Chicken With Olives

Total Time: 1 hr 25 mins Preparation Time: 15 mins Cook Time: 1 hr 10 mins

Ingredients

• Servings: 4
• 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts or 4 skinless chicken pieces
• 8 -10 small whole onions or 8 -10 small whole shallots
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 onions, sliced
• 1 green pepper, diced
• 3 -4 garlic cloves, smashed
• 1 lb tomato, skinned and chopped roughly
• 1 teaspoon dried basil (or half oregano and half savory)
• 1 pinch saffron (optional) or 1 pinch turmeric (optional)
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 3/4 cup red wine or 3/4 cup chicken stock
• salt and pepper
• 15 -20 pitted black olives, half chopped, half whole
• 2 -4 anchovy fillets (very finely sliced or chopped) (optional)

Recipe

• 1 brown the chicken pieces quickly with the whole onions in very hot oil in flameproof casserole.
• 2 (my cast iron dutch oven works well) remove the chicken and add the sliced onions, green pepper and garlic to the pan, soften over lowered heat for 5 minutes.
• 3 return the chicken to the pan, add the tomatoes, herbs, saffron or turmeric, tomato paste and wine or stock.
• 4 taste, season and cover.
• 5 cook gently, stove top, until chicken is done, or.
• 6 place dutch oven in preheated oven at 350°f for about 55 minutes until chicken is done.
• 7 halfway through cooking turn the chicken pieces and stir the pan contents.
• 8 the chicken should be lightly sauced, not stewed.
• 9 if the sauce is very thin, cook uncovered for the rest of the cooking time.
• 10 add the olives and anchovy fillets, if using, for about the last 10 minutes of cooking time.
• 11 check seasoning and serve with rice and a tossed green salad.