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Cider Braised Chicken Thighs with Spring Vegetables give you that fancy Sunday dinner feeling. Luckily, it's super simple to make in one pot. Serve it with brown rice, couscous, or your favorite grain. Dinner is about to get awesome.

We're coming to the end of the first week of spring, and my brain has become an obnoxiously fertile place. I have way more ideas of things I want to try than I have time to execute them. It's a burden of riches, I know. Should I start a podcast? Should I start selling baked treats? Sell room sprays and salt scrubs? Just give up all together and be a worker bee for the rest of my life? It feels like a lot. I'm grateful for the freedom to make these choices, but also a little bit exhausted.

How is spring treating you so far? Have you warmed up yet? Ready to lighten things up in the kitchen or in life? Make sure you're taking good care of yourself as restrictions begin to lift and life tries to get back to normal. You're allowed to say no to things you don't want to do. Conversely, give yourself time to celebrate the simple joys of life.

Cider Braised Chicken Thighs in a blue pan

What makes Cider Braised Chicken Thighs so awesome?

I've got something a little bit different for you today. It feels distinctly springy but still hearty enough to get us through this transitional season. Cider Braised Chicken Thighs with Spring Vegetables is a gloriously green one pot wonder. We like boneless chicken thighs because we're too lazy to deal with bones, but use what you like. The braising keeps the meat nice and juicy.

We've also got little nuggets of flavor in the form of pancetta or bacon lardons, plus green onions, peas, celery, tarragon, and tender and crunchy Little Gem lettuce. Serve this over a bed of brown rice, couscous, or your favorite grain. It'll brighten up the dinner table for sure.

Cider Braised Chicken Thighs with spring vegetables

How to make Cider Braised Chicken Thighs

This dish is pretty easy. We're just layering ingredients into a wide casserole or pan with a lid. Start with a bit of oil and your lardons. When they've started to color, add your chicken thighs in a single layer and sear the outside on each side for about five minutes before adding in chopped green onion, celery, and garlic, plus dried tarragon and seasonings. Then add the hard cider and frozen peas, clamp the lid on, and let the whole thing bubble gently for about 20 minutes.

To finish things off, stir a little bit of mustard into the liquid, and add some chopped lettuce. If you can't get Little Gem, Romaine would also work well here. The lettuce will wilt a bit from the heat. Bring it to the table in the pot. I personally like to shred the chicken first to make it more of a rice bowl situation, but you can definitely just serve full chicken thighs like normal people.

Make it magical

Tarragon carries the energy to heal abusive situations. It can also increase your compassion for others. Add it when you want to bring love to a difficult situation. (Source: The Thrifty Witch)

Cider Braised Chicken Thighs with gem lettuce and peas

Time rolls on and nature follows. It's an abundant season, so let's take advantage of it and make some Cider Braised Chicken Thighs with Spring Vegetables. It's gonna be awesome.

Looking for more awesome chicken recipes? Try some Chicken Parmesan or Garlic & Herb Baked Chicken.

Cider Braised Chicken Thighs with Spring Vegetables

Print Recipe

Cider Braised Chicken Thighs with Spring Vegetables gives you that fancy Sunday dinner feeling. Luckily, it's super simple to make in one pot. Serve it with brown rice, couscous, or your favorite grain.

Author: Renee Rendall
Prep Time: 13
Cook Time: 45
Total Time: 58 minutes
Yield: 4 servings 1x
Category: Dinner
Method: Stovetop
Cuisine: British

Ingredients

Units Scale

1 tablespoon vegetable oil
60 grams pancetta or bacon lardons
6 boneless skinless chicken thighs*
3 green onions, sliced
1 stick celery, chopped fine
2 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped fine
1 teaspoon dried tarragon
½ teaspoon salt
5 grinds or ¼ teaspoon black pepper
250 ml cider (alcoholic)
150 grams frozen petit pois or peas
1 teaspoon mustard (use your favorite variety)
1 head Little Gem lettuce, chopped (substitute about a cup of chopped Romaine if you can't find Little Gem)

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Instructions

Heat the oil over medium heat in a wide frying pan or cast iron casserole with a lid. Add the pancetta or bacon and cook them, stirring occasionally, until they start to brown a bit.
Scoot your lardons out of the way and add your chicken thighs. Cook them for about 5 minutes on the first side, then turn them over and add the green onions, celery, and garlic. Give it a bit of a stir to even things out. Also add the tarragon, salt, and pepper and cook all this for another five minutes.
Next, pour in the cider and add the frozen peas, and stir those in evenly. Bring the liquid to a boil, then put the lid on and turn the heat down as low as it will go. Let this cook for 15-20 minutes or until your chicken is cooked through.
Once your chicken is cooked through, stir in a bit of your favorite mustard and add the chopped lettuce to the top. It will wilt gently from the heat. Turn the heat off and serve as is over brown rice or your favorite grain.