Donal's Roman chicken with salsa verde

Ingredients

Serves: 4

Time: 1 hour

• Olive oil
• 8 - 10 chicken thighs, boneless, skinless
• 2 sprigs rosemary
• 2 red peppers
• 1 yellow pepper
• 2 cloves garlic
• 125ml dry white wine
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 100g mixed Italian olives, pitted
• 50g capers
• 1 x 400g tin chopped tomatoes
• Handful of flat leaf parsley
• 300g pasta
• For the salsa verde
• 1 clove garlic
• 2 handfuls of fresh flat-leaf parsley
• 1 handful of fresh basil
• 1 handful of fresh mint
• 4 anchovy fillets
• 1 tbsp Dijon mustard
• 3 tbsps red wine vinegar
• 8 tbsps really good extra virgin olive oil

Method

1. First, add a good glug of oil into a large ovenproof saute pan and place over a medium-high heat. When hot, add the chicken thighs, seasoning with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Add the rosemary sprigs and cook over a medium heat until browned on both sides.
2. Meanwhile, as the chicken cooks, remove the stems and seeds from the peppers, then cut into chunky strips and finely slice the garlic
3. Back to the pan, remove the chicken from the pan and add the peppers. Stir quickly then add the garlic and deglaze with a little of the white wine to help remove all the lovely, tasty bits from the bottom of the pan.
4. Add the oregano, olives, capers and tinned tomatoes, along with a splash of water. Add the chicken and any juices back to the pan and cook over a medium heat for 15 - 20 minutes, until the chicken is cooked through and the sauce has thickened slightly.
5. Whilst the chicken cooks, make the salsa verde. Peel the garlic and pick the herb leaves, then place into a pestle and mortar and crush until you form a paste. Add the anchovies and crush again. Add the mustard and vinegar, then slowly stir in the oil until you achieve the right consistency. Alternatively you can chop all the ingredients, except the oil together on a board. Add to a bowl and drizzle in the oil to finish.
6. Balance the flavours with black pepper, a bit of sea salt and maybe a little more vinegar.
7. Now, the chicken is ready when it is completely tender and the meat comes away from the bone easily.
8. Serve the chicken and salsa verde together and dig in.