Mediterranean Chicken with Saffron and Smoked Paprika
This dish has all the flavors of Spain! It does have quite a few ingredients, so be sure to gather those together before you start. It will make the process easier. Also, you can omit something if you don't have it on hand.
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil (EVOO)
- 1 medium onion or ¾ of a large onion, diced
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ bulb of fennel, sliced fine, optional
- 5-6 cloves garlic, minced or crushed
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil (EVOO)
- 3-4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves or 4-5 boneless, skinless chicken thighs, salted and peppered
- ½ tablespoon butter (or non dairy butter) plus ½ tablespoon extra virgin olive oil (EVOO)
- 6-8 Baby Bella mushrooms, washed and quartered
- 1 cup grape or small heirloom tomatoes, cut up (or 3/8 cup sun-dried tomatoes, drained and chopped small)
- ½ teaspoon crushed basil, gluten free
- ½ cup Sauvignon Blanc wine or other white wine, optional (use ½ more of chicken broth)
- ½ cup chicken broth, gluten free
- ½ teaspoon smoked Spanish paprika, gluten free, or another paprika, gluten free
- 10 threads of saffron, gluten free
- ¼ cup artichoke heart halves, cut up (I like Trader’s Roasted Marinated Artichoke Halves)
- ¼ lemon, juiced
- ¼ cup Greek kalamata olives or Spanish olives
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F.
- In a large Dutch oven, in 2 tablespoons of olive oil, sauté the onion for 2-3 minutes stirring occasionally, with the salt. Add the fennel slices and continue stirring until the onion is golden and mostly cooked. Add the garlic and stir the pot a few times before removing the vegetable mixture to a small plate.
- In another tablespoon of olive oil, brown the chicken over high heat, for 4-5 minutes, turning once to brown the other side. Remove the chicken to a plate.
- Add the ½ tablespoon of butter and ½ tablespoon of olive oil and brown the mushroom quarters quickly over high heat. Remove to another small plate.
- Add the tomatoes, sprinkle the crushed basil over, sautéing for a minute while stirring. Add the wine and deglaze the pan, being sure to stir the bottom well. Then stir in the chicken broth. Next add the paprika and saffron and stir. Add back in to the pot, the chicken, onion and fennel medley, mushrooms, and artichoke hearts. Squeeze the lemon juice over the ingredients.
- Cover and cook at 300 degrees for approximately 1 ½ hours (or 1 hour, 20 minutes). Chicken will be very tender. Add the olives during the last 10-15 minutes of cooking. Remove the cover before returning to the oven to finish cooking.
- Remove from the oven. Serve over a bed of brown rice or white rice. Garnish with a bit of chopped Italian parsley if you like. And serve with small lemon wedges or spritz the top of the dish with lemon after cooking.
