Braised Chicken with Chickpeas

This dinner is incredibly delicious and healthy. We always cut the recipe in half because 8 servings is a little much. This leaves us two lunches to take to work the next day. We love cooking this in the winter because it's just warm, yummy, comfort food. You can use canned beans but we'd recommend the dried beans. The texture is so much better with dried beans. Hope you enjoy!

Yield
8 servings (serving size: 1 chicken leg or thigh and 3/4 cup bean mixture)

Ingredients

• 1 cup dried chickpeas (garbanzo beans)
• 4 cups water
• 1 cup thinly sliced onion (about 1), divided
• 6 garlic cloves, chopped
• 1 bay leaf
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 4 chicken drumsticks, skinned (about 1 1/4 pounds)
• 4 chicken thighs, skinned (about 1 3/4 pounds)
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup white wine vinegar
• 1 can whole tomatoes, chopped
• 1/2 cup Homemade Chicken Stock
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• Lemon wedges (optional)
  

Preparation
Sort and wash chickpeas; place in a large Dutch oven. Cover with water to 2 inches above chickpeas; cover and let stand 8 hours. Drain chickpeas.

Place 1 1/2 cup chickpeas, 4 cups water, 1/2 cup onion, garlic, and bay leaf in pan; bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 45 minutes or until beans are just tender. Drain chickpea mixture in a colander over a bowl, reserving 1/2 cup cooking liquid. Set chickpea mixture aside.

Heat oil in pan over medium-high heat. Dredge chicken in flour. Add chicken to pan; cook 6 minutes, browning on all sides. Remove from pan.

Add remaining 1/2 cup onion to pan. Sauté 4 minutes or until tender. Add vinegar, scraping pan to loosen browned bits. Cook 1 minute or until liquid evaporates.

Add can of tomato, Homemade Chicken Stock, and reserved cooking liquid to pan. Add chickpea mixture, and bring to a boil. Place chicken on top of chickpeas, and sprinkle with 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon black pepper. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer for 40 minutes or until chicken is done and chickpeas are tender. Discard bay leaf. Serve with lemon wedges, if desired.
Cooking Light, OCTOBER 2007