Chicken Provencal w/ Sauteed Spinach

This is pretty yummy and quite easy. 

I doubled the garlic (I'm a garlic fiend in case you hadn't noticed!). I added 1 tbs of tomato paste, since the tomatoes I had were a little unripe still. Make sure you salt and pepper the sauce well. Other than that the one thing I would encourage is NOT skimping on the kalmata olives! Normally I feel like they can easily overpower a dish, but I think they make this one. 

I sauteed the spinach in oil with onion, garlic, salt and pepper. I then laid the chicken quarter on a bed of the spinach and spooned the sauce over the top. 

One other thing. This sauce was NOTABLY better the next day. I think letting the flavors have some time to mix was a good thing for the sauce. I don't know if I would ever make the sauce the day before or not though, just seems like a hassle.

Bottom Line 4.3 Stars

Ingredients

a 3-pound chicken
1 small onion
1 garlic clove
2 plum tomatoes
1/4 cup Kalamata olives
1/2 cup packed fresh basil leaves
1/2 cup dry white wine
3/4 cup veal stock

Directions

• Preheat oven to 425°F. Season chicken with salt and pepper. In an 8- to 10-inch ovenproof skillet roast chicken in middle of oven 25 minutes.
• Reduce temperature to 350°F.
• Roast chicken 40 minutes more, or until a thermometer inserted in fleshy part of an inner thigh registers 170°F. and juices run clear. Transfer chicken to a cutting board and keep warm, loosely covered.
• While chicken is roasting, finely chop onion and garlic separately. Seed tomatoes and cut into 1/4-inch dice. Pit olives and finely slice. Chop enough basil to measure 2 tablespoons and cut remaining leaves into thin strips.
• Pour off all but 2 teaspoons fat from skillet and sauté onion over moderately high heat, stirring, 30 seconds. Add garlic and sauté, stirring, 30 seconds. Add wine and deglaze skillet, scraping up brown bits. Simmer mixture until reduced by about half. Add stock and return mixture to a simmer. Add tomato and olives and simmer until sauce is slightly thickened, about 3 minutes. Stir in basil strips and remove pan from heat. Cut chicken into 4 serving pieces.
• Pour sauce over chicken and sprinkle with chopped basil.