Easy Country Captain Chicken

Amarante

Sun, Aug 30 2015, 12:14 pm

This was easy and tasty. It's from America's Test Kitchen's Simple Weeknight Favorites Cookbook.

The explanatory notes are from the cookbook

Country Captain Chicken

Source: America's Test Kitchen. Simple Weeknight Favorites

Serves 4

WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS: Country captain, an old-fashioned, boldly flavored Southern dish consisting of chicken braised with onion, tomatoes, green pepper, fruit, and curry powder, typically calls for bone-in chicken pieces. Since they can take up to an hour to braise, we substitute boneless chicken thighs, cut in half. We also save on ingredients by swapping out the usual mangos and raisins for mango chutney; it adds just the right amount of sweet-tart tang with minimal work. To intensify the flavor of the braise and ensure that this quick-cooking version has the complexity of the long-simmered original, we bloom the curry powder by cooking it in the tomato paste before adding the liquid. Country captain chicken is traditionally served over rice (see recipe for Easy White Rice) and garnished with any or all of the following: toasted shredded coconut, sliced toasted almonds, sliced scallions, diced Granny Smith apples, and even diced banana. Feel free to garnish your version as much or as little as you’d like.

1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 onion, chopped fine
1 green bell pepper, stemmed, seeded, and chopped
5 tablespoons tomato paste
2 tablespoons curry powder
4 garlic cloves, minced
8 (3-ounce) boneless, skinless chicken thighs, trimmed and halved
Salt and pepper
1 (14.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes
½ cup low-sodium chicken broth
½ cup mango chutney

1. Heat oil in Dutch oven over medium-high heat until shimmering. Add onion and bell pepper and cook until softened, about 5 minutes.

2. Lower heat to medium-low, stir in tomato paste, curry powder, and garlic, and cook until fragrant and color deepens, about 2 minutes.

3. Pat chicken dry with paper towels and season with salt and pepper. Add chicken to pot and stir to coat with onion mixture. Stir in diced tomatoes, broth, and chutney and bring to simmer. Cook over medium heat until chicken
registers 175 degrees and sauce is slightly thickened, 10 to 12 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste and serve.