Buy whole chicken legs with thighs attached and divide the leg and the thigh into 2 (or have the butcher do it).

Chicken skin becomes tasteless in a braise but you need it to prevent the chicken from drying out. The solution: Rebake the legs in the oven for a few minutes until the skin recrisps.

Sit them on a bed of the superb sauce and sprinkle with the gremolata for a sensational dish.

Chicken:

1 cup all-purpose flour

Salt and freshly ground pepper

2 teaspoons chopped fresh rosemary

6 chicken legs

1/4 cup olive oil

Sauce:

1 cup chopped onion

1/2 cup chopped carrots

1/2 cup chopped celery

1 teaspoon chopped garlic

1 cup dry white wine

1 cup chicken stock

1 1/2 cups drained canned tomatoes, chopped

1 1-inch strip orange rind

1 bay leaf

1 teaspoon chopped thyme

Gremolata:

2 teaspoons grated lemon rind

1 teaspoon finely chopped garlic

1/4 cup chopped parsley

1 chopped anchovy (optional)

Place flour in a shallow bowl and season well with salt, pepper and rosemary. Dredge chicken legs in flour to lightly coat.

Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a skillet or sauté pan over high heat. Working in batches, brown legs about 2 to 3 minutes per side. Reserve. Drain fat from pan and wipe out any burnt flour with a paper towel.

Reduce heat to medium and add remaining oil, onion, carrots, celery and garlic and sauté until onion is softened, about 2 minutes. Pour in wine, bring to boil and boil until wine is reduced to 2 tablespoons, about 4 minutes. Add chicken stock and tomatoes and bring to boil, stirring. Add orange rind, bay leaf and thyme.

Turn heat to medium-low and simmer for 20 minutes or until sauce is thickened slightly.

Return chicken legs to pan, cover, turn heat to low and simmer gently for 25 minutes longer, turning once, or until juices run clear. Remove legs.

Preheat oven to 450 F.

Place chicken, skin side up, on a parchment-lined baking sheet and bake for 10 minutes or until skin has crisped.

Combine lemon rind, garlic, parsley and anchovy and sprinkle over each serving.

Serve surrounded with sauce. Serves 6