Today we are preparing one of my mom’s favorite main courses, chicken with peppers, capers, and olives cooked in a pan. Easy to make, flavorful, and succulent, perfect for any occasion!
If I think of a main course that everyone agrees on, both young and old, in my house the answer would be: “if it’s chicken-based, any dish is fine!!”.
This dish knows no season and can be prepared in a thousand ways, just a little imagination is needed! For example, during a Sunday lunch with the family, chicken on the table is a must!
Roast chicken, grilled, in a pan, or on the barbecue. However you cook it, it’s always a celebration when a chicken-based main course is brought to the table.
Today’s recipe was created for a special occasion! Today, October second, we celebrate, for 8 years now, the “Roast Chicken Day“.
This event falls on the same day as Grandparents Day such that, in this eighth edition, the grandmother is the centerpiece of this beautiful event. Not by chance, besides the hashtag #polloarrostoday, don’t forget to share your content on social media using the hashtag #bookagrandmother.
The chicken in a pan with peppers, olives, and capers is a simple and tasty second course. Those who prefer can also cook it in the oven or air fryer.
At the end of the article, you will find advice for other types of cooking and also useful tips for executing this recipe and a small gift for you ❤️
If you are a chicken lover, don’t miss out on these recipes:
- Difficulty: Easy
- Cost: Medium
- Rest time: 12 Hours
- Preparation time: 20 Minutes
- Portions: 6 people
- Cooking methods: Electric Oven, Stovetop, Air Frying
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: All Seasons
Ingredients
- Half chicken (about 2 lbs)
- cups white wine (a couple of cups)
- rosemary
- A few leaves bay leaf
- 4 cloves garlic
- 4 bell peppers (two red and two yellow)
- olive oil
- 1.4 oz Taggiasca olives
- 1.4 oz pickled capers
- 1 tbsp rice vinegar (only if desired)
- salt
- 1 onion
Tools
- Bowls
- Pan
- Ladle
- Cutting board
Steps
A necessary preamble before starting! To make this recipe, I chose to use a free-range chicken sourced directly from the farmer.
I purchased it already cut in two and then put it in the freezer.
To defrost a whole or half chicken, you need to leave it in the fridge for several hours, so adjust according to the size of yours.
Once defrosted, check carefully for any impurities and, if necessary, pass the chicken over the flame to eliminate them.
Place it in a large bowl, pour in a generous glass of white wine, some herbs (rosemary, bay leaf, and sage), and a couple of garlic cloves.
If you like, you can add half a teaspoon of black pepper, but remember not to add salt.
Cover with food wrap and let it rest overnight.
The next day, proceed with cooking.
Drain the chicken from the marinade. Choose whether to cook the chicken whole, halved, or in pieces.
Take a large pan, pour some olive oil inside, add a couple of garlic cloves and a sprig of rosemary.
Heat the oil and then place the chicken inside. Brown it well on all sides for about ten minutes.
Then, deglaze with white wine and let it completely evaporate. Lower the heat and let it cook for at least forty minutes.
Farm chicken needs a longer cooking time, so after 40 minutes, check often.
If the chicken dries out too much during cooking, moisten it with a glass of wine or half water and half wine and continue until the meat is cooked.
Turn the chicken often to allow cooking on all sides. Adjust the salt.
In the meantime, wash the peppers well. Cut them into strips, removing all the seeds, and then cut them into equally sized squares.
Take a pan and pour a generous amount of olive oil inside. Add a finely chopped whole onion.
Let it wilt over low heat, then add all the peppers. Cook over high heat for about twenty minutes. Add a tablespoon of rice vinegar.
While I was dealing with the peppers, my mother insisted on leaving them crunchy and not overcooking them 😉
Adjust the salt and, for the last 5 minutes, add capers and Taggiasca olives (or green or black pitted).
Finish cooking and set aside covered with a lid to keep it warm.
When the chicken is also golden and cooked, combine the peppers, capers, and olives in the pan and let them flavor over medium heat for three to four minutes.
Arrange everything on a nice serving plate and drizzle with the oil left on the bottom of the pan.
In fact, if you are a real foodie, cut some slices of bread, dip them in the oil, and bring them to the table; they’ll fight over the last slice!
This is one of my mother’s favorite ways to cook chicken, and she helped me prepare this recipe for Roast Chicken Day 🩷
I hope you feel like trying it, and if you want, let me know your favorite chicken recipe in the comments.
Take a baking tray and grease the bottom with a little oil.
Drain the chicken from the marinade, adjust the salt, and place it in the tray (whole, halved, or in pieces).
Moisten the meat with a glass of white wine and add some more spices to taste (rosemary, bay leaf, etc.) and a few garlic cloves.
Bake in a preheated oven at 430°F fan setting for about 40 minutes. Then lower to 390°F and continue to cook.
From time to time, take out the tray and with a ladle, collect the juices released by the meat and baste the whole chicken, which will help achieve even cooking.
The cooking time for a 2-pound chicken is about 1 and a half hours, so adjust according to the weight of your chicken.
For the air fryer version, I recommend using the specific setting for chicken that you surely have too.
Usually, the roast chicken setting is around 450°F for about 30 minutes. However, check halfway through cooking by turning the chicken to the other side.
I hope you enjoyed the recipe! Come back to visit me soon!
Article protected by copyright © – Gabriella Geroni © All Rights Reserved
Roast Chicken Day is a social media marathon conceived by the Blog Viva il Pollo (a digital platform for chicken enthusiasts, curated by Unaitalia, an association of white meat producers).
FAQ
How do you know if the chicken is well-cooked?
The chicken is well-cooked when the meat is no longer pink but rather light in color. To check, cut a piece of meat.
Can I remove the skin from the chicken?
It would be better not to! Removing the skin would mean eliminating a protective filter that prevents the meat from drying out and keeps it tender and juicy. Moreover, if you cook it perfectly with the fan setting, the skin will become thin and crispy, and it will be really hard to resist the temptation!
Why is the chicken too dry?
If you have removed the skin, the cause is the one I indicated in the previous question. A trick used by our grandmothers (and I still use for many preparations) is to place a container with water at the bottom of the oven. This allows creating and maintaining the right humidity and keeps the meat tender.
How long does cooked chicken last?
Once cooked, chicken keeps in the fridge for about 3-4 days, preferably in a container with a lid. We can enjoy it cold as a single dish and create delicious recipes like this Chicken Salad with Cherry Tomatoes and Orange.
How to remove feathers from chicken?
Simply pass it over the gas to burn them or remove them one by one with kitchen tweezers (in this case, a lot of patience is needed!
At what temperature should I bake it?
The ideal temperature to get a crispy-skinned chicken is 430-390°F with a fan setting. Obviously, those with an oven only with a static setting can still cook a great roast chicken but will take about half an hour more per pound of weight.
