Easy Braised Chicken

I brought leftovers of this into work and my coworkers oohed and ahhed about my “gourmet” cooking. One of them had chicken and white rice for his lunch and commented that he was embarrassed to eat it next to me and my fancy dinner. Really, my dish was probably easier than his since everything is just thrown into one pot!

My mom used to make this for us when we were kids. She would throw chicken legs and chunks of potatoes, onions and ton of fresh herbs together for a quick, easy dinner. She didn't even brown the chicken first! She'd slosh some olive oil in a cold pot with a pat of butter and put everything else in on top of that and simmer it. I like to brown my chicken and add a little more liquid to mine than she did, and I'll sub out the potatoes for other root veggies that look good. This week, I used some cute little golden beets I picked up at the farmer's market. I also really like onions, so I probably add more than is strictly necessary. I'll slice an onion and saute it and eat it as a side dish, so I may be a little extreme with the onion love. I'm also a big fan of carrot greens. They taste like if parsley and carrots made a baby and worked really well in this dish. The only reason I didn't also add the carrots was I thought it might be too sweet with the beets. If I'd used potatoes, I would have cut up and added the carrots in there, too.

When I asked my mom about this dish the first time I decided to make it, she said the key was to use “a ton” of fresh herbs. “Like more than you think you should use.” As with most family recipes, there aren't exact measures, so put in what you have and what you like.

Look how pretty those beets are! I kept a part of the stem attached because beet greens are also delicious.

Easy Braised Chicken and Vegetables

1 chicken cut into leg quarters and breast. Save the wings and back for stock

1 bunch of beets peeled and cut in half or quartered, depending on size (you can also use 4-6 small potatoes, quartered)

Greens from the beets, coarsely chopped

1 large onion, sliced (I like irregular slices so some melts into the sauce and others still have some texture)

2 or 3 cloves of garlic, minced

½ a bunch of parsley leaves, coarsely chopped

tops from 2 carrots, coarsely chopped

handful of fresh sage

several sprigs of thyme

1 sprig of rosemary (I'm not a huge rosemary fan, so I used maybe half a sprig, add more if you like it.)

1 cup of beer, tomato juice or sauce, chicken stock or white wine

If you're not using tomato juice, you'll want to add a tablespoon or so of tomato paste.

Season the chicken with salt and pepper and brown over medium heat. Remove chicken from pan and set aside. 

If you're using tomato paste, add it to the skillet and let it cook for a 30 seconds or so. Add in the onions, garlic, beets. Nestle the chicken into the onions. Top with your parsley and herbs and cooking liquid. Bring to a boil then reduce to a simmer. Cover but leave it vented so the liquid can reduce. Simmer for 20-30 minutes, until chicken registers 165 on a cooking thermometer, or until the juices run clear. In the last 5 minutes of cooking, stir in your beet greens. Enjoy!