I've never been to Chicago. Some day I will. In the meantime, I trust Marie of "Proud Italian Cook", who lives in Chicago. Marie shared her recipe for Chicken Vesuvio, a while ago. She says that this dish is a Chicago American-Italian traditional dish. I trust her expertise. There's a reason why I chose "A Feast for the Eyes" as the name of my food blog. I'm so highly visual, that if I see a delectable photo of something to eat I am completely driven for a need to make it! I can look at photos, even if I'm not hungry, and still drool over the vision that is before me. That's the effect I had when I saw Cathy, of Wives with Knives, photo of this dish. It was the final push for me to jump in and make it for myself.
This dish has a lot going for it, besides tasting great. It's easy to make. It's not too expensive, especially if you keep white wine on hand at all times (which I do). I made only a few minor changes to their versions.
First, I only used two large bone-in chicken breasts (but you can use both dark and white meat), that I seasoned with salt & pepper, dried oregano and granulated garlic. (Just be sure that the chicken has been patted dry, so that you'll get a beautiful brown sear.) The prep work isn't too time-consuming-- maybe 15 minutes cut potatoes and peel whole cloves of fresh garlic. I used red potatoes, so I didn't have to peel the potatoes. I think these are the perfect choice for this dish, but use whatever spuds you have on hand.
I used my large cast iron skillet and heated some olive oil and a little unsalted butter, for extra flavor. Skin side down, on medium-high heat, sear the chicken and brown the potatoes (from 5-7 minutes).
Then, flip the chicken and potatoes to brown them on both sides. By the way, the reason I don't recommend using boneless chicken, is that the meat has a tendency to dry out. Bone-in, pretty much guarantees moist chicken.
If you adapt this recipe, as I did, I made this a one skillet recipe. I simply removed the chicken and potatoes and set them aside on a plate. Otherwise, you'll transfer the chicken and potatoes to a roasting pan. Next, I added the whole garlic cloves to the skillet and cooked them until golden brown (just don't burn them on a high heat). Now, add some white wine (I use Sauvignon Blanc) to deglaze the pan, and get those lovely bits of brown flavor loosened up. NOTE: Though I used half the amount of chicken in the recipe, I didn't decrease the sauce. Cathy said it was so good, that I wanted more for myself.
White wine and garlic makes us hungry! Both my son and husband were sniffing the aroma, and saying that something smelled really good. I had to break it to them, that they had about another hour to wait... add some chicken stock and then reduce the sauce on medium-high heat for about five minutes. If you're using a separate roasting pan, you pour this sauce over the chicken.
I did the reverse, and returned the chicken and potatoes back into the skillet, then popped into a 375F oven. I guestimated about 45 minutes (165F internal temperature) for the chicken to be cooked. In the meantime, tidied my kitchen and washed most of my utensils so that I could have less cleanup after eating dinner.
In the last 15 minutes, I added about one cup of frozen peas.
There's a lot of sauce, since I doubled the liquid recipe. The aroma is enough to make anyone hungry!
This is comfort food, in my book.
TASTING NOTES: My son prefers dark meat. He said that this was the first time he'd eaten a chicken breast that tasted really moist and flavorful. My husband went back for thirds seconds on the potatoes. This dish has a European flavor, with that thin pan sauce. I would definitely make this recipe again, and I'll use a whole cut up chicken. I wish I'd had some crusty bread to soak up the sauce, because it is really flavorful.
As always, a printable recipe card is at the bottom of this post. I'd like to thank both Marie and Cathy for inspiring me to try this Chicago dish. It's delicious and easy!
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