Chicken Vesuvio - a Chicago Classic

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!

I hope you enjoy this as much as we did,