Chicken Provençal is a traditional French stew of chicken cooked with shallots, garlic and tomatoes. This is our easy 30 minute spin on it.
Chicken Provençal is a delicious chicken stew from the south of France - my favourite part of France, Provence.
What does Provençal mean in cooking?
Provençal means food from Provence, in the south of France, and is usually thought of as traditional, rustic food - the food of your grandmother. It’s the opposite to fancy “haute-cuisine” - and I’d go so far as to call it comfort food. Provençal food is known for showing off the true flavours of ingredients, without too much modification through cooking. This stew traditionally takes a bit longer, but today we’re making a speedy weeknight version, so you can enjoy it at the end of a busy day.
What ingredients are in Chicken Provençal?
- Chicken: We’re using chicken thigh fillets for more flavoursome, juicy and tender meat. We’ll coat in olive oil and thyme, and cook them on high heat with butter.
- Vegetables: We’ll serve our Chicken Provençal with shallots, garlic, broccolini, parsley, olives and tomatoes.
- Sauce: Our sauce is made with lemon juice, white wine and butter.
- Couscous: We’ll serve it on a bed of couscous.
Can you make an easy Chicken Provençal?
Yes! We want to make this Chicken Provençal quick and easy so you can get it on the table after a long day, so we’re going to do a few things to make it quicker and easier.
- We’ll sear the chicken at a high heat first - this will make it crispy and tender.
- We’ll simmer everything with the lid on - this will speed up cooking time, like a pressure cooker.
- We’ll add a touch of brown sugar to bring out the flavours.
What part of chicken do you use in Chicken Provençal?
We’ll use chicken thigh fillets, these are juicier and respond well to quick cooking.
Top tip
Make sure you sauté the shallots and garlic for a minute before adding the vegetables. This will mean they have a chance to soften.
Substitutions
- Alternative proteins - Instead of chicken thigh you could use chicken legs, just make sure you cook them for longer.
- Vegetarian - You could use white beans or chickpeas as your primary protein. Sauté briefly at step 3 and 4 instead.
- Gluten Free - Use gluten free couscous or brown rice.
- Dairy Free - Skip the butter and use olive oil instead.
Kid-Friendly Variations
- Don’t add parsley to the couscous.
- Serve raw tomatoes.
- Serve kids slices of chicken with couscous, tomatoes and some chopped up broccolini.
Equipment
You will need a deep, lidded frying pan, a stovetop, a kettle, a heat-proof bowl.
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Recipe
Chicken Provençal
Equipment
- Deep lidded frying pan
- Stovetop
- Kettle
- Heat proof bowl
Ingredients
- 500 g chicken thighs
- 1 tablespoon olive oil 2 tablespoon total for the recipe
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 2 shallots
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1 bunch broccolini
- 80 g pitted green olives
- ½ bunch parsley
- 1 lemon
- 40 g salted butter
- 1.5 cups water
- 1.5 cups couscous
- 1 tablespoon olive oil 2 tablespoon total for the recipe
- ½ cup white wine
- 200 g baby tomatoes
- 2 teaspoon brown sugar
- Salt and pepper
Instructions
- Add your chicken thighs to a bowl with olive oil, dried thyme (opt.), salt and pepper (opt.). Toss to coat and set aside.500 g chicken thighs, 1 tablespoon olive oil, 1 teaspoon dried thyme, Salt and pepper
- Peel and slice shallots lengthwise into eighths. Peel and mince garlic. Trim ends from broccolini. Measure out green olives. Roughly chop parsley. Juice lemon.2 shallots, 2 cloves garlic, 1 bunch broccolini, 80 g pitted green olives, ½ bunch parsley, 1 lemon
- Heat a deep frying pan over high heat. Once hot, add butter and sizzle until melted, then chicken and cook, smooth side down, without turning, for 4 minutes.40 g salted butter
- Turn chicken and cook for 4 more minutes. Meanwhile, boil a kettle of water.1.5 cups water
- Place couscous in a large heat-proof bowl and pour over boiling water. Add olive oil, salt and pepper (opt.) and stir through. Cover with a plate and set aside.1.5 cups couscous, 1 tablespoon olive oil, Salt and pepper
- Remove chicken from pan, add white wine and deglaze. Add shallots and garlic and sauté for a minute, then add whole baby tomatoes, broccolini, olives, lemon juice and brown sugar. Place chicken on top, reduce the heat and simmer for 12 mins, lid on.Reserve some tomatoes for kids plates.2 shallots, 2 cloves garlic, 1 bunch broccolini, 80 g pitted green olives, 1 lemon, ½ cup white wine, 200 g baby tomatoes, 2 teaspoon brown sugar
- Fluff couscous with a fork and add a portion of plain couscous to kids plates, then stir through half the parsley to the remaining couscous.
- Serve kids slices of chicken with couscous, tomatoes and some chopped up broccolini.Serve adults chicken and vegetables on a bed of couscous and sprinkle over remaining parsley.
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