Chicken Stifado with Whole Shallots

From the garden

• 2 lb shallots, peeled, left whole, root ends trimmed
• 4 cloves garlic, peeled and left whole

From the pantry

• 8 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs · about 2 1/2 lb
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 3 tbsp tomato paste
• ⅓ cup red wine vinegar · the backbone of the dish; do not cut it back
• 1½ cups chicken stock
• 1 tbsp honey · balances the vinegar
• ½ tsp ground cinnamon
• ¼ tsp ground cloves
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• crusty bread (optional) · for serving
• salt · to taste
• black pepper

1. Peel the shallots the fast way: drop them into boiling water for 30 seconds, drain, and slip off the skins. Leave every bulb whole and trim only the hairy root end, or they will fall apart in the pot.
2. Pat the thighs dry and season them well with salt and pepper. Brown them skin-side down in the olive oil in a wide Dutch oven over medium-high heat, 6–8 minutes, until deep gold, then set aside.
3. Pour off all but about 2 tablespoons of fat. Add the whole shallots and garlic, lower the heat to medium, and cook 8–10 minutes, shaking the pan rather than stirring, until they color at the edges.
4. Stir in the tomato paste and cook 1 minute, until it darkens and smells sweet. Pour in the vinegar and let it bubble hard for 2 minutes: that boil is what takes the raw edge off.
5. Add the stock, honey, cinnamon, cloves, oregano, and bay leaves. Nestle the thighs back in skin-side up, cover, and simmer over low heat 45 minutes, until the shallots give way to a spoon.
6. Uncover and simmer 10–15 minutes more, until the sauce thickens enough to glaze the shallots. Pull the bay leaves, taste for salt, and rest 10 minutes off the heat before serving with bread.