Delicious roast chicken with savory peppers and olives make this a special dish. An authentic Italian recipe from our kitchen to yours. Buon Appetito!
Ingredients
- 4 chicken drumsticks, skinless or skin removed and cleaned
- 4 chicken thighs, skinless or skin removed and cleaned
- 2/3 cup Gaeta olives, picked over for stems, rinsed and soaked in fresh water briefly
- 2 bell peppers (red or green or a mix)
- 4 large cloves of garlic, peeled and roughly chopped
- Peel of 1/4 lemon
- 2 short sprigs fresh rosemary
- 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1/2 cup white wine separated into 2 – 1/4 cups
- Salt
Directions
1. Rinse chicken, ensuring all skin has been removed and any remaining fat has been removed as needed. Set aside.
2. Strain any juice from the olives and place them in a bowl and fill it with fresh water to cover the olives. Set aside.
3. Wash and seed bell peppers. Cut them into 1/4 inch thin strips.
4. Place bell peppers into a large skillet over medium heat with 1/4 cup olive oil and a light sprinkling of salt.
5. Sauté vegetables for 2 minutes; then, add 1/4 cup white wine and 1/4 cup water. Cover the pan and let the vegetables simmer until the peppers become soft (approximately 15 minutes). Add water to the pan as needed to help soften the peppers.
6. Drain the water from the olives and add them to the pan as the peppers begin to soften.
7. When the peppers have softened, remove the peppers and olives from the pan and place them into a bowl or on a plate and set aside.
8. Preheat the oven to 475 degrees.
9. Add to the pan (which should still have a bit of liquid) the rosemary, garlic and lemon zest. Add the chicken, into the pan along with 1/4 cup water. Cover the pan and let the chicken simmer for 15 - 20 minutes or until slight browning begins to occur on the pan side of the chicken.
10. Flip chicken pieces over and if the liquid has almost evaporated, add 1/4 cup water to the pan, cover and let the chicken simmer for another 15 - 20 minutes or until slight browning begins to occur on the pan side of the chicken.
11. When the chicken has browned slightly, place it in an oven safe dish and put it on the bottom rack of the oven to continue cooking for another 10 - 15 minutes, turning the pieces once so the chicken browns evenly on both sides.
12. Add peppers and olives into the baking dish with the chicken along with any residual juice and cook another 5 - 10 minutes until the peppers begin to brown and olives begin to blister.
13. Remove the baking dish from the oven, plate and serve.