I adapted this recipe from Hazans’ “Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking.” I got the cookbook a couple months ago, expecting to find more warm-weather food, but she tends towards comfort foods so I’ve been waiting for it to get cool enough to make this recipe.
It turned out extremely well – the flavor is much deeper than you expect to be, and the chicken picks up the sweetness of the cabbage splendidly. I highly recommend serving it with something with a bit of mouth feel – it was brilliant with homemade egg noodles, and I imagine it would be good with roasted brown rice also.
Ingredients
1 onion, sliced very thin
2-4 cloves garlic, quartered
1/4 c. olive oil + 1 Tbsp.
1/2 head red cabbage, shredded
1 Tbsp kosher salt
1 cut up chicken
1/2 c. dry red wine
1 Tbsp. dry sherry (optional)
Preparation
Combine onion, garlic and 1/4 c. olive oil in a heavy bottomed high sided pan, like a dutch oven, or in a very large saute pan, like the one your sister gave you as a wedding present. On medium, saute until the garlic becomes golden, then add the shredded cabbage and salt. Mix thoroughly, then simmer, covered, for about 40 minutes. Stir frequently enough to keep the cabbage from burning – you can add a little water to help.
When about 40 minutes has passed, brown the chicken in a skillet in 1 Tbsp. of olive oil, then add all the non-breast bits to the cabbage. Add the wine, then several grinds of pepper. Cook for another 40 minutes with the lid slightly ajar, and stirring frequently enough to prevent burning. Add the chicken breasts, and cook until they are done.
Adjust the salt, and if you feel like something’s missing, add the dry sherry, stir, and let cook a minute more.
I was thinking about taking a picture, but I was hungry, and suddenly it was gone.