Chicken thighs, tomato, garlic, shallots and white wine come together in a big way with this slow-braised dish. Think of it sort of like chicken cacciatore.
Add the flour to a large, shallow bowl. Generously season with salt and freshly ground black pepper.
Heat a large oven-proof Dutch oven over medium to medium-high heat.
Meanwhile, start dredging the chicken thighs in the flour mixture.
Once the pan is hot, add enough oil to lightly coat the bottom of the pan. Add the chicken, skin-side down (you may have to cook a few batches). Let the chicken cook on the first side until golden brown. Flip over and continue to cook on the other side until golden.
Once all of the chicken has been browned, remove the chicken from the pan and set aside. Turn off the heat, remove any excess oil and reserve the pan for later. Do not wash out the pan.
*You may be tempted to use boneless, skinless thighs, but we encourage you to use bone-in, skin-on, as the fat and bone add flavor, moisture and texture to the final dish.
At this point, preheat the oven to 200 °F (95 °C). If you are short on time, you can cook the dish using higher heat. See the drill-down on “Oven Temperatures for Combination Cooking”.
To start, peel and émincé the shallots and garlic. Next, drain the sun-dried tomatoes if necessary.
Mince the sweet-spicy peppers. If you cannot find sweet-spicy peppers, you can use pickled, hot banana peppers. You can also substitute 1/4 tsp or so of crushed chili flakes.
Next, strain and de-seed the tomatoes (reserve the juice for later). Roughly chop the tomatoes and set aside. Lastly, measure out the white wine.
Heat the same heat-proof casserole dish to medium. If needed, add a bit more oil to lightly coat the bottom of the pan. Add the shallots and garlic. Sauté for about 30 seconds, just long enough to bring out their aroma. Deglaze with the white wine.
Once the wine has reduced, add the sun-dried tomatoes, spicy peppers and chopped tomatoes. Stir everything together and add the bay leaves. Lower the heat if the sauce starts to splatter.
To assemble the dish, place the chicken skin-side up onto the sauce (preferably in a single layer).
To finish, top up with chicken stock to cover the chicken by about two-thirds. If you need a bit more liquid, you can use the reserved tomato juice until you reach the two-thirds mark.
Bring the liquid to a gentle simmer. Cover and place into the oven for about 2 hours, or until the chicken is cooked through and fork tender.
If you choose to cook the dish at a higher oven temperature, this will take less time to cook.
Once the dish is cooked through and tender, taste for seasoning. Let sit for at least 15 minutes before serving.
This dish is great served with soft polenta, mashed potatoes or even fresh pasta.