At the restaurant, I typically make this dish using rabbit, but chicken legs and thighs make for a speedier and equally tasty sub. The sofrito and tomato melt into the broth to make a deeply satisfying dish that will taste as if your Grandmother toiled away for an entire day. This technique is both forgiving and incredibly versatile. Once you taste it I think you’ll be drawn to it again and again. You can sub out the chicken with other meats (lamb, pork, beef) or veggies (large hunks of cauliflower or string beans).
-Marco
Braised Chicken and Olives
INGREDIENTS
- 2 celery stalks
- 2 red onions
- 4 carrots
- 4 garlic cloves
- 2 tbsp tomato paste
- 4 tbsp EVOO
- rosemary sprig
- sage sprig
- 1 quart Chicken Broth or Hearth Broth (divided
- 1 1/2 cup of olives
- 1 pack of chicken legs (skin on and bone-in, 5 pieces)
- 1 pack of chicken thighs (skin on and bone-in, 4 pieces)
INSTRUCTIONS
- Chop onion, carrot, celery, and garlic
- Add to a food processor with any fresh herbs you like (I’m a rosemary and sage guy) and mince.
- Season both sides of chicken with salt and pepper
- Add about 4 tbsps of olive oil to a 12-inch skillet
- Brown chicken on all sides on medium/high heat. Set aside.
- Use the same pan to cook the sofrito. This is gold.
- Cook the veggies over medium heat for 5 minutes, stir in tomato paste and cook for another 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Add browned chicken back into the pan with 1/2 quart of Chicken or Hearth Brodo and stir.
- Set on low/medium heat and cook with a lid covering half of the pan.
- Over the course of the next hour continue to add a 1/2 cup of Brodo at a time, every 15 minutes or so. Each time stir and spoon the broth and sofrito over the chicken.
- At the one hour mark stir in some olives and continue cooking for 20-30 minutes.
