Provencal Sauteed Chicken

South-of-France comfort cooking at its most generous. This Provencal sauteed chicken builds layer after layer of flavor in a single Dutch oven: bronzed chicken pieces, salt pork rendered to golden cracklings, sweet softened onion, white wine, and tomatoes simmered with thyme, garlic, and bay until the kitchen smells like a Marseille bistro on a Sunday afternoon.

A handful of brine-cured olives goes in late, along with a shower of fresh basil right at the end so it stays bright green and fragrant. The reduce-the-sauce step is what separates a good braise from a great one. Boil it down hard until the liquid tightens up and concentrates around the chicken, glossing every piece.

Serve with crusty bread or buttered pasta to catch the sauce.

Chef Tips

• Pat the chicken bone-dry before browning. Wet skin steams instead of crisping and you’ll lose the fond that flavors the whole dish.
• Brown in batches with space between pieces. Crowding drops the pan temperature and you’ll end up with gray, flabby skin.
• Use a wine you’d actually pour into a glass, like a dry Provencal rosé or a crisp Sauvignon Blanc. Cooking wine ruins it.
• Reduce the sauce uncovered and aggressively. The 25-minute boil concentrates flavor and tightens the texture.
• Add basil at the very end. Stir it in off the heat so the leaves don’t turn black and bitter.

Variations

• Stir in a tablespoon of capers with the olives for an extra briny pop.
• Use Italian pancetta or thick-cut bacon if salt pork is hard to find.
• Add chopped fennel or a strip of orange zest with the onion for a more aromatic profile.