Chicken with Swiss Chard

This dish from Emilia-Romagna uses the region’s famed balsamic vinegar in the sauce, and it includes bright green Swiss chard for a color. Serve it with some Farro with Fennel or some rice.

Makes 4 to 6 servings | Prep time: 20 minutes | Minimum cook time: 3 hours in a medium slow cooker

1 (3- to 4-pound) chicken, cut into serving pieces, or 6 chicken pieces of your choice

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 medium onion, diced

2 garlic cloves, minced

1/2 cup balsamic vinegar

1 (14.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes, undrained

3/4 cup Chicken Stock or purchased stock

1/4 cup dry red wine

1 tablespoon fresh thyme or 1/2 teaspoon dried

2 bay leaves

1/4 pound Swiss chard, stems discarded and leaves cut into 3/4-inch slices

2 teaspoons cornstarch

Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

1. Preheat the oven broiler, and line a broiler pan with heavy-duty aluminum foil. Rinse chicken and pat dry with paper towels. Broil chicken pieces for 3 minutes per side, or until browned. Transfer chicken pieces to the slow cooker, skin side down.

2. Heat oil in a small skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion and garlic, and cook, stirring frequently, for 3 minutes, or until onion is translucent. Add vinegar, and cook until liquid is reduced by half. Scrape mixture into the slow cooker.

3. Add tomatoes, stock, wine, thyme, and bay leaves to the slow cooker, and stir well. Cook on Low for 6 hours or on High for 3 hours. Add Swiss chard, and cook for an additional 2 hours on Low or 1 hour on High, or until chicken is cooked through, tender, and no longer pink.

4. If cooking on Low, raise the heat to High. Mix cornstarch and 2 tablespoons cold water in a small cup. Stir mixture into the slow cooker. Cook for an additional 15 to 20 minutes, or until juices are bubbling and slightly thickened. Remove and discard bay leaves, season to taste with salt and pepper, and serve hot.

Note: The dish can be prepared up to 2 days in advance and refrigerated, tightly covered. Reheat it, covered, in a 350°F oven for 20 to 25 minutes, or until hot.

Variations:

images Substitute rabbit for the chicken. The cooking time will remain the same.

images Substitute kale for the Swiss chard.

images Add 1/2 cup raisins to the slow cooker at the onset of the cooking time.

During the later part of the Middle Ages and the Renaissance era, the Italian nobility enjoyed the different varieties of vinegar as a refined drink because they believed the vinegar was a natural remedy for the plague. By the nineteenth century, balsamic vinegar was considered a precious commodity.