Braised Chicken with Tomato

There are certain chefs I really admire and trust when it comes to their recipes. Alex Guarnaschelli is one of my favorites. She brings so many flavors to the table and her recipes never disappoint.

That's why I knew this chicken recipe was going to be a winner.

The first step was to brown the chicken for about 4 minutes a side.

Once both sides were done, I removed them from the pan and set them aside.

While the chicken was browning, I prepped the onions, garlic and ginger. 

Before adding them to the pan, I toasted up some cumin seeds and chili flakes. The aroma was swoon-worthy.

The onions, garlic, and ginger joined the party, some salt was added, and everything was given a good stir to combine.

Tomatoes, cinnamon and bay leaves were added and the mixture simmered for about 10 minutes.

The chicken was added back to the pan and the whole shootin' match continued to simmer for about 40 minutes. Really, you need to inhale the smell of all this. Your mouth will be watering.

After the chicken was cooked through, I removed the cinnamon and bay leaves.

Now here's where I deviated from the script a bit. I removed the skin from the chicken and, in a separate pan, browned it up until crispy. Many thanks to Sonja Jamison for that great tip.

Dinner was ready!

I spooned some of the luscious, rich sauce over the chicken, served some rice, and sprinkled the crispy chicken skin and some cilantro over the top.

Oh my!