Sometimes you want some easy luxury that can take you out of your weekday rotation of fried rice and chicken salad. This is that kind of recipe. It’s rich and impressive enough to make for a dinner party, but I have no problem tackling it during a weekday. I feel like almost every French style dish gives you the best of both worlds like that.
What makes this dish shine is searing the chicken thighs in the pan to crisp up the skin and create the base for the sauce. They’re finished in the oven on a sheet pan so you can make the sauce while they roast. The tangy, creamy sauce comes together with lots of white wine, grainy mustard and capers – no cream added!
The crispy chicken thighs and mustard sauce is delicious on its own or you can also pair it with a frisée salad, potatoes or even serve it over spaghetti.
ingredients
directions
Pre-heat the oven to 175˚C (350˚F).
Season the chicken generously on both sides with salt and fresh black pepper.
Heat the oil and butter in a large skillet over medium heat.
Sear the chicken, skin side down first for 3-4 minutes per side until golden brown and crispy. The chicken will release itself from the pan easily when it’s ready to be flipped and taken out of the pan!
Transfer the chicken thighs to a sheet pan and roast in the oven for 18-22 minutes until the internal temperature reads 75˚C (165˚F). Roasting time will depend on the thickness of the chicken thighs so check the temperature.
Immediately after removing the chicken from the pan, turn the heat down to medium-low and add the shallots and thyme.
Sauté for 1-2 minutes until they begin to soften.
Add the flour and grainy mustard and cook for another minute until the rawness of the flour is cooked out.
Deglaze the pan with the white wine, scraping the bottom of the pan to release all of the browned bits from the chicken.
Turn the heat up to medium-high and reduce the wine by at least half.
Add the chicken stock and capers to the pan and simmer for 5-8 minutes until the sauce has reduced and has thickened.
Taste and season with salt, if needed, and lots of fresh black pepper.
Plate by spooning some of the pan sauce onto each serving dish, placing the chicken in the sauce, and then drizzling a little bit of sauce over the chicken. Garnish with lots of chopped parsley.