Chicken Provençal

Fall off the bone tender chicken, sweet burst tomatoes, aromatic herbs, and briny olives make this classic French Chicken Provençal a feast for all of the senses. This easy braised chicken recipe is a true celebration of beautiful ingredients while only requiring a few simple steps. So, pop open the rosé and let’s take a trip to France.

Food has the magical ability to transport you to another place. Whether it’s Jamaican Jerk Chicken putting you in an island state of mind and taking you to the tropics, or this dish from the south of France, cooking is a great way to experience other cultures and places.

This braised chicken dish is a celebrations of ingredients that make the region of Provence so special. Delicate shallots, fragrant fresh herbs like thyme and dried herbes de Provence with the floral pop of lavender, and of course bright wine. This is a humble dish that is total comfort, yet elegant and perfect for entertaining.

Why You’ll Love This Dish

• Budget Friendly – If you are looking for an inexpensive dish to entertain with, this is it. Using more economical cuts of chicken like bone in chicken thighs, you can easily feed a crowd without breaking the bank. You can also easily swap out the chicken thighs for leg quarters, drumsticks, or a whole cut up chicken.
• Easy Process – The most labor-intensive portion of this recipe is actually peeling the shallots. This recipe is easy and totally forgiving as the process of braising the chicken ensures that it stays juicy and moist. It can easily be broken down into three simple steps…sear, assemble, and braise. That’s it!
• Simple Ingredients – The only ingredient you may not already have in your cooking arsenal for this recipe is herbes de Provence. Aside from the chicken the rest of the ingredients can almost all be found in produce aisle.
• All about the texture – The combination of using bone in chicken combined with the hard sear to create that crispy skin, and braise which not only infuses flavor but also texture ensures that this chicken remains irresistibly juicy.

Provençal Cuisine

Provence is a region in the south of France with a warm, dry Mediterranean climate. Its rugged geography is ideal for grazing sheep while its plentiful coastline offers up a bounty of seafood. Between the climate and geography, some of the greatest food gifts from Provence are olives, olive oil, wine such as rosé, garlic, tomatoes, and herbs.

You have probably heard of some of the most famous dishes from Provence, or even devoured and relished them. We can thank Provence for the garlicky, creamy creation that is aioli. For all of my Disney lovers, the stewed vegetable dish ratatouille hails from Provence. And perhaps the most well-known and my favorite dish from Provence, salade niçoise. Provençal cuisine is truly about beautiful ingredients prepared with love, but simplicity in a way allowing them each to shine.

Ingredient Tips

• Herbes de Provence add incredible depth of flavor to the chicken. Different brands will contain different combinations of herbs but will always include lavender. Other common ingredients in herbes de Provence include thyme, marjoram, and savory. This is a chunkier herb blend so I like to crush it in my hands to wake up the flavors and also make it easier to adhere to the chicken.
• Grape tomatoes are readily available year round and add both sweetness and acidity. Feel free to use cherry tomatoes if those look good.
• Don’t be alarmed by the amount of shallots in this dish. They wilt down and become incredibly sweet. If your shallots are huge feel free to just use four but for smaller shallots go with six.
• Skip chopping the garlic and toss the cloves in sweet. They not only hold up better during the braising process but offer a more mellow flavor than minced garlic. Plus, they become jammy and beg to be spread on crusty bread once the dish is done.
• Hit up the olive bar at your local grocery store for the olives. For the most depth of flavor use a combination of olives. Buttery Castelvetrano, nutty Niçoise olives, and rich Liiguria olives are three of my favorites but use what you love.
• Not all canned artichokes are created equal. Some of them are a little too fibrous and wood. I love canned baby artichokes for the best texture. But again, use what you like.
• Pick a dry white wine for this such as Sauvignon blanc, pinot grigio, or an unoaked chardonnay.

How to Make Chicken Provençal

• Season the chicken. Lightly crush the herbes de Provence and mix them with kosher salt, pepper, and crushed red pepper flakes if desired. Sprinkle the seasoning mixture over both sides of the chicken. If possible, allow the chicken to refrigerate on a baking rack fit into a baking sheet for at least an hour. This will not only dry out the skin but allow the flavors to permeate into the meat.
• Preheat your oven and heat up your skillet. Preheat your oven or grill to 400 degrees. Heat a large braiser or oven safe skillet with a lid over medium high heat and add the olive oil. Let it heat through. If cooking this on the grill, make sure you prepare your grill for indirect cooking, either banking your charcoal to the sides to leave the center of the grill as a cooler zone, or only lighting 2-3 burners on a gas grill. You don’t want direct heat under your pan as it’ll cause the liquid to evaporate too quickly.
• Sear the chicken. Place the chicken skin side down into the hot skillet. Allow the first side to brown for 5 minutes, or until the skin easily releases from the pan and is golden. Let the second side cook for 3-4 minutes. The chicken will not be cooked through. Remove the chicken to a plate. Wipe out any excess oil.

• Add your wine and deglaze the pan. Add the wine and chicken broth to the hot pan and allow it to simmer for 2 minutes, making sure to scrape up any brown bits from the bottom.
• Assemble the chicken Provençal. Carefully place the chicken into the pan skin side up. Scatter the tomatoes, olives, garlic, shallots, and artichokes around the chicken. Place a few sprigs of fresh thyme on top. Cover the skillet and place it in the center of the oven or grill.
• Allow the chicken to braise. Allow the chicken to braise for 45-55 minutes, checking the chicken at the 45-minute mark. Remove the skillet from the oven when the chicken is between 160-165 degrees.
• Garnish and serve! Squeeze a wedge of lemon over the top of the dish and serve with additional lemon wedges. Garnish with fresh thyme or parsley.

Variations

• Any cut of bone in, skin on chicken will work for this recipe, you simply have to adjust the cooking time. I actually used four chicken thighs and one chicken breast that was cut in half for this recipe. You want everything about the same size.
• Not everyone is a fan of olives. If you absolutely can’t handle olives, leave them out. Add a couple tablespoons of drained capers, or additional artichokes. You may also need a pinch of salt.
• If you don’t cook with wine, that’s ok, use all chicken broth instead. You’ll want to add a generous squeeze of lemon at the end for the acidity.
• Herbes de Provence are a key component to this dish. However, if you don’t have it in your spice cabinet, you can use Italian seasoning for a similar flavor profile.
• Instead of shallots add wedges of sweet onion.

Important Tools

• You’ll need a large oven safe skillet with a lid or braiser for this. You want your chicken evenly spread out with enough room to scatter the rest of the ingredients around the chicken.
• An instant read thermometer is your best friend. Oven/grill temperatures will vary, and cooking time will vary according to how large your chicken pieces are, but the temperature you are aiming for in your chicken remains the same.

Tips From the Beach

• If you have the time, allow your chicken to refrigerate on a baking rack fit into a baking sheet for at least an hour, up to overnight. Not only will your chicken be more deeply seasoned, but it will also help you get extra crispy skin.
• If desired, you can remove the cover of your braiser the last ten minutes of cooking to ensure your chicken is extra crispy on top.
• This is a braised chicken dish. That means it’s not going to be submerged in liquid. It might not seem like a lot once you add all of your ingredients on top of the wine/broth mixture but all of the vegetables will also release a lot of liquid.
• Taste your sauce before serving. The olives and canned artichokes have a lot of salt in them, so you may not need to add any to the sauce.

For more chicken recipes make sure to check out Caesar Salad Grilled Chicken.

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