chicken "osso buco"

By swapping out veal shanks for less expensive (and easier to find) chicken thighs and legs in this recipe, you get a special occasion dish you can afford to feed to a crowd. Dark meat is preferred because of the long cooking time and deeper flavor, but if you only have chicken breasts, you can use those, just reduce baking time to 45 minutes.

Serves 6

3 lbs chicken thighs and legs (skin-on and bone-in)
1 cup all purpose flour
1 small onion, diced
handful baby carrots, diced
1 stalk celery, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 cup white wine
3 cups chicken stock
3 tablespoons fresh flat-leaf parsley, chopped
1 tablespoon lemon zest
1 sprig fresh rosemary
1 sprig fresh thyme
1 bay leaf
olive oil
salt and pepper

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Spread flour out on a plate, season with 1 tsp salt and 1 tsp pepper, and mix together. Coat chicken thighs one at a time in flour and set on another plate. Heat 1/4 cup olive oil in a large ovensafe pot over medium-high heat. When oil is hot, brown chicken pieces a few at a time, careful not to overcrowd pan. Remove chicken pieces when browned (about 3 minutes on each side, chicken will not be fully cooked) and set aside. When all chicken has been browned, add carrots, onion, celery, and garlic to pan. Cook until vegetables are lightly browned, about 8 minutes. Add remaining ingredients (except lemon and parsley) and stir. Cook for 10 minutes. Add back chicken, cover pan with lid, and bake for 1 1/2 hours. While chicken bakes, combine parsley and lemon zest. Serve chicken with sauce spooned over top and sprinkled with parsley mixture.