French Onion Skillet Chicken with Melted Gruyere and Thyme

By Lsweetnell

4 Servings
by Ingrid Beer
I love Ingred's recipe but I like a little more sauce with a little more thickness to it, thus I increased the liquids and added a little cornstarch to slightly thicken the sauce.

Ingredients

• 2 skinless, boneless chicken breast, cut in half length-wise to create 4 thinner cutlets
• 1 teaspoon Herbes de Provence
• 1 teaspoon granulated onion
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon paprika
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon granulated garlic
• Canola oil
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided use
• 3 white onions, quartered and sliced thinly
• 1/2 cup white wine
• 1 cup beef stock combined with 1 tbsp cornstarch (only add cornstarch initially to 2 tbsp of stock, once blended well add the rest of the stock) and add as instructed to pan
• 2 cloves garlic, pressed through garlic press
• 2 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves, divided use
• 1 1/4 cup grated gruyere cheese

Preparation

Step 1

-Add the chicken cutlets to a bowl, and sprinkle in all of the ingredients beginning with the Herbes de Provence up to and including a drizzle of the canola oil, and toss together to combine; allow the meat to marinate for at least 20 minutes, or even over night if preparing ahead.

-Once the chicken is marinated, place a cast iron skillet (or other large pan) over medium-high heat, and drizzle in about 3 tablespoons of the canola oil; once it gets hot, add in the chicken cutlets and sear until golden-brown, about 3 minutes per side; remove from pan and set aside, keeping warm.

-Into the same cast iron skillet or pan add in another 4 tablespoons of the oil, plus the 2 tablespoons of the butter, and allow that to become hot and melt together; add in the sliced onions (it will seem like a lot of onions, but they will cook down substantially) and stir, and allow the onions to begin to caramelize a little bit before adding in a pinch or two of salt and black pepper; continue to caramelize the onions, stirring frequently, for about 25-30 minutes, or until a deep golden-brown, and very soft.

-Deglaze the caramelized onions with the wine, and after about 1 minute, when the wine has reduced, add in the beef stock, and allow that to reduce for several minutes until thickened and glossy.

-Finish the onions by stirring in the garlic, about 1 teaspoon of the thyme leaves, and the butter; once the butter is melted in, turn off the heat; return the chicken to the skillet, and nestle it into the onion mixture.

-Turn your broiler on, and top each chicken breast cutlet with some of the gruyere cheese; place under broiler to melt the cheese, and make it slightly golden and bubbly.

-Finish the chicken with the remaining sprinkle of thyme leaves, and serve.