Chicken with Peppers, Roman Style

La storia di questo piatto

This is Lazio's home kitchen at its most generous: chicken stewed slowly with red and yellow peppers, tomato and white wine, a Roman-style pot made for the Sunday table. It is a family interpretation rather than an ancient rite, and it asks for bread beside it.

Ingredienti

• 1300 g Bone-in chicken pieces (thighs, drumsticks, wings)
• 2 piece Red peppers (about 200 g each)
• 2 piece Yellow peppers (about 200 g each)
• 400 g Peeled tomatoes (with their juice)
• 150 ml Dry white wine
• 1 piece Onion (about 150 g, finely chopped)
• 3 clove Garlic in its skin (whole cloves with skin on, lightly crushed)
• 60 ml Extra virgin olive oil
• 1.5 teaspoon Salt
• 0.5 teaspoon Black pepper
• 12 g Fresh parsley (finely chopped just before use)

Preparazione

1. Cut the thighs and drumsticks in half at the joint, leaving the wings whole. Pat each piece dry with kitchen paper: wet meat boils instead of browning. Season with restraint, using half of the salt and pepper listed (0.75 teaspoon of salt and 0.25 of pepper), massaging the meat lightly; reserve the rest for the end of cooking. Finely chop the onion, remove the stems, seeds and white membranes from the peppers and cut them into pieces about 3-4 cm wide. Lightly crush the garlic without peeling it.
2. Heat all 60 ml of oil in a wide pot over medium-high heat. Lay the chicken in without overcrowding, in two batches. Brown for 5-6 minutes per side, until each piece has a golden crust and releases easily from the bottom of the pan. Set the chicken aside. If there is too much fat in the pan, remove the excess, leaving about 2-3 tablespoons. If the bottom is too dark (burnt), deglaze with a spoonful of water and scrape well; then proceed with the soffritto in step 3.
3. Lower the heat to medium-low and let the pot cool for a minute. In the remaining fat (2-3 tablespoons), soften the chopped onion with the garlic in its skin for 3-4 minutes, until the onion is soft and translucent, without letting it darken or it will turn bitter.
4. Add the peppers to the soffritto and soften them for 5-6 minutes, stirring: they will only just soften, as the real cooking happens in the sauce.
5. Raise the heat, pour in the white wine and deglaze for 2-3 minutes, scraping up the golden bits stuck to the pot with a wooden spoon, until the alcohol has completely evaporated and the aroma no longer stings.
6. Add the tomatoes crushed by hand, with their juice, return the chicken with its juices to the pot and stir well to combine. Cover and simmer over low heat for 30 minutes, stirring gently from time to time so the peppers don't break up.
7. Uncover the pot and cook for another 10-12 minutes over medium-low heat, until the chicken almost falls off the bone and the sauce becomes thick and glossy. Remove the garlic. Taste and adjust with the remaining salt and pepper (0.75 teaspoon of salt and 0.25 of pepper). Sprinkle with the freshly chopped parsley and serve in very hot deep plates, with rustic bread for mopping up the sauce.