Braised chicken from the Italian Riviera traditional cuisine is one of the most cooked recipe during my cooking classes. Many people love and cook chicken in their Countries and it’s a very easy recipe which doesn’t need any particular cooking skills. At the same time, though, it perfectly incapsulates all the flavors of the Italian Riviera country side: tomatoes, pine-nuts, Taggiasca olives, garlic, rosemary and, of course, extra-virgin olive oil.
Is braised chicken healthy? Yes, it’s a perfect balanced main course with a lot of flavor and few calories. The few are from extra-virgin olive oil which is a very healthy source of vegetable fat.
What to serve with braised chicken? I usually prepare some spinaches sauté in the pan with pine nuts and raising (another very traditional Ligurian side dish). But also roasted potatoes or mashed potatoes will be a good companion as they will perfectly combine and mop the sauce.
Every time we prepare Liguria braised chicken it my guests are amazed. There is no time I haven’t seen a sparkling light in the eyes at the first bite. So, this is the time to share it on the blog too!
Italian Riviera braised chicken
Ingredients
- 1 chicken (ab 1 kg) , cut into 8 pieces
- 2 tablespoons of all purpose flour
- 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 4 to 5 fresh rosemary sprigs
- 3 cloves garlic, peeled
- 1/2 glass of white wine
- 1 cup of stock
- 1/2 cup of Taggiasca olives (pits removed)
- 3 tablespoons of pine nuts
- 3 ripe plum tomatoes, halved, seeded and coarsely chopped.
Instructions
- Dust the chicken peaces with flour.
- Place a large flameproof casserole dish over medium-high heat and heat olive oil. Add chicken pieces and fry until golden underneath, about 5 minutes.
- Turn chicken and add rosemary and garlic. Continue to fry until garlic is softened but not colored, about 3 minutes. Remove garlic.
- Add the white wine. When the alcohol of the wine is evaporated add olives, pine-nuts and diced tomatoes.
- Add the stock, partly cover pan, and reduce heat to medium low. Simmer until chicken is cooked and tender and stock is reduced to a rich sauce, 40 to 45 minutes.
- To serve, discard rosemary sprigs and season well with salt and pepper to taste.
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