A dish I make often, simple and it always turns out delicious. There is literally no way to mess this dish up! I call it my chicken in a pot.
I have adapted this recipe to add a few more vegetables. This cookbook is one I do not cook from enough. The recipes are relatively simple, are from across the globe, and always work well.
For more recipes from this book click here.
Chicken, whole breast, legs, or thighs, 4-5 pieces. They should fit a large pyrex dish easily in a single layer.
1 -2 small zucchini, chunked large
1 red onion, sliced thick
1 red pepper, cut into large slices
1-2 carrots, chunked
2-3 small potatoes, chunked, unpeeled
10 black olives, either oil-dried or wet, kept whole
5-7 cloves garlic, sliced or diced
Salt and pepper to taste
1-2 teaspoons dried thyme, or 6-8 fresh thyme sprigs
1-2 teaspoons dried rosemary, or 5-6 fresh rojas Mary sprigs cut in half
1-2 cups white wine, or chicken stock. I love the wine option so I can also drink while I cook!
Some olive oil or butter, for greasing the dish and To coat the ingredients.
Other vegetables that you may add or substitute:
Artichokes
Brussels sprouts
Squashes, any variety
Sweet potatoes
Eggplants
Beans
Asparagus
To upgrade your dish to a more exotic version,
Dried fruit, particularly apricots, raisins or prunes.
Slivered almonds.
Essentially, any vegetable you want, in any combination you want. A great way to get some vegetables to kids.
Heat oven to 400° F.
Grease a large pyrex dish with the oil or butter. Add all the ingredients, except wine, to a bowl and toss by hand to mix well. Make sure all the ingredients are coated with the herbs, if using dried, or to get them well oiled. Layer all the ingredients in the dish, make sure the meat is in the single layer. If using fresh herbs, layer the stems at the bottom with the meat on top for maximum flavor. Add the wine and seal well with food foil.
Bake dish in the center of the oven for 1 hour. Open the foil and check that the chicken is cooked through completely. If done, remove the foil and bake for an additional 15 minutes till the chicken and vegetables on top begins to brown and char. Make sure that the wine stock does not dry up, if it is low, add a touch of water, you are not boiling the vjicken, just a touch to keep a well flavored stock.
Serve immediately with rice, bread or couscous. Top the meat and vegetables with the wonderful stock when serving.
Enjoy with a light to medium bodied red wine.