Special Diet Information

Coumadin® (Warfarin)
This recipe is safe for Coumadin (warfarin) users.

Lactose
This recipe is safe for those who are lactose intolerant.

Sodium
This is a low sodium recipe.

GERD / Acid Reflux
This recipe contains GERD triggers and those with GERD may wish to avoid it.

Gluten Sensitivity
This recipe is safe for those who are sensitive to gluten.

"Let's be honest, we all love a roast, but Sunday lunch could be a huge plate of salade nicoise; it could be eggs benedict; it could be a barbecue. The important thing is you're making an effort, and you're all together." -John Torode

The refrigerator light goes on...

Braising is usually thought of as a cooking technique for inferior cuts of meat. I think that is somewhat misleading. You can braise almost anything - the technique is simply cooking an ingredient in a small amount of liquid. It is most often done in the oven inside a covered pot (but also in an uncovered pot).

The classic braising ingredient is pot roast. Usually a cheaper cut that might be tough, such as beef chuck, is braised in a small amount of liquid such as water, wine or stock. The steam and liquid slow cook the beef and break down the tougher meat slowly. In essence, this is what a slow cooker does at a lower heat with the heat source coming from around the pot much like the way the heat is radiated in the oven. The other classic is a pressure cooker where all of the steam remains in the tightly sealed pot (much like the slow cooker is an countertop braising appliance the Instapot is an electric pressure cooker).

This brings us to this recipe. I love braising chicken thighs. They are inexpensive, tender, super flavorful, and cook pretty quickly with a minimum of fuss. This hardest part of this recipe is slicing the onions. After that it is pretty much dump and stir. The result is great but I have toned the recipe down and after you make it for the first time, try making a version with twice as much black pepper and lemon juice. For some that might be too spicy, but the combination of lemon, pepper, savory braised chicken, and sweet onions is just fantastic. The dish is perfect served over a simple polenta (grits).