This simple, yet delicious dish is easy enough to make on a weekday and requires little prep work except for some chopping.
Here, I browned some bone-in skinless chicken thighs after seasoning with a liberal amount of salt and pepper for about 5-6 minutes on each side. The bones help to hold the shape and give it extra flavor when braising. When done, remove those and set aside.
Then I sauteed some chopped onions and green pepper until just they started to turn soft and began to brown. I added garlic at this point to make sure it doesn’t burn.
Pro tip: season after each addition. If you are adding something that is not already salty, you probably want to add a little more salt and pepper to keep the seasoning balanced.
Next, it was time for the mushrooms which I sauteed until all of the water came out. Be patient! This can take some time and you don’t really want any of the water in the pot since it will make it harder to get a thicker sauce in the end. A little more salt can also help here to make the mushrooms release their liquid.
Next, it was time for one of the star ingredients: tomato paste. I used about 2 tablespoons here which I cooked a little until it turned a deeper red.
Time for vino! I added some good Italian red wine, all of my tomatoes both from sauce, and fresh as well as some spices. I am in the process of restocking my spice cabinet after throwing away some spices that had expired, so I didn’t have my usual oregano. For this dish, I used some Italian seasoning. Don’t use too much! To me, this stuff is easily overpowering at large quantities.
Finally, the real star of the dish gets added: the calamata olives. Stir everything together and add back the chicken and all of it’s juices. Bring back to a simmer and let cook until the sauce is thick enough to your liking. For me, this took about 45 minutes with a lid partially on and, for the last 20 or so, minutes completely off.
I was really craving some spaghetti to go along with this deliciousness, so I quickly threw that into a pot of water. And here’s the results: Delicious!!!
