Tender chicken thighs are slow braised with vegetables in a savory and creamy gravy flavored with garlic, rosemary, and bay leaves. The final dish is garnished with crispy french fried onions.
In a large Dutch oven over medium heat sauté the chicken thigh pieces in the oil until they are just browned on the outside (they do not need to be cooked thru). Remove them from the pot and set aside.
In the now empty Dutch oven, over medium-low heat, melt the butter. Add the chicken base and stir into the butter. Then add the flour and stir or whisk until it is combined, about 1 minute.
4 tablespoon butter, ¼ cup flour, 1 ½ teaspoon chicken base
Pour the chicken broth into the pot and scrape up any brown bits on the bottom of the pot. Whisk the liquid to ensure it is smooth.Simmer the broth over medium-high heat until it begins to thicken, about 3 minutes.
3 cups chicken stock or broth
Turn the heat off and stir in the heavy whipping cream.
½ cup heavy whipping cream
Next add all the veggies and browned chicken pieces to the pot. Finally stir in the kosher salt, pepper, dried basil, rosemary sprigs, and bay leaves.
1 cup yellow onion, 4 garlic cloves, 3 large carrots, 2 celery ribs, 4 red potatoes, 1 turnip, 4-5 cremini mushrooms, ½ teaspoon kosher salt, ½ teaspoon dried basil, ¼ teaspoon black pepper, 2 sprigs fresh rosemary, 2 bay leaves
Place the lid on the Dutch oven and place in the preheated oven for 90 minutes.
Let the pot sit for 10 minutes to cool. Then remove the bay leaves before serving.(while it cools jump down and make the French Fried Onions!)
Serve in bowls garnished with Crispy French Fried Onions.
French Fried Onion Garnish
Make the garnish while the Chicken Pot Roast cools.
Spread the French fried onions on a rimmed baking sheet and bake in the 300° oven for 4-5 minutes, until they are golden and crispy.
6 oz French Fried Onions
Serve them in a bowl on the table so everyone can garnish their own Chicken Pot Roast.