Name: Chicken Arrabbiata
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 40 min
Total time: 50 min
Ingredients: ½ kilo chicken drumsticks or thighs (or a combination); salt; pepper; ¼ cup flour; olive oil; 2 tablespoons garlic minced; ¼ cup onion finely chopped; ¼ teaspoon chili flakes; pinch oregano dried; 2 tablespoons sliced black olives drained; 1 tablespoon capers drained; 1 and 1/2 cups chopped tomatoes; salt; pepper; ½ teaspoon sugar; chopped parsley

Chicken Arrabbiata

What is arrabbiata? It’s a spicy Italian tomato sauce. So, yes, this chicken arrabbiata packs a bit of heat but without overwhelming. Non-traditional ingredients olives and capers add delightful boldness to the flavor of the sauce.

Prep Time 10 mins

Cook Time 40 mins

Total Time 50 mins

Course Main Course

Cuisine Italian

Servings people

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Ingredients

½ kilo chicken drumsticks or thighs or a combination
salt
pepper
¼ cup flour

Arrabbiata sauce

olive oil
2 tablespoons garlic minced
¼ cup onion finely chopped
¼ teaspoon chili flakes
pinch oregano dried
2 tablespoons sliced black olives drained
1 tablespoon capers drained
1 and 1/2 cups chopped tomatoes
salt
pepper
½ teaspoon sugar

To garnish

chopped parsley

Instructions

Brown the chicken

Preheat the oven to 475F.
Wipe the chicken with paper towels. Sprinkle with a teaspoon of salt and half a teaspoon of pepper. Mix well working the salt and pepper into the meat.
Line a baking pan with non-stick paper. Spray or brush the paper lightly with oil.
Dredge each piece of chicken in flour (make sure to coat completely) and arrange on the prepared tray.
Drizzle each piece of chicken with about half a teaspoon of olive oil.
Brown the chicken at 475F for 20 minutes.

Make the arrabbiata sauce

Heat two tablespoons of olive oil in a pan. Add the garlic, onion, chili flakes and oregano. Saute until fragrant.
Throw in the olives and capers. Cook for another minute.
Pour in the chopped tomatoes. Sprinkle in salt, pepper and a little sugar. How much salt pepper and sugar? To taste. Simmer, covered, until reduced by a quarter, about 10 minutes.

Braise the browned chicken in arrabbiata sauce

Take the browned chicken out of the oven and add to the sauce.
Simmer for 20 minutes or until the chicken is done and the sauce is very thick.

Serve the chicken arrabbiata

Arrange the chicken pieces on a plate.
Drizzle the remaining sauce over them.
Sprinkle with parsley.
Serve the chicken arrabbiata with rice, pasta or bread.

Notes

Why brown the chicken in the oven instead of the stovetop? No particular reason except that it was humid on the day I cooked chicken arrabbiata, and the thought of minding two pans on the stove wasn’t a particularly pleasant thought. By browning the chicken in the oven, I was able to step back from the kitchen while the arrabbiata sauce reduced.

You can choose to brown the chicken on a frying pan, of course. Pour off the oil, make the sauce in the same pan then add the browned chicken when the sauce is ready.

Updated from a recipe originally published in June 25, 2016

Keyword Spicy, Tomato Sauce