This simple braised chicken leg with Belgian Endive recipe contrasts the bitterness of endive with the sweetness and acidity of balsamic vinegar and honey.
Braised Chicken Legs with Endive.
I love cooking with chicken legs, they have so much flavour and are so cheap to buy. In this recipe, they are braised in butter and balsamic vinegar along with chicory and shallots.
Whether I am roasting them simply in this Chicken legs with Romesco sauce recipe or braising them like I am here they are great!
The flavour of endive is amazing, I have a massive weakness for flavours that err towards bitter.
They allow you to play a little stronger with sweetness and sourness to create balance.
As a result, this chicken with endive recipe uses the classic combination of balsamic vinegar and honey to offset that wonderful earthy bitterness.
One Pot Cooking.
I am the first to admit that many of my dishes are far from simple. But this braised chicken number really is incredibly simple.
It is all cooked in one pot so next to no washing up! So a dish that makes my wife happy on flavour and on work.
The secret to cooking in a single pot is to ensure that your ingredients are all prepared in a way so they are ready to eat all at the same time.
Endive is a great ingredient for one pot cooking. It will happily sit there for an hour without becoming mush, but is ready to eat after around 30 minutes of cooking.
Cooking with Endive.
Endive is often known as Belgian endive or Chicory. As I mentioned above it is most often associated with its bitter taste.
It is often used in salads, in fact, I use radicchio which is another of its names in this winter radicchio salad recipe.
When cooked that bitterness falls back a lot for those that are worried.
You will note that Belgian Endive is almost white in colour. This is because it is grown in almost complete darkness.
As well as serving in a salad and is really good grilled too, however my favourite way to cook it is braised. It is also a really classic way of cooking it!
Braised Chicken Legs with Endive
Braising may have fallen out of favour in our modern busy lives but these braised chicken legs with Belgian Endive shows that it need not take an eternity. Bitter Endive is perfectly off set with the sweetness of honey and shallot and the acidity of balsamic vinegar!
Ingredients
- 2 Chicken Legs
- 1 Belgian Endive
- 3 Shallots
- 2 Tbsp Cooking Oil
- 50 g Butter
- 50 ml Balsamic Vinegar
- 1/2 Tsp Dried Thyme
- 1 Tsp Honey
- Salt and Pepper to taste
- 1 Tbsp Capers
Instructions
- Cut the chicken legs into thighs and drummers I also like to remove the knuckle but you don't have to.
- Heat a large oven proof frying pan that you have a lid for over a medium high heat
- Rub your chicken with your cooking oil then season with salt and pepper then sear until golden on all sides, this should take 5-7 minutes.
- Remove from the pan and set aside.
- Cut the endive and shallots in half, then rub cut side of the chicory and shallots with more oil.
- Again sear, this time only on the cut side, this should take 3-4 minutes.
- When the endive and shallots are golden, leave cut side down and add in half of the butter.
- Once the butter has melted and begins to foam add in the balsamic vinegar and thyme and 'swoosh' around the pan.
- Add a small pinch of salt and a good grind of pepper.
- Finally nestle in the chicken pieces and drizzle over the honey before putting on the lid and transferring to the oven at 180°C or 350°F.
- Cook for 25-30 minutes or until the internal temperature of the chicken reaches 73°C or 164°F, then remove from the oven.
- Place the chicken and vegetables on a warm plate before returning the sauce to a medium high heat and whisk in the remaining butter.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 2 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 865Total Fat: 58gSaturated Fat: 20gTrans Fat: 1gUnsaturated Fat: 33gCholesterol: 381mgSodium: 677mgCarbohydrates: 20gFiber: 3gSugar: 12gProtein: 64g
The endive and shallots are gorgeous here! I’m going to have to try this. I like the bit of bite that endive imparts. 😉
Same here, thanks Catherine.
Chicken, chicory, honey and butter. You can’t go wrong! Oh yes, butter makes everything better and everyone happy ( especially my husband ?) I’ve never cooked chicory I have to admit and now seeing this I must do it and do it fast. This looks soooooo delish ?. Definitely. Thanks for sharing this Brian!! ??
Give it a go, great ingredients cooked simply are always a great addition to any table.
What an incredible recipe! Love the flavor in this and how easy it is to make.
Thanks Julie, definitely really simple and so easy!
Beautiful dish. I’ve come around to chickory in the last several years and have developed a taste for its bitterness. I love that your process to make this is so simple, yet the flavors sound so interesting and complex. May have to give this one a try 🙂
It would seem that we are slowly having bitter flavours weaned from our diet and I think that is sad as I love them, braising chicory does however really scale back the harshness of the bitter flavours but keeps them there, which is really interesting alongside the balsamic. Hope you enjoy 🙂
I feel the same about butter! Ha. It does make everything better. This looks like a very lovely dinner!
Thanks Tina, I reckon butter should be available by prescription.
I’ve never used chicory, and I have no idea what it is. Off to google it.
But I agree – butter does make everything better, and I love how crisp and flavourful this chicken looks!
Really, you must try it a wonderful ingredient that is very popular on mainland Europe 🙂
I love to see people using Chicory I love the stuff, and especially with Crispy Chicken perfect.
It is one of those unloved ingredients, I am sure it would only take a couple of celebrity chefs to change that… WHich would be a shame as it would at least double in price, let’s keep it our secret 😉
Oh wow – this looks sensational!! I love chicken like this – make sure that skin is crispy for me! 😉
Thanks Gigi, I will try my best 😀
I love a little bit of bitter mixed with other sensory flavours. I am loving the colour that you have achieved on hour chicory, quite tasty looking.
Me too, it just adds a little depth.
This looks beautifully plated, I love the colour of that plate and the food on it really pops. Chicory is delicious, well done!
Thanks Angela
I just love all things chicken and the look of your dish is simply perfect. I could lick the screen… ooops
Thanks, althogh you should definitely be careful licking your screen 😀
I have never tried pairing chicken with chickory. Such a wonderful idea! Bookmarking the recipe for later use 🙂
It works so well together particularly with the sweet sauce.
Yep, butter makes life itself better Brian lol! Yet another beautifully plated meal from you. I really don’t like honey so I may switch that out or leave it out but I love the idea of this dish (especially being a one pot meal). I haven’t cooked chicory before, just had it raw. I bet it’s much less bitter for a bit of cooking.
Cheers Jo… I can’t believe there are people out there that don’t like honey, sacrilege I tell ya 😮 Cooking the chicory defiitely removes the smack in the face bitterness but it still stays there at the back of the dish which is great against the sweet acidity.