Recipes › fennel bulb › Fennel-Braised Chicken Thighs with Saffron and Tomatoes
Fennel-Braised Chicken Thighs with Saffron and Tomatoes
Bone-in chicken thighs braised low and slow in a fragrant tomato sauce loaded with fennel, saffron and white wine — this is sunshine in a pot. The fennel breaks down into silky, yielding pieces that absorb all the cooking juices, and the saffron turns the sauce a deep golden amber. Serve over couscous or with crusty bread to mop up every last drop.
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Ingredients
- 800 g fennel bulbs, tough outer layers removed, each bulb cut into 8 wedges through the root
- 8 bone-in skin-on chicken thighs
- 1 pinch saffron, steeped in 3 tbsp boiling water for 10 minutes
- 200 ml dry white wine
- 400 g tinned chopped tomatoes
- 1 white onion, finely sliced
- 4 garlic cloves, finely sliced
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 2 tbsp tomato purée
- 200 ml chicken stock, hot
- 6 fresh thyme, sprigs
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 tsp flaky sea salt
- 1 pinch black pepper, freshly ground
- 15 g flat-leaf parsley, roughly chopped (optional)
Contains: celery, sulphites.
Method
- Steep the saffron in 3 tablespoons of boiling water and set aside for at least 10 minutes. Pat the chicken thighs dry with kitchen paper and season generously all over with salt and pepper.About 10 min
- Heat the olive oil in a wide, heavy-based casserole or deep frying pan over a medium-high heat. Add the chicken thighs skin-side down and cook undisturbed for 8 minutes until the skin is deeply golden and releases from the pan easily. Flip and cook for a further 3 minutes on the flesh side. Remove to a plate.About 11 min
- Reduce the heat to medium. Add the sliced onion to the pan with any remaining fat and cook for 6 minutes until softened. Add the garlic and cook for 2 minutes more. Stir in the tomato purée and cook for 1 minute until it darkens slightly.About 9 min
- Add the fennel wedges to the pan and turn them in the onion mixture to coat. Pour in the white wine and let it bubble vigorously for 3 minutes.About 3 min
- Add the tinned tomatoes, hot chicken stock, saffron with its soaking liquid, thyme sprigs and bay leaves. Stir to combine, then nestle the chicken thighs back into the pan skin-side up, ensuring they sit above the liquid and not submerged.About 2 min
- Bring to a gentle simmer, then reduce the heat to low, cover with a lid and cook for 35 minutes. Remove the lid and cook for a further 10 minutes to reduce the sauce slightly and let the chicken skin crisp back up.About 45 min
- Discard the thyme sprigs and bay leaves. Taste the sauce and adjust seasoning. Scatter with chopped parsley if using and serve directly from the pan.
Tips
- Cutting the fennel wedges through the root is essential — if the root is left intact it holds each wedge together during the long braise so you get proper pieces rather than a mush.
- Don't skip browning the chicken skin. That deep colour is flavour that goes straight into the braising liquid.
- The dish benefits from resting for 10 minutes off the heat before serving — the sauce tightens up beautifully.
Ring the changes
- Replace the chicken with 8 bone-in rabbit pieces for a more earthy, Provençal result — increase the braise time to 50 minutes covered.
- Add 80g of pitted black olives and a tablespoon of capers in the last 10 minutes for a puttanesca-style version.
Keeping it
Store in a sealed container in the fridge for up to 3 days. Reheat gently in a covered pan over a low heat, adding a splash of stock or water if needed. Freezes well for up to 2 months — freeze the chicken in the sauce.
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