OSSO BUCO CHICKEN

The original recipe served the chicken with polenta, which sounded really good, but I didn't have any, so I served mine over Cream Cheese Garlic Potatoes. I made regular mashed potatoes using some 2% condensed milk and about 1/4 cup of the Philly Cheese cooking creme, Savory Garlic flavor. A rather tasty shortcut.

I did go ahead and include the polenta recipe because I bet it would be delish too!

For step-by-step instructions and photos, visit my Recipes For Divine Living blog.


OSSO BUCO CHICKEN

Ingredients:

Chicken:

• 1 tablespoon olive oil, divided
• 6 chicken thighs (about 2 pounds), skinned
• 3/4 teaspoon salt, divided
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 2 cups chopped onion
• 3/4 cup cubed carrot
• 3/4 cup coarsely chopped celery
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 3/4 cup dry white wine
• 5 cups chopped tomato (about 2 pounds)
• 1 teaspoon dried basil
• 1 teaspoon dried rosemary

Polenta:

• 2 cups 1% low-fat milk
• 1 (14 1/2-ounce) can fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
• 1 cup uncooked instant polenta
• 3/4 cup (3 ounces) grated fresh Gruyère cheese
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

Gremolata:

• 3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
• 2 teaspoons grated lemon rind
• 1 garlic clove, minced

To prepare chicken, heat 2 teaspoons oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Sprinkle chicken with 1/4 teaspoon salt and pepper. Add chicken to pan; cook 4 minutes on each side or until browned. Remove chicken from pan.

Heat 1 teaspoon oil in pan over medium-high heat. Add onion, carrot, celery, and 2 garlic cloves. Cover and cook 5 minutes or until tender, stirring occasionally. Stir in wine, scraping pan to loosen browned bits. Stir in 1/2 teaspoon salt, tomato, basil, and rosemary; bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat to medium-low, and cook 15 minutes.

Return chicken to pan. Cover and simmer 35 minutes or until chicken is done. Uncover and cook 5 minutes or until tomato mixture thickens.

To prepare polenta, combine milk and broth in a medium saucepan; bring to a boil. Remove from heat; gradually add instant polenta, stirring constantly with a whisk. Cover and cook over medium-low heat 2 minutes. Remove from heat; stir in cheese and 1/4 teaspoon salt.

To prepare gremolata, combine parsley, rind, and 1 garlic clove. Serve chicken mixture over polenta; sprinkle with gremolata. DO NOT LEAVE OFF THE GREMOLATA! The layer of flavor it adds is scrumptious.

Note: Chicken thighs stand in well for veal shanks in osso buco; their higher fat content, compared to other chicken parts, lets them hold up to long cooking or braising.

Return from Osso Buco Chicken to Recipes For Divine Living home.