Chicken with prosciutto and olives

Today we are going to look at a simple dish that produces big and bold flavours -- seasoned chicken simmered in tomato sauce with prosciutto and olives.

First, take either chicken drumsticks or chicken thighs (both should bone-in and with the skin) and season them with Herbs de Provence, and salt and pepper to taste. If you do not have Herbs de Provence you can use an Italian seasoning blend or simply the salt and pepper.

For today's post I used drumsticks. The portions indicated are for between 10-15 drumsticks.

Brown the chicken in EVOO

Brown the drumsticks about 2-3 minutes a side in extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) in a large saucepan. You do not need or want to cook them through. When they are lightly golden and browned remove them from the pan and set aside.

Keep any of the juices or herbs left in the pan from the browning. Add some more EVOO and bring to a medium-high heat.

Saute garlic, olives and prosciutto 

Then add 3 cloves of minced garlic and between 1-2 cups of rustic style olives. I used a black and green pit-in Sicilian blend of olives. Reduce heat to medium and saute the garlic and olives for 2-3 minutes. Then add 3 large thin slices of prosciutto to the pan and saute it all together another 3-4 minutes at medium heat.

Once you have finished sauteing add two large cans (796 ml/28 oz.) of diced tomatoes with all the liquid, another tablespoon of Herbs de Provence and salt and pepper to taste to the pan, stirring everything together. Increase heat and as you bring it all to a boil start adding the chicken back in.


When you have brought it back to a boil reduce

heat, cover and simmer for 40-50 minutes (until thoroughly cooked which means, of course no pink or to an internal temperature of 165 degrees on a meat thermometer) taking the lid off for the last ten minutes. Serve the chicken with the sauce and olives and pieces of the prosciutto.



This is perfect on a bed of rice or noddles, with a baguette and some nicely chilled white wine or a table red.

If desired you can top with some more freshly ground pepper and some Parmesan cheese.

Enjoy!

See also: Clay Baked Chicken: Clay baking a whole chicken..."Roman" style