Chicken Fricassee
This is an all time family favorite, on regular rotation in my house during the fall and winter. While it's the briny olives that I cream shoot, there's nothing not to love about this hearty stew, Between the sweet marsala wine, the melt in your mouth potatoes, or the fork tender chicken, it comforts to the core! Serve it on a bed of egg fettucine, or alongside a few slices of crusty french bread. Either way, it's delicious.
Materials
- 8 boneless, skinless chicken thighs
- 1 small onion diced
- 2 carrots diced
- 2 ribs of celery diced
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 clove garlic minced
- 5 Tbspn tomato paste
- 1 cup Marsala wine
- 2 cups chicken stock
- 1 cup peas
- 1 cup olives medley
- 2 potatoes diced
- 1/2 tspn salt
- 2 tspns ground rosemary
- pepper to taste
- 1/4-1/2 tspn Calabrian chili peppers optional
- Italian flat leaf parsley for garnish
Instructions
- Season both sides of the chicken thighs with salt and pepper.
- Dredge the chicken in flour. I use a large ziploc bag, add 1/2 a cup of flour and then add the chicken thighs. Seal the bag and squish it around until the chicken is well coated. The flour coating will help the chicken brown evenly and also add thickness to the finished dish.
- Heat olive oil in a large pan or dutch oven over medium heat and brown the chicken. You may have to do this in batches so you don't overcrowd the pan. Cook about two minutes per side or until golden and remove from pan.
- Add the diced onions, carrots, celery, minced garlic and bay leaf to the pan and sauté over medium heat until the vegetables are soft, about 5-7 minutes.
- Add chicken and all the juices back to the pan and add the tomato paste. Mix until the tomato paste covers all the food and cook until slightly sticky.
- Add the marsala wine and stir, scraping up any brown bits that may have stuck to the bottom of the pan.
- Add the chicken stock.
- Add the salt and pepper.
- Add the ground rosemary.
- Cover and reduce heat. Allow to simmer for an hour, stirring occasionally.
- Add peas, olives and potatoes. Continue to simmer for 30 minutes or, until the potatoes are fork tender and the chicken begins to fall apart.
- Taste, adjust seasoning and add chili peppers, if desired.
- Garnish with fresh sprigs of thyme and chopped Italian flat leaf parsley. Drizzle with olive oil and enjoy!
Leave a Reply