinoa or by itself with a good crusty french bread for sopping the juices.

These are the brown bits you want to leave after pouring off the fat 🙂

Quinoa Pilaf

• 1 cup quinoa, rinsed and drained
• 2 Tablespoons butter or olive oil
• 2 Tablespoons shallots or garlic or a combination of the two
• 2 cups chicken stock, hopefully home made
• 1/2 teaspoon salt (if not using salted pistachios)
• 1/2 cup salted shelled pistachios chopped or other nuts you like

Rinse the quinoa in a fine mesh strainer under cold running water until the water runs clear. Drain well. In a medium to large heavy bottomed sauce pan with a lid, melt the butter or olive oil and sauté the shallot/garlic far a few minutes. Add the drained quinoa and toast until it is slightly golden and dry. Heat the chicken stock to boiling and add it (along with the salt if using) all at once stir the mixture to boiling, cover and turn the heat to low. Leave covered for about 17 minutes and then remove from heat and let rest for five more minutes. Fluff with a fork and add the chopped pistachios.

Zucchini salad

• 1 just picked (or at least extremely fresh) medium zucchini
• the best quality extra virgin olive oil
• juice of one lemon
• freshly ground pepper
• marinated feta*
• Tablespoon of chopped fresh chives

Wash and dry the zucchini- no need to peel it, slice it paper thin on a mandolin or with a sharp chef’s knife. Lay the slices out in a pretty pattern slightly overlapping each other. Drizzle with excellent olive oil and squeeze the lemon juice over top. Grind some pepper over and top with bits of feta. The feta is salty enough so that you probably don’t need to add more salt – taste and adjust if needed. Sprinkle the chives over and serve immediately.

*Marinate the feta by cutting it into cubes and placing in a glass dish or jar. Add olive oil , some peppercorns, a couple of bay leaves and some dried red pepper flakes. Store in the fridge for a few days.

Enjoy!