Clay Pot Chicken with Cherry Tomatoes, Olives and Thyme with homemade tomato paste

👨‍🍳 Method

For the homemade tomato paste ✓ Homemade · or skip – back to store-bought

1. 1
   Wash the tomatoes, remove the cores and quarter each tomato.

   KnifeCutting board
2. 2
   Put the tomatoes, the salt and half of the olive oil in a wide pot, cover and cook over medium heat about 20 minutes, until the tomatoes soften and release their liquid.

   StoveWide, shallow pot
3. 3
   Pass the tomatoes and their liquid through a food mill or sieve and return the purée to the pot: the skins and seeds stay behind.

   Food millorFine sieve
4. 4
   Cook uncovered about an hour at a lively simmer, stirring now and then, until the purée reduces by half.

   StoveWooden spoon

   💡The paste burns easily as it dries: stir and scrape the bottom and edges, and once it is thick, don't walk away.
5. 5
   Preheat the oven to 110°C (230°F).

   Oven

   💡Put things in the oven only once it's reached temperature, after the heating light has gone off: an oven that hasn't reached temperature changes baking times, and the bake burns outside or stays underbaked.
6. 6
   Grease a wide baking dish with the rest of the olive oil and pour in the purée in a thin layer. Dry in the oven about 3 hours, stirring and scraping the edges every 30 minutes, until the paste is thick, sticky and brick red.

   OvenBaking sheetSilicone spatula
7. 7
   Let the paste cool.

   Jar

To assemble

1. 8
   Preheat the oven to 200°C (390°F).

   Oven
2. 9
   Season the thighs with the salt, black pepper and paprika, and set aside 20 minutes at room temperature.
3. 10
   Heat the oil in a wide pot that can go in the oven and brown the thighs in batches, skin side down first, 10 minutes in total, until the skin is golden on both sides. Remove to a plate.

   StoveCast-iron pot

   💡Brown the meat in batches, without crowding: in a crowded pot it stews in its own juices instead of searing.

   💡What you brown (meat, patties, schnitzel) goes into hot oil: in lukewarm oil it soaks it up and comes out greasy. For onion and garlic that you soften, oil heated over medium or low heat is enough; do not wait for it to smoke.
4. 11
   Add the onion in the fat left in the wide pot and fry 5 minutes, stirring now and then, until the onion is soft and translucent and starts to turn golden at the edges. If it browns too fast, lower the heat.

   StoveWide, shallow pot

   💡Add by cooking time: what needs long (onion, carrot, meat) goes in first, and what burns fast (garlic, dry spices) goes in last, only until fragrant.
5. 12
   Add the garlic and fry about 30 seconds to 1 minute, just until fragrant. Don't let the garlic brown.

   Stove

   💡Garlic burns fast and turns bitter. Add it only once the onion has softened, over medium heat, and add the next ingredient as soon as it smells.
6. 13
   Add the tomato paste and thyme and fry 1 minute, stirring.

   Stove
7. 14
   Add the wine and cook 3 minutes, until the alcohol evaporates.

   Stove

   💡Reduce the wine before the tomatoes: the harsh alcohol evaporates, leaving the concentrated flavor of the wine.
8. 15
   Return the thighs to the pot, skin side up.
9. 16
   Scatter the cherry tomatoes and olives around the thighs.
10. 17
    Put the pot in the oven uncovered for 40 minutes, until the thighs crisp on the outside, and the juices run clear when pierced.

    OvenCast-iron pot

    💡In the oven, heat reaches the pot from all sides, not just from below: a large cut cooks slowly and evenly for hours without sticking to the bottom.
11. 18
    Serve after resting 10 minutes, so the sauce thickens, with rice.