Rustic Skillet Chicken

You’ll need:

• 1-whole chicken, dried with paper towels and cut into 8 pieces, seasoned with salt and pepper
• 1-28oz. can San Marzano tomatoes, crushed by hand
• 1-large onion, chopped
• 6-garlic cloves, halved
• 1/4-cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 2-bay leaf
• 1 1/2-tsp sea salt
• 1/2-tsp black pepper
• 1/2-tsp crushed red pepper flakes
• 1/2-cup dry red wine
• 1/2-cup carrots, chopped
• 1/2-cup celery, chopped
• 1/2-cup kalamata olives, halved
• 1/2-cup green olives, halved
• 1/2-cup chopped fresh parsley

Directions:

1. Pre-heat your oven to 300 degrees.
2. Heat the olive oil in a 15″ oven safe skillet.
3. Brown the chicken on all sides and remove to a plate.
4. Add the garlic, onion, celery, carrots and crushed red pepper and sauté on medium heat for 5 minutes.
5. Add the wine and scrape all the brown bits off the bottom of the skillet.
6. Add the chicken and the juice that has collected back to the skillet with the crushed tomatoes and their juice.
7. Add the salt, pepper and bay leaves.
8. Bring this to a boil.
9. Add the olives .
10. Place the skillet into the oven for 1 hour, basting a couple times along the way.
11. 30 min in, taste for salt and adjust
12. After 1 hour check to be sure chicken is done it should be fork tender.
13. Remove the bay leaves
14. Top with the fresh chopped parsley

I suggest serving this dish over polenta or rice or slice a nice rustic crusty Italian bread into 1/2 slices, brush some olive on, toast them and serve the chicken spooned onto the bread.

Daniel Mancini