Skillet Chicken with Cheddar Chive Sauce

Name: Skillet Chicken with Cheddar Chive Sauce


Active Time: 35 minutes
Total Time: 35 minutes
Yield: Serves 6
Calories (serving): 307
Fat (serving): 15 g.

Ingredients:

• 1 teaspoon kosher salt, divided
• Freshly ground pepper
• 6 boneless skinless chicken thighs, fat trimmed (about 1 ½ pounds)
• ½ all-purpose flour
• 2 tablespoons canola oil
• 1 cup finely chopped green garlic* see ingredient note
• ½ teaspoon dry thyme
• ¼ cup dry white wine
• 1 ½ cups reduced-sodium chicken broth
• 1 cup non-fat milk
• 1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
• ½ cup chopped fresh chives

You will also need:

• large heavy skillet, serving platter

Preparation:

• Sprinkle ½ teaspoon salt and pepper all over the chicken. Place flour in a shallow dish and dredge chicken in the flour, until coated, shaking off excess and setting aside. Reserve ¼ cup left-over flour mixture and discard the remainder.
• Heat oil in a large heavy skillet over medium-high heat. When oil is shimmering, but not smoking, add chicken to skillet and cook until browned on both sides, 2 to 4 minutes per side. Transfer chicken to a plate. Note chicken will continue cooking in step 4.
• Add green garlic or leeks, thyme and the remaining ½ teaspoon salt to the skillet, and cook, stirring until fragrant and starting to brown slightly, 1 to 3 minutes. Add wine, and cook scraping up any browned bits until the wine has almost completely evaporated, 1 to 2 minutes. Sprinkle the reserved ¼ cup flour over the green garlic mixture and stir to coat. Stir in broth and milk and stir until the flour is dissolved. Bring to a simmer, stirring often, and continue cooking until the sauce is thickened slightly, about 1 minute.
• Return the chicken and any accumulated juices from the plate to the skillet and return to a simmer. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer, turning the chicken over in the sauce occasionally until the chicken is no longer pink in the center and is cooked through, 4 minutes longer. Transfer chicken to serving platter. Remove skillet from heat and stir cheddar and chives into the sauce until the cheese is melted. Spoon the sauce over the chicken and serve.

Cook's Notes:

• Ingredient note* Green Garlic is immature garlic plant and is available in the spring from farmers markets, CSAs and markets with a really good produce department. It has a distinctly garlicky flavor, but is not as strong as mature garlic. If you can’t find it, substitute 1 cup leek and 1 clove chopped garlic.