Another stewy, tomatoey dish from Italy, this time courtesy of Domenica Marchetti. It benefits from the rich, hearty flavor (and economy) of chicken thighs, though I think I inadvertently downplayed the piquant part.
The recipe calls for 10 thighs to serve 5 or 6 people. My value pack from WF actually had 11 bone-in, skin-on thighs of various sizes. The chicken gets browned in two batches, starting skin side down for 5 min., then flipped over for another 5 min. Marchetti says to drain off all but 2 Tbl. of the rendered fat afterwards and then saute 1 big or 2 medium chopped onions for 5 min., add a clove of minced garlic for a couple of minutes, then sprinkle 1 or 2 Tbl of flour over it and pour in 3/4 c. white wine. Boil this down for a while, then add 4 chopped anchovy fillets and a pinch of red pepper flakes.
Here's were I downplayed the piquancy. The recipe calls for Rizzoli anchovies packed in a piquant sauce or any other anchovy fillets. So of course I got any other, and didn't think about compensating for the lack of piquant sauce by adding more red pepper flakes. So the sauce wasn't too piquant, but still very delicious.
The final ingredient is a 28 oz. can of whole tomatoes, mashed up to crush. Add the thighs back to the pot. Marchetti recommends taking off the crispy skin, arguing that it has made its flavor combination and that if you leave it on it will just turn flabby and make the sauce fatty. So I did and I think she's probably right. (Cook's bonus: Crispy chicken skin tastes really good.) Put the covered pot into a preheated 350-degree oven and after half an hour take the cover off and cook for another hour. It looks quite outstanding when it comes out (alas, I neglected to take a picture). Serve over polenta. So easy and cheap for a hearty weekday meal, with, obviously, plenty of leftovers.
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