Walnut Creek Chicken

By cweeks

Ingredients

• 1 quart canned or homemade tomato sauce
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper (or more to taste)
• Salt to taste
• 2 bay leaves
• 2 teaspoons dried oregano (Mexican or Mediterranean), crumbled
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin seed (see note)
• 3/4 cup golden raisins
• 1 tablespoon vegetable or corn oil
• 1 tablespoon red or white wine vinegar
• 4 to 5 pounds chicken thighs (or a combination of thighs and legs), skinned but left on the bone
• Cooked brown, Basmati, Texmati or Jasmine Rice (for serving)

Details

Servings 6
Adapted from cookware.lecreuset.com

Preparation

Step 1

Folks on the Pacific Coast are fortunate to be able to spend many hours outdoors, and so in good weather they spend less time in the kitchen. Here’s a recipe from an illustrious cook in Walnut Creek, California, that's quickly combined in the versatile Le Creuset 5 1/2 QT. round French oven, then popped in the oven to cook away while the home chef enjoys the beauty of nature.

No matter where you live, you’ll make this recipe time and time again. It yields a bonus: any leftover sauce is great over pork chops. Try adding rounds of andouille or chorizo sausage for a more complex dish. A couple of cans of mild green chiles (drained) are a good addition. And if you have a bell pepper or two lurking in the fridge, cube them and add to the mix.

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Combine all ingredients but the chicken and rice in the round oven and stir to blend. Rinse the chicken pieces and pat dry with a paper towel. Add the chicken to the pan and spoon the sauce over the pieces. Cover and bake for 1 1/2 hours.

For even more flavor, toast cumin seed in the dry French oven (before cooking the chicken). Place the pan over medium heat, add the seeds, and stir for about 2 minutes, or until the cumin seed slightly darkens. Remove and grind in a spice grinder, then use this in the recipe.