Braised Chicken with Kale

Again, this morning, us New Yorkers, woke up a gloomy, depressing day. Not quite the day for a smoothy and a quick run by the water, but more like the feed your face on the couch and hope no friends stop by and find you with your shirt covered in crumbs kind of day.
It's also a nice day to braise some lunch!
I was craving one of those warm meaty dishes that cook in a big pot for a long time, and fill your whole body up, not just your stomach. So that is exactly what I made.
The best part of these kind of recipes is that you can use so many different ingredient, so you don't have to be too ridged with your grocery list.
I bundled up and went to the store without even thinking about what I was going to actually do. I let the food come to me!  (so to speak)
I got a pack of 6 chicken thighs. To be healthier you can get breasts or skinless thighs.
A package of button mushrooms. (I quartered them)
One bunch of Kale ( I cleaned and roughly chopped)
A medium onion (or 2 small ones cut into large pieces)
Garlic (I used 3 cloves smashed and peeled, but left whole)
One big can of diced tomatoes
Flour (I used gluten free instead of regular, but you can use what you want)
Flat leaf Parsley (finely chopped)

I started by dredging the chicken in seasoned flour while I heated up some olive oil in my iron pot/ dutch oven. The flame was probably on medium high. When all the chicken was ready and the oil was hot I started to sear the chicken. You just want to get it nice and brown on each side. But don't cook the chicken all the way. You'll do that later.

Once all the chicken has been browned up, take them out of the pot and set them aside. Then in the same pot add your onion and garlic. Let them cook for a while, and when the onions start to get a little browned add the mushrooms. Let that keep cooking until the mushrooms have shrunk to about half their original size. You can also turn the heat down on the pot to about medium.
Next add in the tomatoes. Stir everything together and taste. See about salt and pepper and add as needed. I also added a bit of red pepper flakes. As an option you can also add a little wine before the tomato to deglaze the bottom of the pot.
Once everything is were it should be taste wise, add the chicken back to the pot on top of the other ingredients. Cover and drop the heat to a low simmer. Let that cook for about 45 minutes.
Once the chicken is cooked take it out of the pot and add in your Kale. Do the Kale a little at a time to see how much you need. If the liquid seems to not be enough after adding the Kale you can ad a little bit of water or stock if you want.
Thats it! After the kale cooks down, test again for salt and pepper and plate! Use the Parsley as garnish. I would also keep a little lemon close by. I didn't have any, but I felt it could have used a little splash of acidity.

If you happen to have left over kale like I did, make some Kale chips!!! :)











Hope you enjoy! And hang in there... summer will be here soon!!
Oh! And don't forget to add the love!

XO-P

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