Jamie Oliver Sicilian Chicken Food

HUNTER'S CHICKEN STEW (POLLO ALLA CACCIATORA)

Steps:

• Chicken cacciatora seems to be reasonably well known in Britain because it's the classic pre-packed dish you find in Italian food ranges in supermarkets (which, to be honest, never taste of much). When you get the real deal cooked at home with love and passion it's a totally different experience. It's a simple combination of flavours that just works really well. Cacciatore means 'hunter', so this is obviously the type of food that a hunter's wife cooks for her fella when he gets home from a hard morning spent in the countryside. This is also a great dish for big parties, as it looks after itself in the oven. In the picture I've made it for about 12 people.
• Season the chicken pieces with salt and freshly ground black pepper and put them into a bowl. Add the bay leaves and rosemary sprigs and the crushed clove of garlic and cover with the wine. Leave to marinate for at least an hour, but preferably overnight in the fridge.
• Preheat your oven to 180ºC/350ºF/gas 4. Drain the chicken, reserving the marinade, and pat dry with kitchen paper. Dust the chicken pieces with flour and shake off any excess. Heat an ovenproof pan, add a splash of olive oil, fry the chicken pieces until browned lightly all over and put to one side.
• Place the pan back on the heat and add the sliced garlic. Fry gently until golden brown, then add the anchovies, olives, tomatoes (broken up with a wooden spoon) and the chicken pieces with their reserved marinade. Bring to the boil, cover with a lid or a double thickness layer of foil and bake in the preheated oven for 1½ hours.
• Skim off any oil that's collected on top of the sauce, then stir, taste and add a little salt and pepper if necessary. Remove the bay leaves and rosemary sprigs, and serve with a salad, or some cannellini beans, and plenty of Chianti.

SOUTHERN ITALIAN-STYLE CHICKEN

Steps:

• Peel and finely slice the onions, then trim and finely slice the fennel.
• Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a large pan, add the onions and fennel, along with the chilli flakes, fennel seeds and cinnamon and cook slowly for 10 to 15 minutes, or until soft and sticky.
• Meanwhile, add the saffron to a small cup, top up with a little hot water and set aside - this will draw the flavour out of the strands and allow it to mix evenly in the pan when you add it.
• Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a large frying pan on a high heat, add the chicken thighs and drumsticks and brown on all sides, adding them to the veg pan when golden.
• Pour in the saffron-infused water, followed by the tinned tomatoes, breaking them up with a wooden spoon. Fill the empty tin with water, pour into the pan and mix together.
• Add the bay, finely slice and add the preserved lemons, roughly chop and add the fresh tomatoes and destone and tear in the olives.
• Season with a good pinch of sea salt and black pepper, then leave to bubble away for 25 to 30 minutes, or until the chicken starts to fall off the bone and the sauce has thickened and reduced.
• Put the couscous into a bowl and just cover with boiling salted water, then pop a plate on top and leave to fluff up.
• Serve the chicken and couscous, scattered with picked coriander.

SALINA CHICKEN

Steps:

• Trim the aubergines, chop into random 5cm chunks and wedges, place in a large bowl and season generously from a height with sea salt. Put aside.
• Drizzle all the chicken pieces with oil, place in a large shallow pan on a medium-high heat, skin side down, to get golden on all sides, then remove to a large platter.
• Wipe the salt off the aubergines and add to the pan, turning until lightly golden on all sides. Remove the aubergines to the platter and reduce the heat under the pan to low.
• Peel and slice the garlic, prick the chillies and place both in the pan with the cinnamon, woody herbs and capers.
• Stir and fry for a couple of minutes while you peel and finely slice the onions, then stir them into the pan, too. Cook for 15 minutes, or until starting to caramelize, stirring occasionally.
• Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F/gas 4.
• Squeeze the tomatoes in a bowl of water to remove the seeds - a fine nonna trick to prevent you getting splattered - then tear them into the pan.
• Put the chicken and aubergines back in, drizzle over any resting juices, then pour in 600ml of water.
• Sprinkle over the pine nuts, then squeeze over the lemon juice. Cook at the bottom of the oven for 45 minutes, or until golden.
• Pick over the basil leaves and serve with a nice big bowl of lemony couscous.

CRISPY AND STICKY CHICKEN THIGHS WITH SQUASHED NEW POTATOES AND TOMATOES

Steps:

• Put the potatoes into a large saucepan of salted boiling water and boil until cooked.
• While the potatoes are cooking, preheat your oven to 400 degrees F. Cut each chicken thigh into 3 strips and place in a bowl. Rub the meat all over with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper, then toss.
• Heat a large frying pan, big enough to hold all the chicken pieces snugly in 1 layer, and put the chicken into the pan, skin side down. If you don't have a pan that's big enough, feel free to cook the chicken in 2 batches. Toss and fry over a high heat for 10 minutes or so, until almost cooked, then remove with a slotted spoon to an ovenproof pan or dish.
• Prick the tomatoes with a sharp knife. Place them in a bowl, cover with boiling water and leave for a minute or so. Drain and, when cool enough to handle, pinch off their skins. You don't have to, but by doing this they will become lovely and sweet when cooked, and their intense flavor will infuse the potatoes. By now the potatoes will be cooked. Drain them in a colander and lightly crush them by pushing down on them with your thumb.
• Bash up most of the oregano leaves with a pinch of salt in a pestle and mortar, or a Flavor Shaker if you have one. Add 4 tablespoons of extra-virgin olive oil, a good splash of red wine vinegar and some pepper and give everything another bash. Add to the chicken with the potatoes, the tomatoes and the rest of the oregano leaves. Toss everything together carefully. Spread out in a single layer in an appropriately sized roasting pan, and bake for 40 minutes in the preheated oven until golden.
• Lovely served with an arugula salad dressed with some lemon juice and extra-virgin olive oil, and a nice glass of white wine.
• "Our agreement with the producers of "Jamie at Home" only permit us to make 2 recipes per episode available online. Food Network regrets the inconvenience to our viewers and foodnetwork.com users"

JAMIE OLIVER'S CHICKEN CACCIATORE

Steps:

• Season the chicken pieces with salt and freshly ground black pepper and put them into a bowl. Add the bay leaves and rosemary sprigs and the crushed clove of garlic and cover with the wine. Leave to marinate for at least an hour, but preferably overnight in the fridge.
• Preheat your oven to 180ºC/350ºF/gas 4. Drain the chicken, reserving the marinade, and pat dry with kitchen paper. Dust the chicken pieces with flour and shake off any excess. Heat an ovenproof pan, add a splash of olive oil, fry the chicken pieces until browned lightly all over and put to one side.
• Place the pan back on the heat and add the sliced garlic. Fry gently until golden brown, then add the anchovies, olives, tomatoes (broken up with a wooden spoon) and the chicken pieces with their reserved marinade. Bring to the boil, cover with a lid or a double thickness layer of foil and bake in the preheated oven for 1½ hours.
• Skim off any oil that's collected on top of the sauce, then stir, taste and add a little salt and pepper if necessary. Remove the bay leaves and rosemary sprigs.