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Rach shares her version of an easy French classic recipe, Chicken Provençal, which combines the zesty flavors of Southern France—olives, fennel, tomatoes—with boneless skinless chicken breasts. 

Try pairing it with John's pour-and-stir, sangria-inspired cocktail he calls Midnight In The South Of France.

Ingredients

For the Marinade and Chicken:
  • 4 large cloves garlic, chopped
  • ½ cup packed herbs (chopped parsley, rosemary and thyme)
  • 1 tablespoon fennel seed
  • 1 teaspoon black pepper 
  • 2 teaspoons kosher salt
  • 1 tablespoon lemon zest 
  • 1 cup crisp white wine
  • About ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil (EVOO)
  • 8 pieces boneless, skinless chicken, small chicken breasts and chicken thighs combined   
To Prepare: 
  • 4 tablespoons butter
  • 2 shallots, cut into wedges
  • 1 small onion, thinly sliced
  • 1 small bulb fennel, thinly sliced
  • 4 large cloves garlic , crushed
  • 1 cup loosely-packed pitted Niçoise olives or green and black olives combined, coarsely chopped
  • 2 tablespoons flour
  • 1 cup chicken bone broth or stock 
  • 1 cup loosely-packed or drained semi-dried tomatoes or plumped sun-dried tomatoes, coarsely chopped 
  • Baguette, for serving

Yield

Serves: 4

Preparation

Preheat oven to 400˚F.   

Whisk up marinade: garlic, herbs, fennel seed, pepper, salt, zest, white wine, olive oil, add chicken and refrigerate 1 hour to 1 day.    

To prepare, heat a large heavy pot over medium heat with butter, melt 2 tablespoons and brown chicken (shaking off the excess marinade but reserving it) and remove from pan.  Add remaining butter and add shallots, onion, fennel and crushed garlic, sauté to soften 5 to 6 minutes, add olives and sprinkle in flour, stir, add half the marinade, discard the rest. Let reduce by half, add stock and thicken a bit. Add the tomatoes and slide the chicken back in and nest into sauce, roast 20 minutes more, serve with crusty bread.