Long time food professional Colu Henry has a new cook book called “Colu Cooks: Easy Fancy Food”. It includes this recipe that her grandmother Molly made for the family for over 80 years. Molly’s friend and fellow organizer for the International Ladies Garment Workers Union, Luigi Quintiliano, introduced her to his favorite chicken recipe and she named it after him. “It was a weeknight dinner, and it was on repeat”.
It is easy to make and quite delicious. You basically sauté lots of garlic and then brown some thighs. Cook them together in lots of vinegar and you have tender chicken loaded with flavor. Make it once and you won’t need a recipe!
2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs (4 to 6)
Fine salt
Freshly ground pepper
3 Tbs. olive oil
10 cloves of garlic, peeled and smashed
1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
1/2 cup red wine vinegar
2 sprigs fresh oregano
1/2 cup finely chopped flat leaf parsley
Flakey sea salt, for serving (optional)
Polenta, rice or mashed potatoes, for serving
Pat the chicken dry and lightly season it with salt and pepper
In a large sauté pan oven medium heat, heat the olive oil until it shimmers. Add the garlic cloves and cook, stirring occasionally, until they become fragrant and start to brown, about 2 minutes. Remove the garlic from the pan and set aside.
Using tongs, add 2 to 3 pieces of chicken to the pan. Cook until chicken is lightly browned, 3 to 4 minutes per side. Cut into the thickest part of one thigh to check that it is no longer raw in the center. Transfer browned chicken to a large plate and repeat with the remaining chicken.(The chicken may not be cooked all the way through at this point and that’s okay.)
Return all the chicken and accumulated juices to the pan. Add the balsamic and red wine vinegars and bring to a simmer. Add the oregano and garlic, cover the pan, and cook the chicken in the sauce until it’s cooked through, about 8 minutes. Uncover the pan toss the chicken in the sauce and continue cooking until the sauce has reduced by about half, an additional 2 to 3 minutes. Serve family style, sprinkled with the parsley and flaky salt, with polenta, rice or mashed potatoes on the side. Serves 4.
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