Braised Chicken with Spicy Spinach

By sassy47

Ingredients

• 6 chicken breast
• 4 tablespoons olive oil (divided)
• 2 red onions (thinly sliced)
• 2 carrots (peeled and large diced)
• 1 jalapeno (sliced, optional)
• 2 cloves garlic (minced)
• 12 ounces white wine
• 1 can crushed tomatoes (12 ounces)
• 2 bay leaves
• 2 pounds kale (roughly chopped)
• 2 lemons (zested)
• 1/2 cup parsley (chopped)
• 1/2 cup breadcrumbs (toasted)
• crusty bread (for serving)
• kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper (to taste)

Preparation

Step 1

Pat the chicken dry with paper towels and season with salt. Refrigerate overnight (optional).
Preheat oven to 375ºF. Allow chicken to come to room temperature.
In a large Dutch oven, add 2 tablespoons olive oil and heat over medium heat. Add the chicken to the Dutch oven skin side down and cook for 3-4 minutes, or until golden brown. Flip and cook on the other side for another 3-4 minutes. Remove from the pan and set aside.
Add the onions, carrots, jalapeno, and garlic, season with salt, and continue to cook for 2 minutes. Add the wine and scrape the browned bits from the bottom of the pan using a wooden spoon. Allow the wine to continue simmering until reduced by half, about 4 minutes. Add the tomatoes and bring to a simmer. Add the bay leaf, kale and season with salt. Place the chicken thighs on top of the kale, cover and place in the oven for 20 minutes.
Meanwhile, in a small bowl add the breadcrumbs, lemon zest, parsley, remaining olive oil and mix to combine. Remove the chicken from the oven and top with breadcrumb mixture. Serve with crusty bread.