Ingredients

4 bone-in chicken thighs

1 tablespoon kosher or sea salt

1 tablespoon freshly ground black pepper

4 tablespoons butter (set 2 aside)

12 whole medium shallots, peeled and quartered

2 cups white wine (or substitute 1.5 cups vegetable stock and ½ cup white vinegar)

2 tablespoons Dijon mustard

2 sprigs each tarragon, thyme, and/or rosemary

2 cups fresh cherry tomatoes, halved

Recipe

Rinse the chicken thighs and pat them dry. Sprinkle on both sides with salt and pepper. Melt the butter in a large, deep skillet or stock pot. When the butter begins to foam, cook the chicken, two thighs at time. In between batches, add the reserved butter if necessary. Take care not to burn the butter. Remove when the chicken is well browned and the skin is crisp, and set aside.

Add the quartered shallots to the pot and sauté until soft and caramelized (about 12 minutes). Deglaze the pot with the wine or substitute, stirring to scrape the bottom of the pot. Add the mustard and herbs, and return the chicken thighs to the pot.

Simmer for about 30 minutes. Remove the lid, allowing the sauce to reduce, and simmer for another 20 minutes. If you prefer a thicker sauce, allow to simmer for an additional 15 minutes.

Add the cherry tomatoes to the pot, and stir gently to combine . Serve with rice or crusty bread, and top with freshly ground black pepper.

This is one of my all-time favorite recipes, and requires relatively few ingredients for a dish with this complexity of flavor. The shallots and chicken are a great base, and the tomatoes add a wonderful burst of acidity that cuts through the rich sauce. I cooked this for a group of my friends, and it was popular both for its flavor, and for the way it made the kitchen smell while it was cooking. This would go well over rice, but I served it with crusty bread, which is excellent for mopping up the leftover shallot sauce when you’ve finished your chicken.

I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as I do. Bon appetite!

This recipe was originally published in the New York Times by Sam Sifton, who discovered the recipe on the Twitter account of Andrew Zimmern, of the Travel Channel.