Chicken Paprika Pasta

Ingredients:

6 skinless chicken thighs
2 tsp smoked paprika
1.5 tsp kosher salt
21g olive oil
1.5 tbsp butter
2 red onions, cut into eighths through the poles
½ tsp salt
½ preserved lemon skin, lightly rinsed and diced into 5mm pieces
2 sprigs of thyme
pasta, 3 egg amount pappardelle cut

·  ·  ·

1. Combine smoked paprika and 1.5 tsp kosher salt. Trim excess fat from chicken thighs if needed. Coat thighs with paprika salt mixture (¼ tsp per side) and set aside.

2. Combine oil and butter in a 5qt (or larger) french oven set over stovetop at 50% heat until foaming subsides, 5 minutes.

3. Add onions and salt to pot and cook until onions start to caramelize, 20-24 minutes, stiring about every two minutes.

4. Remove onions from pot and set aside temporarily. With the pot still at 50% heat, place all chicken thighs (skin side down if it actually had skin) and cook untoched for 8 minutes until chicken surface facing pot develops a deep browning.

5. Flip chicken thighs over. Over the chicken scatter the onions, preserved lemons, and thyme. Cover and reduce heat to 30%. Let cook for 25 minutes until chicken is very tender and registers 74°C (165°F). No stiring needed during cooking.

6. Remove from heat, remove thyme sprigs, and lightly break up thighs into smaller pieces. Add cooked pasta to pot, stir and add pasta cooking water as needed. Cover and let sit 15 minutes. After letting it rest, add more pasta cooking water as needed and salt to taste.

Notes:
Serves 6