Chicken in Green Sauce with Goat Cheese

Braised chicken in green sauce—inspired by saag—topped with creamy goat cheese.

It’s barely hyperbole to say I’ve been swimming in hearty greens recently. With my husband’s garden pumping out kale, chard, and cabbage—plus the incidental greens from broccoli, beets, cauliflower, and radishes that I can’t bare to waste—I’ve had plenty to work worth. Far and away my favorite use for them is for making saag-style green sauces. 

I’ve done them with paneer, tofu, eggs, and even tortillas, but this version features succulent chicken thighs in green sauce. Browning the skin first renders some flavorful schmaltz, which infuses with the greens as they simmer until tender and falling apart. The chicken is shredded and mixed back into the greens, which have been blended with yogurt into a rich, earthy sauce. Serve over rice, with a topping of goat cheese for a tart, creamy finish.

If you like this recipe, check out my Salsa Verde Braised Chicken Thighs which is similar to this but feature a tomatillo-based sauce. Also my Braised Chicken with Tomato and Squash which instead has a bright, bold red sauce.

If you’ve never tried authentic Punjabi saag, I high recommend it. You can find it at many local Indian restaurants, or check out this recipe from KitchenPostcards if you want to try making an authentic version yourself.

Chicken in Green Sauce with Goat Cheese

This can be made with pretty much whatever hearty greens you like, so it’s great for any you may have hanging out in your garden or the back of your fridge. Kale, collards, chard, beet greens, broccoli greens, radish greens, and even cabbage can be used. But a mix of greens is even better. The greens you choose will, however, cause some variations in the color of your finished sauce. More kale will lead to a deep hunter green, while more cabbage makes for a vibrant chartreuse, and more beet greens create rich reddish-brown. As you can imagine, the flavor and texture will vary as well, but I have tried many variations and have yet to be disappointed.

Servings 4

Prep Time 15 minutes mins

Cook Time 45 minutes mins

Total Time 1 hour hr

Ingredients

• 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 24 oz (3-4) chicken thighs bone-in and skin-on
• Kosher salt and pepper
• 1 small red or yellow onion roughly chopped
• 6 cloves garlic smashed
• 1 1-inch piece ginger finely grated
• 1 ½-inch piece turmeric finely grated, or ½ tsp ground turmeric
• ½ tsp cumin seeds or ground cumin
• 12 oz (about 4 cups, tightly packed) hearty greens tough stems removed and roughly chopped
• 1 15-oz can diced or whole tomatoes
• 2 cup chicken broth or water
• 1 cup long grain white rice
• ½ cup plain yogurt
• 6 oz chèvre goat cheese or other crumble cheese such as queso fresco
• Chili powder (optional) for topping

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 350℉.
• Heat 1 tbsp olive oil in a Dutch oven over medium heat. Pat chicken thighs dry with a paper towel and season on all sides with a generous sprinkle of salt and pepper. Place skin-side down in the pot and cook for about 5 minutes, or until skin is golden brown. Remove to a plate.
• Without wiping out the pan, add onion, garlic, ginger, turmeric, cumin seeds, ½ tsp salt, and ¼ tsp pepper. Cook briefly until fragrant and onion is starting to soften, about 1-2 minutes.
• Add greens and cook while stirring until wilted. Mix in canned tomatoes with their juices.
• Return chicken to pot skin-side up on top of greens. Cover, remove from heat, and transfer to the oven. Cook for about 45 minutes or unti chicken is very tender and easy to shred with a fork.
• About halfway through, start cooking rice: combine 1 cup rice and 2 cups broth or water in a medium saucepan. Bring to a gentle boil then cover and reduce heat to low. Simmer for 15 minutes then remove heat and leave covered until ready to serve.
• Remove chicken to a cutting board. Transfer remaining contents from the pot to a blender. Add yogurt and blend until fairly smooth.
• Return sauce to pot over low heat. Remove skin and bones from chicken thighs and shred meat with two forks. Mix into the green sauce.
• Divide rice into bowls. Ladle chicken and green sauce over rice then top with goat cheese. Sprinkle chili powder over the top.

Author: Ryne J. Macht, RDN

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: American, Indian

Keyword: basmati coconut rice, beet greens, broccoli greens, burger with onion and goat cheese, garden greens, green sauce, hearty greens, kale, spring vegetables, vegetable greens, winter greens, winter vegetables