This is the kind of food I am craving right now. As the new season has announced itself, we shift from bold and hearty curries, and slow food, to dishes like this. This Italian and rosemary chicken is a quick dish to make yet still packed full of bold flavours that will leave you wanting more and more. It is a dream to freeze too and that gets a double tick from me.
Italian style chicken with rosemary and onions
Serves 4
Olive oil
4-8 Chicken thighs
Sea salt and cracked black pepper
4 stalks of rosemary, leaves picked and chopped plus extra to serve
1 brown onion, finely sliced
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
Pinch of dried chilli flakes
1-2 tablespoons of salted capers, rinsed and drained
A large handful of pitted green olives
4 tomatoes, diced or can be substituted for Italian style tinned diced tomatoes
250 ml white wine
Extra virgin olive oil, drizzled to serve
Preheat the oven to 180oC, if not simply using the stovetop method.
Place the chicken in a dish and add the oil, salt, cracked black pepper and chopped rosemary. Rub in the rosemary quite a bit to release the oils.
Heat olive oil in an ovenproof frying pan over medium-high heat and brown the chicken until golden on all sides. Remove the chicken and set aside on a plate.
Turn heat down to medium and add onion to the pan and fry until softened.
Add the garlic and chilli, and cook for a further couple of minutes. Add capers, olives and tomatoes. Add the wine and bring it to a gentle boil for a couple of minutes and allow it to thicken. Taste and season with salt and pepper.
Cover with a lid or loosely with foil and bake in the oven or stove top for approximately 20 minutes.
To serve, place some of the tomato and olive mixture on to a plate. Place the chicken on top and scatter over some extra rosemary leaves and drizzle with a little extra virgin olive oil.
