Easy French Recipes - How to Make Roast Chicken Provencal

Some French recipes are complicated but quite a lot of them are actually quite simple, including the following roast chicken Provencal recipe. Chicken is combined with tomatoes, basil, onion, garlic, wine, stock, and olives in this recipe and that is all you need to make a very flavorful dish. You can serve it with mashed or boiled potatoes, rice, or French fries.

This recipe serves four people and it is ideal if you are having a dinner party and you want to serve something classy but not too fiddly. So, what does Provencal mean exactly? Provence is a region in the south of France and a recipe, which is tagged with the word "Provencal" or "Provencale" means that it is prepared in the style of that region.

Herbes de Provence

You might have heard of Herbes de Provence, which is a combination of fennel, savory, thyme flowers, basil and more. Thyme is usually the strongest flavor but it depends on the manufacturer. Lavender is added to the American mixes but not the traditional French ones. This herb mix has been around since the 1970s and you can use it to flavor grilled meat, fish, or vegetables.

The cuisine from this region of France has always used a lot of herbs but the people living in the area have always added the herbs separately, rather than using Herbes de Provence from a mix.

The Recipe - Step by Step

What you will need:

3 lbs chicken
2 plum tomatoes
1/2 cup fresh basil leaves
1 onion
1 clove garlic
3/4 cup veal stock
1/2 cup dry white wine
1/4 cup Kalamata olives
Salt and black pepper
How to make it:

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Season the chicken with some salt and pepper and put it in a ten inch ovenproof skillet. Roast it in the center of the oven for twenty minutes.

While the bird roasts, chop the garlic and onion. Pit the olives and slice them finely. Chop enough basil to get two tablespoons and cut the remaining basil into thin strips. De-seed the tomatoes and cut them into quarter inch pieces.

Turn the oven temperature down to 350 degrees F and cook the chicken for a further forty minutes or until a thermometer inserted into the center of a thigh reads 170 degrees F and the chicken juices run clear. Put the chicken on a cutting board and make a loose aluminum foil tent over it to keep it warm.

Pour all the fat except two teaspoons of it out of the skillet and saute the onion for half a minute, stirring it all the time. Add the garlic and saute for another half a minute. Add the white wine to de-glaze the pan, scraping the burnt bits off the bottom.

Simmer the mixture until it reduces by half, and then add the stock. Bring it to a simmer and add the olives and tomatoes. Simmer the sauce for three minutes or until it thickens. Stir in the basil strips and take the mixture off the heat. Cut the chicken into four pieces and pour the sauce over it. Sprinkle the chopped basil over the top and serve.

Chicken is versatile and you can cook it in many different ways, such as finger-licking fried chicken or juicy grilled chicken. A classy chicken Provencal is great for a dinner party but a succulent and easy fried chicken recipe is sure to impress your family tonight.

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