For dinner yesterday, I made this Italian-American recipe that translates as Shoemaker’s Chicken, meaning it most likely was created by someone of humble origins. I used two whole chicken legs (drumsticks with thighs attached) with the skins on for this recipe and that was perfect for two people. I didn’t have an actual lemon so I just used about 1 to 1 1/2 tablespoons of 100% lemon juice that I keep in the refrigerator. I used my cast-iron skillet for this recipe.

While the chicken was in the oven I checked on it once and most of the sauce/liquid in the skillet was gone so I poured in a little more chicken broth and turned the chicken over so that it wouldn’t dry out. Also, when I was reducing the sauce a bit at the end I only need about a teaspoon of the flour-butter or Beurre manié to thicken it as it was already pretty thick. I served it alongside some capellini pasta and a side salad and it was a perfect meal. The chicken was tender, cooked-through, and the sauce tasted special. A lightly sweet wine flavor mixed with the saltier chicken broth and onions made for a wonderful combination. Whoever the shoemaker was that created this recipe, he/she knew what he/she was doing when they came up with this recipe.

Chicken Scarpariello

Recipe by: Italian Food Forever, 2008

Serves: 2

Prep Time: 25 mins

Cook Time: 50 mins

Ingredients:

• 1/2 young fryer chicken, cut into pieces
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• Salt & pepper
• 1/2 tsp. oregano
• 2 Tbsp. olive oil
• 1/4 cup chopped onions
• 2 cloves garlic, peeled & sliced
• 1 sprig fresh rosemary
• 1/4 cup white wine
• 1/2 cup chicken broth
• Juice from 1 lemon
• 2 Tbsp. unsalted, softened butter
• 1 Tbsp. all-purpose flour
• 2 Tbsp. chopped, fresh parsley

Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 400ºF. Mix together the flour and oregano, and season with salt and pepper. Rinse and dry the chicken pieces, and then dredge them lightly in the seaoned flour mixture.

2. In a heavy, ovenproof skillet, large enough to hold all of the chicken pieces, heat the olive oil, and then brown the chicken well on all sides over medium heat. (Be careful not to burn the oil by using too hot of heat.) Once all of the pieces are well browned, remove them to a plate.

3. Pour out the left over oil in the pan, leaving just a tablespoon or two with the browned bits at the bottom. Add the onion and cook until soft, and then add the garlic. As soon as the garlic begins to sizzle, add the wine, and stir the browned bits at the bottom while you reduce the wine by half over medium high heat. Add the chicken broth and bring to a boil. Break up the rosemary into pieces, and add it to the sauce. Return the chicken pieces to the skillet, and spoon the sauce over top.

4. Bake the chicken until done, about 20 minutes. Remove the chicken to a warmed platter, and bring the remaining sauce to a boil. Add the lemon juice and season with salt and pepper.

5. Mix the tablespoon of flour with 1 tablespoon of softened butter. Add the remaining butter to the sauce in the skillet, and mix well. Remove the rosemary pieces from the sauce. If the sauce is thin, stir in a little of the flour and butter mixture, wisking continuously to prevent lumps. Once the sauce has thickened, add the chopped parsley, and pour the sauce over the chicken on the platter.