Ingredients

The following ingredients have 4 Servings
  • Extra virgin olive oil
  • 8 chicken thighs
  • Kosher salt
  • 2 onions
  • cut into 1/4-inch dice
  • Pinch of crushed red pepper
  • 2 cloves garlic
  • smashed and finely chopped
  • 2 pounds assorted mushrooms (shiitake
  • oyster or cremini are all great)
  • trimmed
  • cleaned and sliced
  • 1 cup dry white wine
  • 4 to 6 cups chicken stock
  • 1 thyme bundle
  • tied with butcher’s twine
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 1/2 cup whole blanched almonds
  • toasted
  • Chopped fresh chives
  • for garnish

Instruction

  • Coat a large, wide, straight-sided pan with olive oil and bring to high heat
  • Season the chicken generously with salt and add it, skin side down, to the pan—you should hear a big sizzle
  • If you don’t, remove the chicken and wait
  • When you put chicken in a hot pan, the first thing it wants to do is stick there and the first thing you want to do is move it
  • Resist the urge
  • It will unstick itself when it’s ready
  • When the skin is brown and crispy, 5-7 minutes, turn the chicken over and brown the other side
  • Remove the chicken from the pan and reserve
  • Ditch the fat and lower the heat
  • Add another splash of olive oil to the pan and add the onions
  • Season with salt and red pepper and cook over medium heat for 8-10 minutes or until the onions are soft and aromatic; then add the garlic and cook for another 2-3 minutes, stirring frequently
  • Add the mushrooms, season with salt, and cook for 4 to 5 minutes or until soft and aromatic
  • Add the wine and cook until reduced by half, 3 to 4 minutes
  • Return the chicken to the pan, pour in enough stock to almost cover the chicken, and add the thyme bundle and bay leaves
  • Bring to a boil (BTB), reduce to a simmer (RTS), and cook for 30 minutes
  • Add a little more stock if the liquid level gets low
  • While the chicken cooks, puree the almonds in a food processor
  • Once they are ground, drizzle in a little olive oil while the machine is running to make a loose paste
  • Season with salt and reserve
  • When the chicken has simmered for 30 minutes, remove it from the pan and reserve; remove the bay leaves and thyme bundle and discard
  • Stir the almond puree into the sauce and taste for seasoning, adding more salt if needed
  • Bring to a boil (BTB) and reduce to a simmer (RTS) to thicken the sauce if needed
  • Serve the chicken draped with the sauce and garnished with chives