Chicken with Peppers

Chicken with Peppers is a simple, old Italian dish that needs very few ingredients but is full of flavour.

The secret is cooking it gently in a covered pan so the peppers release their juices while the onions and garlic melt down. Together, they create a wonderful, light sauce for the chicken.

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My Chicken with Peppers, which I’ve been making for twenty-odd years, is based on a recipe from my favourite food writer, Claudia Roden.

It’s in her The Food of Italy which is one of the cookbooks I consult most often. Mind you, I bought my copy in 1991 so it’s looking rather battered these days.

Claudia says Chicken with Peppers is, ‘A very old and very good Roman dish.’

Don’t rush the cooking and I think you’ll agree the flavour is exceptional despite the few ingredients needed.

A few tips:

• I use skinless, boneless free-range chicken breasts, but use thighs if you prefer.
• I like to layer the seasoning, adding a little more salt & pepper as I go. But you can just season after you add the peppers if you like.
• If your peppers are a little past their best, maybe a bit wrinkly (aren’t we all?) then they will still be fine for this dish.

I like to eat it with homemade bread and a salad.

If you’ve made Chicken with Peppers, I’ve love for you to leave a comment & let me know how it went.

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Chicken with Peppers

Chicken with Peppers is a simple, old Italian dish needing few ingredients. But it's full of flavour if you cook it nice & gently. Eat with bread & salad.

Course Main Course

Cuisine Italian

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 55 minutes

Total Time 1 hour 5 minutes

Servings 2

Author Moorlands Eater

Ingredients

• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 med-large onion roughly chopped
• salt & pepper
• 2 cloves garlic finely chopped
• 2 chicken breasts or thighs, skinned & boneless chopped into chunky, bite-sized pieces
• 1 medium red pepper de-seeded & cut in half
• 1 medium yellow pepper de-seeded & cut in half
• fresh basil or parsley (optional) chopped

Instructions

1. Put the olive oil in a large frying or sauté pan and put on a low-medium heat.

2. Add the onion, season with a little salt & pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until it's soft (10-15 min).

3. Stir in the garlic and cook for another 2 minutes.

4. Add the chicken, season with a little more salt & pepper and gently cook until nicely browned all over (8-12 min).

5. While the chicken's browning, cut the peppers into long strips about 1.5 cm wide.

6. Add the peppers to the pan, season again and stir.

   Turn the heat to low and cook gently with the lid on. Stir occasionally and if the mixture seems dry, add a little water.

   It should take around 25 minutes for the chicken to be cooked and the peppers to be soft.

7. Off the heat, stir in the basil or parsley if using and serve.