12342 Chicken with Red Onion Sauce Serves 4 Wed Aug 06 01:04:45 -0700 2008 Tue Feb 03 04:25:09 -0800 2009 Licensed http://www.chow.com/recipes/12342 Tue, 03 Feb 2009 12:25:09 GMT In the french southwest, you will find many dishes—chicken, veal, tuna, or duck—smothered in onions; a residue, possibly, of Moorish influence, since so many Moroccan dishes are structured this way. A Gascon friend told me I could not leave this dish out because it is a typical “mother's dish,” as basic to Southwest cookery as beans and franks are to American.

I have spoken in the first introduction to this book of the role played by “Mother's cooking” in Southwest France. Pierre Veilletet, a journalist originally from the Landes, where this dish is much beloved, refers to this kind of matriarchal cooking as la cuisine ombilicale. Pierre speaks eloquently of the Southwest mothers and their total matriarchal power over everything that enters the mouth. For every problem, the mother-cook will offer a culinary solution: garlic bread for worms; soup for every ailment. Her great refrain is, “It's good for you, so eat!” Pierre refers to all this alleged knowledge as la gastronostalgie.

One thing I like about this dish is its utter simplicity. It requires no stock, just perfectly chosen ingredients: a fine, tasty chicken and a good-quality cured ham to complement the flavor of the red onions.

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  • Season the chicken with salt and pepper. Heat the fat in a deep large heavy skillet over moderately high heat. Add the chicken quarters, skin side down, and cook until browned, 2 to 3 minutes per side, shaking the skillet to keep the chicken from sticking.
  • Add the diced ham, cover, and cook for 2 minutes. Add the red onions and cook, covered, over low heat for 5 minutes, or until they are soft but not brown.
  • Add the wine and bring to a boil, stirring. Cover tightly and cook over low heat for 20 minutes, turning the chicken once. (The recipe can be prepared to this point up to 1 hour in advance.)
  • About 15 minutes before serving, preheat the broiler. Arrange the cooked chicken quarters, skin side up, in a shallow flameproof baking dish. Run the chicken quarters under the broiler for 2 to 3 minutes to reheat and crisp the skin.
  • Meanwhile, boil the onions and cooking liquid in the skillet until the sauce is thick. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Pour the onion sauce over the chicken and broil for 30 seconds longer to glaze it. Decorate with the chopped parsley and chives and serve at once.
    • ]]>     http://www.chow.com Paula Wolfert 50 Main 1 chicken (3½ pounds), quartered, at room temperature

    ]]>     Salt and freshly ground pepper

    ]]>     2 tablespoons rendered goose or duck fat

    ]]>     ½ cup slivered jambon de Bayonne, prosciutto, or Serrano ham (2½ ounces)

    ]]>     2 pounds red onions, coarsely chopped

    ]]>     ½ cup dry white wine

    ]]>     1 teaspoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

    ]]>     2 teaspoons minced fresh chives

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