Braised Chicken Thighs With Tomatoes and Smoked Paprika

Cooking the thighs slowly produces fall-off-the-bone chicken. Serve with white rice or corn tortillas. From Relishmag.com.

• Ready In: 3 hrs 5 mins
• Serves: 4

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

Directions

1. Trim excess fat from chicken thighs and season with 1 teaspoon salt and pepper.
2. 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 sauté 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.
3. Preheat oven to 325°F.
4. 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.