This is the chicken version of 'veggies are my friend.' It's similar to chicken cacciatore, sort of an Italian chicken stew. It takes about an hour from start to table, maybe a little more, depending on the size of your chicken pieces.
Here's the cast of characters. Onion, green pepper, 2 garlic cloves, a can of diced tomatoes (with basil, garlic and oregano, in this case), mushrooms and your favorite spices. Seasoned pepper, oregano, parsley and Italian seasonings work for me. A few pieces of chicken and enough flour to dredge the chicken in, are also necessary. Cut up the onion, green pepper and garlic first. Then put some olive oil in a pan that has a cover and turn the burner to medium high.
Dredge the chicken pieces in the flour and put them in the heated oil. Season them up with the spices listed above. I read somewhere that the key to this dish is to adequately brown the chicken, so I watch it fairly carefully. About 5 or 6 minutes on each side, then remove the chicken to a plate. Reduce the heat to medium.
Put the chopped veggies into the frying pan for about 3 or 4 minutes. Season them up with the seasonings shown above. Put the garlic in near the end, so it doesn't burn and get bitter. (A tip from Rachel Ray.) When it looks like this, add the mushrooms (I used baby portabellas) and stir for a minute, then put the chicken back in the pan on top of the veggies, and pour the can of diced tomatoes over the top. Feel free to season it up again. Put the cover on it, reduce the heat to low, and simmer for about 20 minutes until the chicken is done. To thicken it up and deepen the tomato flavor, I add a heaping teaspoonful of tomato paste
to the veggie mixture before I serve it.
Serve on your new plates, with a spinach salad or something. Those of you with healthy pancreases (pancreii?) can serve it with pasta or rice. Maybe some little red potatoes. Though I gotta say, it doesn't need it. It's pretty hearty, and about all you need is a hard roll to sop up the juices. JB says it is delicious. I thought so, myself. And we have leftovers!
Here's the cast of characters. Onion, green pepper, 2 garlic cloves, a can of diced tomatoes (with basil, garlic and oregano, in this case), mushrooms and your favorite spices. Seasoned pepper, oregano, parsley and Italian seasonings work for me. A few pieces of chicken and enough flour to dredge the chicken in, are also necessary. Cut up the onion, green pepper and garlic first. Then put some olive oil in a pan that has a cover and turn the burner to medium high.
Dredge the chicken pieces in the flour and put them in the heated oil. Season them up with the spices listed above. I read somewhere that the key to this dish is to adequately brown the chicken, so I watch it fairly carefully. About 5 or 6 minutes on each side, then remove the chicken to a plate. Reduce the heat to medium.
Put the chopped veggies into the frying pan for about 3 or 4 minutes. Season them up with the seasonings shown above. Put the garlic in near the end, so it doesn't burn and get bitter. (A tip from Rachel Ray.) When it looks like this, add the mushrooms (I used baby portabellas) and stir for a minute, then put the chicken back in the pan on top of the veggies, and pour the can of diced tomatoes over the top. Feel free to season it up again. Put the cover on it, reduce the heat to low, and simmer for about 20 minutes until the chicken is done. To thicken it up and deepen the tomato flavor, I add a heaping teaspoonful of tomato paste to the veggie mixture before I serve it.
Serve on your new plates, with a spinach salad or something. Those of you with healthy pancreases (pancreii?) can serve it with pasta or rice. Maybe some little red potatoes. Though I gotta say, it doesn't need it. It's pretty hearty, and about all you need is a hard roll to sop up the juices. JB says it is delicious. I thought so, myself. And we have leftovers!
1 comment:
Looks really good.
I do something quite similar that I call chicken Italiano.
Post a Comment