Ok I’m gonna start of by saying this was a challenging recipe. I may or may not have burned an entire on of garlic, anchovies, and tomato paste, but hey! That’s cooking! And it all ended up working out and was a super delicious dish. The different flavor components between the briney anchovies, salty capers, and sweet olives really created an umami dish, and the way the chicken is prepared created a super tender, juicy, fall of the bone chicken leg. Add noodles for a fuller plate, I used chickpea pasta and it actually worked really well with the sauce.
INGREDIENTS:
- 4 raw chicken legs
- 6 cloves of garlic
- 4 anchovies
- 2 lemon zest peels
- Lemon wedges for serving
- Cup of mild green olives, crushed and without pits
- Olive oil for pan
- 3/4 cup of white wine
- 2 tablespoons of dried capers
- 1/2 tsp. of red pepper flakes
- 2 tablespoons of tomato paste
Start by preheating your oven to 350 F and add olive oil to a medium-high heat pan and add in chicken legs. Allow for a good sear on both sides and some fat to render, then remove (chicken will still be uncooked on inside).
Add in minced garlic and anchovies to pan. Once garlic is translucent and anchovies have broken down, add in red pepper flakes and tomato paste.
Once the paste starts to combine and no longer sticks, add in capers, olives, wine, lemon peels, and bay leaves. Bring to a simmer and cook till wine has evaporated.
I added the sauce into an oven-proof pan, but if you have a cast-iron skillet or a pan without a rubber handle in it, add chicken over sauce and put in oven till chicken has fully cooked (when it reaches 165 F it’s cooked through). Make sure you baste chicken throughout cooking process so sauce seeps into chicken.
While chicken cooks, boil pot of seasoned water and add in pasta of choice, strain and put in bowl, then serve with chicken leg on top and sauce.
Seriously make this recipe. I will be making it again soon now that I figured out to keep the heat low so I don’t burn anything (oops). Let me know if you make this recipe and share if you do!
-Ari
Resting Munch Face 