Chicken, Olives and Artichokes - Hunter Style

When I decided to make this dish, I was thinking of a chicken cacciatore that I used to get from a local supermarket. They would make it with big chunks of white breast meat, all the colors of bell peppers and lots of whole garlic cloves. It was delicious. Since I was making this for my mom, I decided to leave out the peppers because they don't agree with her.

Because we both love artichokes and olives, I decided to sub them for the peppers. As a matter of fact, my mom makes a chicken and artichoke dish very similar to this, only without the sauce. Since I had a jar of sauce that needed to be used, I whipped this up. It is really good over pasta or you could eat it as is, with a big piece of Italian bread for mopping up the sauce.


Chicken, Olives and Artichokes - Hunter Style
by Mixed Salad Annie Serves 4

3 skinless boneless chicken breast halves, cut into about 1 1/2" chunks
1/2 teaspoon coarse sea salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/4 cup of flour
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon paprika
1 jar of black olives, drained and rinsed
1 jar of artichoke hearts, drained, rinsed and halved
12 cloves of garlic, (very large ones halved)
1/3 cup dry white wine
1/2 cup chicken broth
1 jar marinara sauce
2 tablespoons olive oil
4 sprigs rosemary

Add the flour, garlic powder and paprika to a large ziplock bag. Season the chicken pieces with the salt and pepper and add them to the flour in the bag. Shake the chicken to coat all the pieces. Remove from bag and shake off excess flour and set aside.

Heat one tablespoon of oil and rosemary sprigs on low heat in large dutch oven or large deep skillet for about 5 minutes. Add the olives and artichokes cook for another 5 minutes. Remove the mixture from the pan with a slotted spoon to a bowl and add the remaining olive oil to the pan. Turn the heat up to medium/high and add chicken pieces.

Brown the chicken on all sides and de-glaze the pan with the wine. When the wine evaporates, add the chicken broth and sauce. Add the artichoke mixture back to the pan and stir to combine. Lower the heat, and simmer slowly for about 20-25 minutes. Remove and disgard the rosemary sprigs. Serve over pasta or with Italian bread.

Chicken Stuffed with Broccoli Rabe, Olives and Cheese

Something a Little Different, Healthy and Delicious!

If you have never tried broccoli rabe, you should. And this is a really great recipe to try it in. Broccoli rabe is a little on the bitter side, so the garlic and cheese really compliment it here.

Chicken Stuffed with Broccoli Rabe, Olives and Cheese

For Stuffing:

1 large bunch broccoli rabe, washed, cleaned, tough stems discarded, and florets separated from stems

1 1/2 tablespoons kosher salt
3 tablespoons olive oil
7 cloves garlic, sliced
1/3 cup Kalamata olives, pitted & sliced
Pinch red hot pepper flakes
Salt to taste
1/4 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano

In a large pot, bring 4 quarts of water to a boil. Add the broccoli rabe and kosher salt and cook for about 5 minutes. Using a slotted spoon or small sieve, remove the broccoli rabe from the pot, squeeze out excess water and transfer to a small bowl.

Place the olive oil, garlic, olives and red pepper flakes in a large skillet or medium saucepan and cook over medium heat until the garlic turns golden, about 2 minutes. Add the broccoli rabe to the skillet and cook for another 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the Parmigiano cheese and season with salt. Set aside.

Prepare Chicken:

Cooking spray or butter
2 boneless skinless chicken breast halves, (butterflied and pounded to 1/4 to 1/8 inch thickness)
1/2 cup low-fat sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
1/2 cup low-sodium chicken broth

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

2 teaspoons cornstarch dissolved in 2 teaspoons water
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper

1/4 teaspoon gravy master

Optional: 2 tablespoons of herbed butter (Just mix softened butter with your choice of fresh herbs, I used parsley, thyme, rosemary and lemon zest)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees

Put each breast smooth side down and cover with a spoon full of broccoli rabe mixture and a tablespoon of cheddar cheese and roll up breasts. Place in a lightly buttered or sprayed 8x8x2 baking dish, seam side down. Add 2 tablespoons of the chicken stock. (Since I used skinless chicken breast I spread about 1/2 tablespoon of herbed butter over the top of each breast)

Bake 35-45 minutes or until cooked through. (Half way through the cooking time, I basted the chicken with the broth and butter in the baking dish). Remove chicken from dish, cover and keep warm.

Add the remaining chicken broth to the drippings in the baking sheet and scrape up the brown bits, then add it to a saucepan. Cook over medium heat until reduced by half. Add the cornstarch mixture and cook until thickened. Remove from heat and add in the lemon juice and gravy master. Season with salt and pepper.

Brining Chicken- What a Disaster!

Looks Good- Doesn't It?

Well it was, sort of, if it wasn't so damn salty, that is.

I had heard that brining chicken makes it tender and juicy, so why wouldn't I want to try that?

The only trouble is, I used a recipe that obviously had problems. It was actually for country fried chicken pieces. Since I was using chicken pieces in my recipe I thought it would be OK to start my recipe with some nicely brined chicken. The recipe called for soaking the chicken for 3-4 hours in a solution made up of 1 cup of salt to a quart of water. That's a lot of salt!
But I figured I would try it and boy was it salty. The only thing I can think of is that maybe because my chicken was braised in chicken stock (low sodium) it intensified the salty flavor. Maybe the frying process is different???
Besides the saltiness, the chicken wasn't all that tender or juicy either. I don't know why. I wonder if it is due to the sauting process, because I have a hard time controlling the temperature of my electric stovetop (which I can't say enough that I HATE). All I do know is it was such a disappointment because I think the dish has potential. I will try it again someday with some revisions.

Here's the recipe without brining the chicken:

Skillet Chicken with Mushrooms and Peppers

One 2 1/2 to 3-pound fryer chicken, cut into 8 pieces
6 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 clove garlic, chopped
1 medium red onion, cut into 1/2 inch dice
1 red bell pepper, cut into 1/2 inch dice
1 green pepper, cut into 1/2 inch dice
1 package mushrooms, quartered
Juice of one lemon
1 cup low sodium chicken broth
1/4 cup basil leaves, chopped
1/4 cup parsley, chopped

Sprinkle chicken with 1/4 teaspoon salt. Dredge in flour. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the chicken pieces and brown in the oil, working in batches if necessary to avoid overcrowding the pan. Remove chicken and set aside.

Add the onion, peppers and mushrooms an saute for 10 minutes, until golden brown. Add the garlic and cook for one minute. Add the chicken broth and lemon juice, return the chicken to the pan, allow the broth to boil and then reduce heat to a simmer. Cook the chicken for 45 minutes, adding more broth if necessary to keep the meat from getting dry. (I skimmed off some of the fat from the chicken skin). Stir in the parsley and basil. (Just before serving, I removed the the bones and skin from the chicken).

If you try this recipe with your own modifications and have great results-let me know what your secret is to getting tender and juicy chicken.