Eat With Me!

Chicken Arrabiatta

This is the first recipe I tried from my Italian cookbook, and it turned out pretty good. . . there are some things I would do different next time, though. . . I halfed the recipe and ate it with orzo and it was a good amount for my lunch and dinner, so it would serve 4 people comfortably.  It is a little spicy the first time around, but on reheat I didn't taste any. . . in any case, its easy to adjust the spice with the amount of chili pepper (or powder).

What you'll need:

Young chicken about 1 kg. . . or however much you think you’re family will eat.
1 small onion

1 carrot

1 stalk of celery

2 cloves of garlic

1 cup red wine (I used water . . . it worked, but I would use red wine vinegar mixed with water next time, probably half and half and adjust from there)

200 g fresh tomatoes, skinned (I didn't skin them, because that's too much work for me!  Besides, the best nutrients are in the skins. . .)

1 dried chili pepper (I used crushed, and just added however much I felt like)

Flour

1 bunch parsley (I didn’t use this, because I don’t like it)

3 basil leaves

Olive oil

Salt, Pepper

How to do it:

First wash, dry, and cut the chicken into bite size pieces. Then wash the carrot and celery, chop and combine with the onion and garlic and saute them in a pot or large saucepan with a little oil.

While the veggies are cooking (don't forget to stir them, so they don't burn), coat the chicken pieces in flour (and I would salt and pepper them too).
After the veggies are soft, put the chicken in the pan to brown.  Then, add the red wine and let it evaporate before adding the tomatoes passed through a sieve (I didn't have a sieve, so I just chopped them up small and smashed them in the pan) and the chili pepper, crumbled. Then check the saltiness, adjust appropriately, and cook over moderate heat for half an hour (it didn't take this long for me, but maybe I had the heat on too high). If the sauce gets too dry, moisten with a little bit of hot broth (or water).

When the chicken is done and the sauce is thick enough for you, serve over hot pasta, then sprinkle with chopped basil and parsley. Serve hot!

I have to say, I was a little disappointed in the quality of the meal (not that it was bad, but I was expecting it to be amazing), but I also bought stuff to make cookies, but I'm a little nervous about them because some of the ingredients are confusing, and the directions didn't translate very well. . . but I'll try them anyway!