Braised Chicken Thighs With Tomatoes And Smoked Paprika - cooking recipe

Ingredients

8 bone-in chicken thighs, skin removed
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt, divided
fresh coarse ground black pepper
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 large sweet onions, thinly sliced
2 large carrots, sliced on the bias into 1/2-inch rounds
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 bay leaves
1/4 cup dry sherry
1 tablespoon spanish smoked paprika (or pimenton)
1 1/2 teaspoons ground dried ancho chile powder
1 teaspoon dried Mexican oregano, crumbled
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 (28 ounce) can peeled tomatoes with juice

Preparation

Trim excess fat from chicken thighs and season with 1 teaspoon salt and pepper.
Heat oil in a Dutch oven or deep ovenproof skillet over medium-high heat. Add half the chicken and cook until golden brown, 4 to 5 minutes on each side. Transfer to a plate. Cook remaining chicken and transfer to plate. Combine onions and carrots in pan. Add remaining salt and saute about 6 minutes. Add garlic, bay leaves and sherry; cook 2 minutes, scraping pan to loosen browned bits. Add paprika, chili powder, oregano and cayenne and stir until vegetables are coated with spices.
Preheat oven to 325\u00b0F.
Add tomatoes (using your fingers to break them up) and their juice and cook 2 minutes. Return chicken to pan; cover and bake 2 1/2 hours. Serves 4.