Once again a recipe using my delightfully inexpensive all-natural chicken legs.
Ingredients:
three large chicken legs cut in pieces and skinned (or not, to your liking)
2 – 14 oz cans diced tomatoes
1 tbls butter
1 tbls olive oil
head of garlic diced
1 tsp red chili flakes
Salt to taste
3/4 cup white wine (red wine would be good too)
lots of fresh basil (see picture)
5 oz fresh goat cheese round
Brown chicken and garlic in butter and olive oil. Add the wine while it’s on high and let it boil down a tad. Add the tomatoes and the basil salt and red chili.
woops, a little steamy!
Cover and put heat to medium or medium low. After about 20 minutes uncover so that some of the juices will evaporate and turn the chicken pieces. Cook for another 20 to 30 minutes.
Once the chicken is done and the sauce has cooked down some add the goat cheese in cut and bits and stir in until melted.
Note: This is not a super thick sauce, it can be runnier than what most Americans consider pasta sauce should look like. In fact Italians do not eat the super thick tomato sauces we often see in America–I tend to cook my red sauces somewhere in the middle of what Italians and Americans like as I’ve been influenced by both cultures. I don’t imagine most of you know my parents are Italian and so I grew up eating as an Italian. All my cooking is very much influenced by my father in particular though both my parents are very good cooks.
Stuff like goat cheese are ingredients I’ve added as my culinary experience grew outside my home. We did not eat goat cheese in my home.
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#1 by Bob - September 27th, 2009 at 10:51
Looks awesome! I definitely didn’t grow up eating as an Italian, more’s the pity. But I started watching Lidia Bastianich’s show a couple years ago, I don’t know if you’ve ever seen it. She makes (or so I’m told, heh) fairly authentic style Italian food and I’ve changed the way I do sauce after seeing how she does it.
#2 by monicajane - September 27th, 2009 at 13:57
no, I don’t know Lidia B. But there are a lot of people who know how to cook good Italian food these days…there were not for the two decades of my life, but now more and more real good food is reaching the masses. At least if you live in the right parts of the country. (or perhaps watch the right cooking shows)
#3 by Tina - September 27th, 2009 at 16:51
ANYTHING with goats cheese is a winner for me. That looks good. I think the sauce looks just right .
#4 by monicajane - September 27th, 2009 at 16:57
I’ve been using goats cheese a lot lately in the things I’ve posted…I love it too.
#5 by Wandering Coyote - September 27th, 2009 at 21:58
That steamy picture is so sumptuous! I can smell the dish, practically!
Yay – I’m going cross-border shopping on Wednesday and am looking forward to bringing back my full allotment of cheap chicken! I have REALLY cut down on my chicken consumption lately because it’s just too expensive up here.
#6 by monicajane - September 28th, 2009 at 10:56
our long term goal is to buy a freezer chest and then buy our meat straight off local farms…whole and parts of animals. I want to know exactly how the animal was cared for and who killed it.
it’s also cheaper, healthier and supports local and sustainable farming…
once we have the deep freezer we can grow more veggies and freeze those too…right now we only grow what we can eat during the growing season.
have fun shopping across the border! sounds like an adventure…I love grocery shopping…it completely acts as retail therapy for me and in general one can’t blow too much like with other material goods. (of course one could spend a fortune, but for me part of the therapy is seeing what sort of good deals I can get and be happy about!)