Spicy Sicilian Chicken Recipes

Steps:

• Position a rack in the upper third of the oven and preheat to 500 degrees F. Put the onions, olives, chiles and bay leaves on a rimmed baking sheet. Cut 1 orange half into wedges and add to the baking sheet.
• Evenly space the chicken thighs, skin-side up, on the baking sheet on top of the other ingredients. Drizzle with the olive oil and squeeze the juice from the remaining orange half on top. Season with salt.
• Roast until the chicken is cooked through and the skin is crisp and golden, 30 to 35 minutes. Discard the bay leaves. Serve the chicken with the onions, olives, oranges and pan juices.

Steps:

• Cut the chicken into pieces. Place a saute pan over medium-high heat. Add enough oil to lightly coat the bottom of the pan and heat. Add the chicken and brown on both sides. Add the onion and the cherry peppers. Discard any excess oil. Add the mushrooms, olives, and capers. Add a dash of paprika and 3 to 4 ounces lightly salted butter. Cook on a high flame until the butter is completely melted, mixing to keep the butter from separating.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°F.
• Place the chicken, sausage and potatoes in a 9x13 baking pan.
• Scatter as many hot cherry peppers as you feel comfortable with (I love heat, so I put a lot!) in the pan.
• To really get the flavor, drizzle a bit of the pepper/vinegar "juice" from the jar over the chicken, etc.
• Drizzle the whole thing with olive oil, then season everything with salt, pepper and a bit of oregano.
• Bake until chicken is cooked through - depending on size/type of chicken pieces, about 70-80 minutes.
• Eat ravenously.

Steps:

• In a large stockpot (16 quart minimum / 20 quart recommended) heat olive oil under fairly low to medium heat.
• "Sweat" onion, celery, green pepper and some salt (to draw off moisture) for perhaps 30 minutes -- this is lower than browning, and makes the veggies somewhat translucent. I covered, and mixed every few minutes to prevent browning.
• Add carrots, garlic, some white pepper and some black pepper, and continue to heat under "sweat" conditions while mixing now and then.
• Add chicken stock, chicken breasts, tomatoes and potatoes -- and of course some more white pepper and black pepper.
• Cover and simmer on low heat for 1.5 to 2 hours (or use crock pot?).
• Remove chicken and let cool and stand to shred.
• Add chopped parsley and return the shredded chicken to the soup.
• Salt to taste at this point, and add more white and black pepper if your tongue is not twitching a bit when you sample. ;-).
• Simmer while cooking ditalini (or other stubby pasta).
• Serve soup over cooked pasta to taste.
• Note: Like many soups, this may be better made the day before and then served when needed. We will freeze some for ready-made meals and I think it will work out well.

Steps:

• Dice celery, carrots, onion, potatoes and bell pepper into 1/4-inch pieces.
• Chop tomatoes; reserve all juice.
• Place vegetables, tomatoes with their juice, chicken pieces, parsley and garlic in a 10-quart stockpot.
• Add water. Season with salt and pepper.
• Slowly bring soup to a boil over low heat.
• Skim off foam that rises to the surface; may have to skim 2 or 3 times.
• Partially cover pot and simmer 2 hours.
• When soup is finished, remove chicken pieces with a slotted spoon. Let cool.
• Meanwhile, mash vegetables in the bottom of the pot with the back side of a large cooking spoon or a potato masher.
• When chicken has cooled enough to handle, remove skin and bones and return meat to soup.
• Notes: Soup is best served the day after it is made. Refrigerate and remove fat that solidifies on the surface of the soup. Serve soup with rice or small, stubby pasta. For better flavor, cook the rice or pasta in the soup when reheating. Add freshly grated Parmesan or Romano cheese, if desired.