The Mediterranean flavors of fennel, garlic, and rosemary are perfect with chicken. The fennel and chicken are sautéed and then briefly braised in a chicken wine broth, which becomes a tasty light sauce.
Want to cook with wine? Always! Adding wine to a sauce makes it taste like it’s from a fancy restaurant…but it’s easy to make at home! The flavor is tangy from the wine and savory from the fennel rosemary, and garlic. It’s a perfect combination!
Why cook with wine? Italian and French style recipes often call for white wine in the ingredient list. It’s used to deglaze the pan or add a complex, acidic flavor to dishes. It adds incredible complexity to risotto or pan sauces like this dish!
What wine to use for cooking? You can use any dry white wine for this recipe. You’ll want a crisp white wine that doesn’t have any hint of sweetness. A few types of white wine that are great for cooking are:
- Sauvignon Blanc
- Chardonnay
- Pinot Grigio
- Pinot Gris
Making a white wine sauce is easier than you think! It might sound fancy. But it takes just 15 minutes to whip up with a short list of ingredients.
So grab a bottle of your favorite dry white wine, pour yourself a glass and let’s get cooking!
The fennel and the rosemary will pair especially nicely with a full-bodied red wine such as Scout & Cellar’s ETNICO PINOT NOIR. Elegant and bright with black cherry, pomegranate, herbs, and a hint of turned earth on a light-bodied frame with a lingering finish.
I served this dish with my creamy parmesan orzo.
Ingredients
- 4 boneless, skinless chicken thighs (about 1 1/3 pounds in all)
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1 large fennel bulb (about 1 1/4 pounds), cut into 1/2-inch slices
- 1 pint sliced mushrooms
- ½ medium yellow onion, diced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 medium shallot, diced
- ½ cup canned low-sodium chicken broth
- ½ cup white wine, such as Scout & Cellar Gallivant Chardonnay
- 2 teaspoons fresh rosemary, chopped
- 2 tablespoons chopped flat-leaf parsley
- Fresh-ground black pepper and Salt to taste
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 350F.
In a large pan, heat 1 tablespoon of the oil over moderately high heat.
Season the chicken with salt and pepper. Add the chicken to the pan with 1 teaspoon of rosemary and cook until brown, about 3 minutes. Turn and cook until almost done, about 3 minutes longer. Remove chicken and set aside. We will finish cooking the chicken in the broth in the oven.
Deglaze the pan. Pour 2 tablespoons of wine in the pan, scrape the bottom with a wooden spatula vigorously as the liquid comes to a boil. Do not let it boil for more than a few seconds and you make sure you’ve released all the particles from the pan.
Add butter and melt. Add fennel, 1 teaspoon of the rosemary, and 1/4 teaspoon of the salt. Cook, stirring frequently, until the fennel is golden brown and almost done, about 12 minutes. Add the onion and saute for 1-2 minutes, add the shallot and garlic, stir and cook for additional 2 minutes. Add the mushrooms and cook for 2 more minutes.
Add the wine and broth bring to a boil. Cover, reduce the heat and simmer until the veggies are tender, about 3 minutes. Nestle the chicken into the pan and bake for 10 minutes until chicken reaches an internal temperature of 185 .
Stir in the parsley.
Whisk Away Kitchen 