Braised Chicken in Red Wine with Olives

Regular readers will know that my site leans heavily to the sweet side; so much so that the other day, a blogging friend, A&N from Delectably Yours, asked if I eat dessert for lunch - which it looks like I do!!

So, for a change of pace, I am going to give you a savoury recipe today. It is Toby Puttock's Braised Chicken in Red Wine with Olives from the August 2009 edition of Delicious magazine. (For the uninitiated, Toby Puttock runs Fifteen in Melbourne.)

This dish is delightful - rich, filling and flavoursome. I recommend that you skim the fat off any leftovers though, because quite a lot of fat seems to cook out of the chicken, which is cooked with the skins on.

Without further ado, here is the recipe:

1/4 cup olive oil
8 chicken pieces (~1.8kg)
1/2 cup plain flour seasoned with salt and pepper
2 thinly sliced cloves of garlic
1 chopped onion
2 chopped celery stalks
2 tablespoons finely chopped rosemary
1 tablespoon chopped sage (I used dried sage)
400ml red wine (Toby recommends Barolo; I used cab sav)
400g tin chopped tomatoes
1/2 cup chicken stock
1/2 cup pitted green olives


Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a large frypan. Meanwhile, dust the chicken pieces with the seasoned flour, shaking off the excess. Cook the chicken in two batches in the heated oil until browned. Remove the chicken from the pan and reserve.

Heat the rest of the oil in the same frypan, and cook the onion, garlic, celery, rosemary and sage for 5 minutes until just softened. Add the chicken back to the pan, and stir well to coat with the pan juices. Add the red wine, and increase the heat to high and simmer for 3 minutes. Add the canned tomatoes, chicken stock and olives, season the mixture with salt and pepper, then bring to the boil. Cover the frypan and simmer gently over low heat for 50-55 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the chicken is cooked through.

Serve with flat leaf parsley and polenta, if desired. (I skipped both and served with twice fried green beans in tomato sauce and roast potato, pumpkin and carrot.)

Have a great weekend!