This Israeli Chicken Sofrito is inspired by a Sephardic family recipe from my sister-in-law. The term sofrito comes from the Spanish sofreir meaning “to fry lightly.” In Sephardic cuisine the name typically refers to a stew made from meat or poultry that is braised and cooked over low heat until only a small amount of liquid remains. The slow cooking process results in a very tender meat.
This version of the dish likely earned the name sofrito because the majority of the ingredients are fried in oil before they are cooked. In Spanish and Italian cuisine, sofrito is a combination of aromatics that are fried and used in a variety of savory dishes. The Italian version is made with parsley, onion, garlic and tomato lightly cooked in olive oil, while the Spanish version calls for paprika. The common thread between all versions of sofrito seems to be the oil.
In this recipe, the secret of the flavor is in the schmaltz. Frying the chicken in olive oil results in golden chicken fat (schmaltz). You then fry the potatoes and onions in it, infusing them with all kinds of savory goodness. Using chicken broth for the braising liquid instead of water enhances the savory flavor.
This recipe takes a bit of prep work, but once it’s all in the pot you can rest easy… the cooking will take care of itself. It’s perfect as a Shabbat dinner or a Sunday supper. My favorite part of this dish is the addition of an orange yam/sweet potato and lightly caramelized onions, two sweet flavors which compliment the spices and add depth to this ultra-savory dish. My stepdaughter adores the browned potatoes, which soak up the spiced chicken broth at the end of cooking.
This is serious comfort food, a one-pot meal that satisfies. Do you have your own version of sofrito?
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Food Photography and Styling by Kelly Jaggers
Israeli Chicken Sofrito
Ingredients
- 8 bone-in skin-on chicken thighs
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 2 medium Russet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1 1/2-inch chunks
- 1 medium sweet potato, peeled and cut into 1 1/2-inch chunks
- 2 medium yellow onions, sliced
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 1 1/2 cups chicken stock
- 1 3/4 teaspoons paprika
- 1 1/4 teaspoons turmeric
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 3 bay leaves
NOTES
Instructions
- Prepare the chicken thighs by sprinkling them with salt (lightly if it’s kosher chicken), then generously with black pepper.In a heavy pot with a lid (I prefer an enameled Dutch oven), heat olive oil over medium high heat until hot but not smoking. Oil should coat the entire bottom of the pot. Place 4 of the chicken thighs into the pan, skin side down, and cook undisturbed for about 7-8 minutes till the skin is dark golden brown (careful, it may splatter a bit!). Do not move the chicken during the initial cooking process; the skin will initially stick to the bottom of the pot, then will loosen as it browns. If the oil begins to smoke a lot, lower the heat a bit and continue to cook. When the skin is brown and crispy, turn and cook for an additional 3-4 minutes till brown.
- Remove chicken from pan with a slotted spatula and set aside. Repeat instructions for the remaining 4 pieces of chicken. Remove chicken from pan and reserve.You should now have plenty of cooking oil/schmaltz in the bottom of your pot. Fry the potato chunks for about 8 minutes, stirring gently 2-3 times during cooking, until potatoes are browned and crisp on the outside. You may need to do this in batches to ensure that the pot is not crowded for even browning. They should be semi-cooked and golden, but not overly soft. Raise heat if needed to make sure they brown evenly on all sides. Remove potatoes from the pot with a slotted spatula and reserve.
- Add sliced onions and ¼ tsp of salt to the oil, stir to coat. Cover the pot and reduce heat to medium. Let the onions cook covered for about 10 minutes.
- While the onions are cooking covered in the pot, whisk together the chicken stock, paprika, turmeric, garlic powder and bay leaves to create your cooking liquid. Set aside.
- Uncover the pot and continue to cook the onions over medium high heat, stirring until the onions soften and begin to caramelize. Scrape up any brown bits from the bottom of the pot as you stir. The longer you cook the onions, the more they will caramelize.
- At this point, you can drain off the excess fat and schmaltz if you wish to cut calories, or you can keep it in the dish to add flavor.Add chicken and cooking liquid to the pot with the onions and bring to a simmer.
- Cover, reduce heat to medium low, and cook for about 60 minutes until the chicken is very tender (you can cook it even longer for a more tender result if you wish). Add the browned potatoes back to the pot and toss to coat with sauce. Raise heat to medium and simmer, uncovered, for an additional 15 minutes or until cooking liquid has reduced and potatoes are tender and soak up some of the cooking liquid. Adjust salt and pepper to taste.
Nutrition
I made it today and it is delicious on a cold winter day! I added 2 carrots and fried them 😉 and finished it of with a tbsp of lemon juice. Can you explain why to fry the potatoes before cooking them? Just curious 🙂
It adds flavor and helps them keep their structure through the long, slow cook process. Glad you enjoyed it!
Haven’t tried this yet, but does the chicken skin stay crispy. Some of these Dutch Oven chicken recipes turn the skin soggy.
The skin does not stay crispy, though it will keep its shape and be less slick/slippery than it would without searing. The searing step is to help render chicken fat, which flavors the overall dish.
Made this for Tabernacles. Another winner, winner chicken dinner. This is a very affordable dish with a lot of flavor impact. 100% recommend it.
Getting ready to make this tonight for our Shabbat/Sukkot meal, thinking I’ll use carrot since i don’t have sweet potato and steam some broccoli as a side. I like the idea one of the other commenters had, putting the Dutch oven in the oven for the final cook time, think I’ll do that so I have a little more time to prep the rest of the meal….and get the family ready haha
Thanks for another amazing recipe, I have yet to have one if your recipes go sour, which isn’t something I can’t say about many!
this sound so good. Do you think it can cook in the slow cooker after everything is sauted? I would love to have this for Sukkot dinner but can’t be home to watch it. Thanks for all the yummy recipes.
Hi Judith! Sorry I didn’t get back to you before now, it’s Sukkot tonight so maybe too late – however I do think that yes, you could do what you are suggesting and I’m guessing it will turn out well. Chag Sameach!
My kitchen smells unbelievable. Can’t rate it yet since still cooking but if it’s even 50% as good as the house smells, it will be a five-plus!
Hope you enjoyed it Lynda!
Ive followed the instructions up to the cooking stage and now this wonderful concoction is simmering away nicely in my slow cooker ready for my Israeli themed Eurovision party tonight. Thank you for the inspiration!
Would this would in a crock pot? This is my favorite recipe and I want to make it during the day while I’m out.
I haven’t tried it, it would probably work but the lead-up steps require frying in the pan prior to the slow cook.
I love this recipe. It take a little bit of time with all the cutting and chopping; but it is well worth it. It is SOOOOOOOOOOO delicious.
Glad you like it Betty!
Hi Tori
I’ve made this recipe a few times and it’s perfect! My Israeli sister in law made something very similar with the juice of two oranges. We loved it!
How can I use your recipe, which I’ve mastered, and get that citrus taste.
I guess the potatoes wouldn’t work…
Maybe carrots instead?
Hi Amy! Glad you like this recipe. Without tasting your sister-in-law’s recipe it would be hard to know how to capture the citrus flavor she had. Will she share her recipe with you?
Hi Tori!
I want to try to make this for a Seder meal. Have you ever tried putting it in the oven after browning all the ingredients? do you have a suggestion on temp and cooking time? Thanks!
Hi Olga! I have not, but I think it will work as long as you cover it tightly. If I were trying it I would probably start at 350 degrees F and let it cook for an hour, then add the potatoes. Keep an eye on liquid level when you add the potatoes to make sure it’s not drying out, you want them to soak up the sauce.
I made this for a church dinner with the theme of “what would the three wise men have eaten for their meals if they were traveling now” and it was a big hit. I used boneless chicken breasts and thighs but had a bag of chicken fat in my freezer which I used. This recipe is a definite keeper. I also made the Israeli Salad with Avocado and Mint and all my kitchen helpers asked for this recipe too. Thank you so much. Your website is a real treasure.
I did exactly this recipe, but added some pre coocked (tinned) Chick peas to make it more “israeli style” and add some fiber & protein, since I did only use two chicken tighs and did not have sweet potatoes available.
According to my three picky eaters it tasted delicious.
Thanks Tori for sharing this recipe.
I’m in the middle of making this recipe, and I realize I only have canned chicken broth as opposed to chicken stock. Does it make a big difference if you use one over the other?
Canned will work fine Stacy. Enjoy 🙂
This is such an interesting recipe for this dish! I love sweet potatoes so that addition sounds delicious. When we make chicken sofrito at home, we use a whole chicken and instead of garlic powder, we use a lot of garlic cloves still in their skins. Once they’ve roasted with the chicken and potatoes and onions, they’re basically magical. The garlic slips right out of the skin and takes on the savoury flavour of the chicken. I highly recommend it! :]
I made this for dinner tonight. it ended up being a more of a stew with a lot of liquid remaining. The flavors were insanely good. I mean, really, really delicious. This is a keeper.
Hi Tori, thanks for yet another wonderful recipe! I wanted to do something new and different for dinner tonight, so I decided on this sofrito. It turned out delicious! My family really enjoyed it!
Great Talia! I’m so please people are enjoying this recipe, it’s a family favorite of ours.
Made this for my family and it was a hit. Very easy to make and so delicious. Looking forward to trying out the Chai Noodle Kugel next!! Thank you for the fantasic website.
I have a question about the paprika, I have 3 kinds on hand: Sweet,Smoked,Imported Hungarian. Which would you suggest to be used in this dish?
While I am not of your faith, my family has loved every dish I have prepared from your site and my almost grown son loves all your mocktail recipes! I have started looking for the Kosher hescher on product because I simply find them to be of higher quality. Again, thanks for that tip.
Hi Stephanie, you should use sweet or Hungarian paprika. So happy you’re enjoying the site!
Hi Tori, I’m wondering if anyone’s ever tried this with skinless chicken? Yikes!
Yes, I did, still delicious! Just compensate for the missing schmaltz by adding extra oil to fry the onions and potatoes. I also cooked my onions separately in a cast iron skillet to save time.