I may do most of the cooking in our house, but I often make my wife do the hardest part. She has to tell me what she wants to eat. Once I get a few ideas out of her I’ll either delve into the archives or hit the net for a new recipe. In this case I had just what she wanted hanging out untried. We had some wonderful small farm free range chicken quarters (legs & thighs) and my secret ingredient request was “Sun Dried Tomatoes”. This recipe came to mind and with a few modifications ended up being quite delicious!
The main change I ended up making was to reduce the use of the chicken fat and butter. The chicken should create plenty of lubrication and I really don’t think the butter adds anything to the party with heavy cream and parmesan already singing in this sauce. But feel free to put it back in if you like. Another change that ended up happening for leftovers was taking the sauce and making it into a gravy with the addition of that missing butter and some flour to make a roux. We drizzled the gravy over roasted veggies and rice tying all the flavors together and making a slightly new dish as well.
Chicken with Sun-dried Tomato Cream Sauce
Serves: 8
Ingredients:
8 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste Olive oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes, or more, to taste
1 cup chicken broth
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/3 cup julienned sun dried tomatoes in olive oil, drained
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon dried basil
1/4 cup basil leaves, chiffonade
Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
Season chicken thighs with salt and pepper, to taste. Drizzle some olive oil in a large oven-proof dutch oven over medium high heat. Add 1/2 chicken, skin-side down, and sear both sides until golden brown, about 5 minutes per side; set aside. Repeat with the second batch.
Drain all of the fat and return 1tsp to the panAdd garlic and red pepper flakes, and cook, stirring frequently, until fragrant, about 1 minute. Stir in chicken broth, heavy cream, sun dried tomatoes, Parmesan, thyme, oregano and basil. Bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer until slightly thickened, about 3-5 minutes.
Return chicken to the pan. Place into oven and roast until completely cooked through, reaching an internal temperature of 175 degrees F, about 20 minutes.
Serve immediately, garnished with basil, if desired.
Modified from Damn Delicious https://damndelicious.net/2014/11/22/chicken-sun-dried-tomato-cream-sauce/