Chicken in the pan, with or without peppers, whatever colors you want, but the brilliant red is an invitation to sit at the table, was the dish that replaced roast chicken when it was too hot to turn on the oven or when Grandma was in a bit of a hurry.
In terms of flavor and texture, it is reminiscent of roast chicken, just as juicy and tender, but it cooks on the stove.
In my childhood home, it was a Sunday dish.
Much more so than today, certain foods were once reserved for festive occasions or, indeed, Sunday lunch; both were a feast of flavors that we children eagerly awaited, excited by the aromas that whetted our appetite from early morning.
Through the food shared at the table, identical for everyone, we celebrated the feast day and the family gathering.
The azdore cooked the finest traditional dishes, choosing each item on the menu according to the season. Especially on Sundays, lunch included a first course, a second course, a side dish, and dessert.
The menus changed according to the seasons
Until late spring, the kitchen was the warmest, most fragrant, and noisiest room in the house.
But with the arrival of summer, everything changed.
Steaming soup tureens were replaced by large baking dishes of strozzapreti pasta with meat sauce or tagliatelle topped with fish or vegetable sauces. Summer roasts replaced winter ones, opting for shorter cooking times and meat that was delicious even when served cold, flavored by aromas more suited to the cold season.
Even the side dishes changed. From cooked vegetables, often enriched with béchamel sauce or grated Parmesan cheese and butter, nonna preferred fresh and simple salads.
Also desserts followed the seasons. Semifreddi, macedonia with gelato or custard, zuppa inglese, and zuccotto were the desserts at the end of a meal, while simple, dry, or filled doughnuts were the desserts for breakfast and merende.
I cherish this memory.
When I woke up, the kitchen was already up and running, and it smelled wonderful. In fact, when I went in for breakfast in the summer, I found the curtains already closed to keep out the heat. The silence and dim light concealed the work done by the Azdora, who, taking advantage of the cool early morning hours, had already put away the dishes from Sunday lunch.
Chicken in the pan (with peppers)
One of my favorite dishes since childhood is roast chicken with potatoes.
That may be why I have a special love for the chicken in the pan that my grandmother used to make in so many different ways.
Sometimes she cooked it in pieces and deboned it, but always with the skin on, to speed up the cooking. She added only olive oil, butter flakes, a few sprigs of rosemary, and two cloves of garlic, which she then removed.
Other times, she prepared the pan differently, using seasonal vegetables such as potatoes, peppers, or zucchini (which ended up almost like a cream) that she placed on top of the chicken pieces, which she cooked over low heat with the pan covered.
For me, the combination of chicken and peppers remains unsurpassed.
When she removed the lid, the aroma was irresistible. I don’t remember ever having to be asked twice to come to the table.
Here on the blog, I share recipes and memories. On my Instagram profile, you can follow the preparation step by step by watching the video recipes.
Notes on preparing chicken in the pan
- Choose a non-stick pan and place the chicken skin-side down. Cover the white meat with aromatic herbs (which you can also set at the bottom of the pan) and a vegetable of your choice, cut into slices. This way, you won’t risk the chicken burning or sticking, and the meat will remain soft, juicy, and flavorful.
- When you buy the chicken, have it cut into pieces and deboned to reduce the cooking time by half, but ask the butcher to leave the skin on!
- If you like mushrooms, I recommend cardoncelli mushrooms, which are as inexpensive as champignons but remain firmer when cooked.
- Grandma used to put the chicken on a large white plate, surrounded by cooked vegetables or accompanied by a fresh salad on the side.
This dish has been with me through many seasons of my life, and when it was on the table, the sounds of forks and knives underscored its simple goodness.
Buona cucina, Monica
In the kitchen with Monica
- If you also love chicken dishes, take a look at the recipe for Chicken Cacciatore by Aunt Fanì, my great-grandmother’s sister and my mother’s aunt. You can find the recipe here.
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Chicken in the pan with red peppers
Ingredients
- 4 chicken thighs (upper thighs and drumsticks) with skin, approx. 180-200 g each
- 2 large red peppers or three small ones
- zest of 1/2 lemon, cut into strips
- filtered juice of 1 juicy lemon or two lemons
- 10 g of aromatic herbs (sage, basil, rosemary), washed and dried
- 100 ml of white wine
- olive oil and salt to taste
- 100 ml of broth or water to use if the chicken does not produce much juice during cooking
Instructions
- Cut the bell pepper in half, remove the seeds and filaments, wash, and set aside. If you prefer, you can use another vegetable.
- In a large pan, arrange the chicken pieces so that their skin is in contact with the bottom of the pan.
- Drizzle with the strained lemon juice.
- Season the chicken with salt and oil, then place the lemon zest and herbs on top. Then cover everything with the bell pepper.
- Cook the chicken uncovered over medium heat for 3 minutes.
- After this time, pour the wine into the pan and cook over medium heat for an additional 3 minutes.
- Move the pan to a low heat setting, cover it with a lid, and cook for 15 minutes.
- After 15 minutes, turn the chicken over, placing the bell pepper (or your chosen vegetable) in contact with the bottom of the pan. Then cook for another 15 minutes, leaving the pan uncovered to reduce the cooking liquid a little.
- If the chicken is boneless, it will be ready after 30 minutes. Otherwise, cook for a total of 40 minutes.
- Remove the vegetables and chicken from the pan, place them on a serving dish, and cover with the cooking sauce.
- Serve the chicken as you prefer, hot or at room temperature.
Tips
- When there are 5 minutes left until the end of cooking, check the chicken. If there is too much liquid, raise the heat slightly. If, on the contrary, it is dry, add two ladles of broth or water and finish cooking.
- Store in the refrigerator for two days.
