Description
Let’s be real. If you’re after a precise, lab-tested recipe with exact measurements and predictable results… this isn’t it. I’m the kind of cook who goes with the flow, pours with the heart (and wine), and maybe remembers to write it down later. This is what I did this time. Will it turn out exactly the same next time? Who knows! But what I do know? It was absolutely delicious.
This fed two hungry adults and left enough for about three more. So let’s call it a meal for five… give or take, depending on appetite and how many glasses of wine you pour while cooking.
Ingredients
Units
Scale
- 12 (or maybe 15? Depending on size, I suppose) small/medium shallots. Come to think of it, if I had free choice, my absolute preference would be like 20 cocktail onion-sized whole shallots.
- Like 9 or so chicken thighs
- 20ml Olive oil (I think… How much do you need to brown shallots and chicken, anyhow?)
- 20ml crushed garlic. Personal opinion? With garlic, more is always better!
- 400ml red wine (this is to go into the dish. How much else you want is up to you).
- 75ml Tomato paste
- 1 tin Tomato & onion mix
- Rosemary
- Salt to taste
- Chicken or Steak & chop spice. Or just a bit more salt if you do not have this stuff or do not like MSG.
- Basil (he’s a good friend of mine, so I always ask him over when we are cooking…. OK, OK, that’s a joke! But I do not know how much basil: just enough to lightly spice the chicken).
- 5 Bay leaves. Note: for those of you phonetically inclined: that is BAY LEAVES, not BAILEY’S: you add it to the food, you do not drink it! Well, feel free to drink whatever you want while you are cooking, this is just not an instruction as to WHAT you are supposed to drink.
- 200ml water
- Brown sugar to taste (50ml? Sounds OK to me!)
- 200g smaller button mushrooms. If you cannot find button mushrooms, get larger mushrooms and cut away everything that turns small mushrooms into larger mushrooms. And then use what you cut away as well. Or quarter them if that is easier.
Instructions
- In a large pot, lightly brown/caramelize the shallots in the olive oil. If they are small enough, keep them whole (preferred); otherwise, cut them in half (slightly bigger ones) or quarters (much bigger ones).
- Remove and set aside
- Brown and spice the chicken thighs in the olive oil in the pot
- When almost done: add garlic
- When garlic is sorta kinda roasted: add red wine, water, tomato paste, tomato & onion mix.… Well, really like everything except the shallots and mushrooms.
- BTW: I boil the water before adding, otherwise it cools everything down and that isn’t cool.
- Bring the whole shebang to a boil and simmer enthusiastically for 45 minutes. I keep the pot open to facilitate boiling off excess moisture.
- Add shallots and mushrooms. I do this because I do not like mushy shallots/onions and/or mushrooms.
- Simmer for another 30 to 40 minutes. Once again, I keep the pot open to facilitate boiling off excess moisture and get everything nice and concentrated and super tasty.
Notes
Created, prepared, tried, and tested by my husband (his creation) Esme Slabs from SA Tasty Recipes, Saffas Daily Recipes, and EsmeSalon Homemade Recipes
