Chicken in Tomato Sauce

Tender chicken in a tomato forward herbaceous sauce.

Chicken in Tomato Sauce

Serves 4-6

My mom would make this for my brother and I as a quick weeknight meal. She’d throw frozen chicken legs into a pot with canned crushed tomatoes and seasonings then simmer it for an hour or so. She’d serve it over hot buttered rice and call it dinner. I’ve modified her original dish a little and I serve it over pasta as my family prefers it that way but I sometimes make myself buttered rice to fulfill my taste for nostalgia.

“Recipe Tips:

1. This is not a pasta sauce in the Italian-American sense that many of us are used to. It is a little closer to a simple braised sauce that you would see in Italy.

2. If you use chicken thighs, I suggest browning the thighs first to render out some of the fat and precook the skin slightly. Alternatively, if using chicken thighs, you can remove the skin entirely.

3. Use the best quality tomatoes you can find as their flavor is prominent in this sauce.”

Ingredients

1600g (2-28oz) whole canned tomatoes, crushed well by hand

1kg (2.25 lbs) chicken legs or thighs, bone in, skin on

600g (2 large) onions, sliced with the grain

100ml (.5 c) water or chicken broth, to rinse out the cans

35g (2.5 T) butter

8 garlic cloves, sliced thinly

3 bay leaves

1 T kosher salt

1 T soy sauce

1 t ground black pepper

1 t dried rosemary, crushed

1 t crushed red pepper flakes

1 t dried oregano

Recipe Know-how

1.      Place all ingredients into a large pot. Bring to a boil covered.

• Reduce heat to a simmer and partially cover pot. Cook 1 - 1.25 hours or until sauce has reduced and thickened and chicken is cooked through and tender.

2.      Serve with pasta or over hot buttered rice.