Chicken with Olives and Capers

Boneless chicken thighs with green and black olives, capers, tomato chunks, and a white wine and chicken broth sauce. Need I say more ?

All that incredibly flavorful braising sauce required a soak up or slather over ... so pasta fit the bill ... a copious amount of pasta!

Mmmm ... springtime supper on the back porch. Dry white wine, chicken with olives and capers over pasta, and a side salad of spinach greens. A taste of southern Italy - made in less than an hour. What a nice end of the day!

Chicken with Olives and Capers

a Jeff Smith recipe

Ingredients:

6 chicken thighs, boneless and skinless

Kosher salt and black pepper

1 - 2 tbsp. olive oil

/4 c. dry white wine

1/2 c. strong chicken broth

1 c. chopped fresh tomatoes ( I used halved and seeded cherry tomatoes)

a generous pinch of red pepper flakes

1/2 c. seeded and halved oil-cured green and black olives (Use good olives. It makes a huge difference.)

1 tbsp. drained and rinsed capers

1 bay leaf

1/2 c. heavy cream for finishing the sauce

chopped flat leaf parsley for finishing the sauce

a dollop of butter

Making the Dish:

1. Heat a covered frypan over medium-high heat.

2. Salt and pepper both sides of the chicken thighs. Add the oil to the pan and swirl to coat the bottom. Lay the thighs in the hot pan and leave them to brown. Flip them and brown the other sides.

3. Add the white wine and let it sizzle a few seconds. Then, add the tomatoes, olives, capers, bay leaf red pepper flakes, and chicken broth. 

4. Lower the heat to a simmer, cover the pan and let the chicken braise gently for about 30 minutes.

5. Boil the pasta water and prepare the pasta.

6. As the pasta cooks, remove the chicken to a warm platter/oven and add the cream and parsley to the braising broth.  Bring the heat up under the pan a bit. Let it reduce while you finish the pasta.

7. Add a dollop of butter at the last minute to melt into the sauce. Pour the sauce over the warm chicken and serve garnished with a bit more parsley.