When Bob brought this spice blend home and asked me to come up with a recipe for it, my first thought went to Clementina’s beloved chicken in white wine. YUM!
But then I saw that chili flakes were an ingredient, something she never would have used. OK, so Clem’s chicken with a riff from Wendy. Challenge accepted.
So this is a pretty basic chicken in white wine recipe, but instead of Clementina’s sweet carrots, I used sweet fennel. Instead of her sweet yellow onion, I used red onion for its muted kick to match the chilis in the spice blend.
As with most of the recipes that I’ve shared with the Biale Beloved, there’s an invitation to your personal inspiration and know-how to my directions. Clementina always cooked by feel and intuition. I’ve kept that alive with this recipe.
Chicken in White Wine with Aglio Olio e Pepperoncino
Ingredients
- 4 skin-on chicken thighs
- 1 TBSP Spice Blend
- Olive oil and/or beef tallow
- 1 small red onion, diced or thinly sliced
- 1 cup thinly sliced fennel
- ½ cup to 1 cup white wine
Directions
Salt and pepper the chicken all over. In a small pan on low heat, “bloom” the Spice Blend. Gently heat 3 TBSPs olive oil, then add 1 TBSP Spice Blend. Let it simmer until the fragrance rises, maybe 2 minutes, stirring gently a few times. Set aside.
In a larger pan (cast iron works great!), add 1 tablespoon or more of fat over medium-low heat (olive oil, or even better yet, beef tallow!). In order to render the fat, add the chicken skin side down while the pan is cold or barely warm. Brown the chicken 10 minutes or so. When the skin is brown and the fat rendered, flip the chicken for a quick browning, 2 minutes. Remove from pan. The chicken should not be fully cooked at this point.
To the pan full of delicious fat abandoned by the chicken thighs, add red onion and sauté a few minutes—don’t let it go beyond golden. (If the fat went too far after cooking the chicken and is dark brown, discard it and start with new fat: olive oil or beef tallow). Add fennel for another couple of minutes. Season with salt. Resist the temptation to add garlic—it’s in the Spice Blend!
Return chicken to pan SKIN SIDE UP. Add ½ to a full cup of white wine. I know, that’s a big range. So here’s my thinking: if your chicken is larger, the browning you did wasn’t enough to cook it well enough, so you are going to let it simmer at this stage a bit longer, thus you are able to reduce the wine better, thus you can add more of it for more flavor. Just BE SURE the wine is below the skin line of the chicken. (You worked so hard to get a crispy skin, don’t lose it now!) Don’t be tempted to cover the pan or you will lose your crispy skin.
Once chicken is cooked through, put it on a platter surrounded by your vegetables. Dollop the chicken with the reserved bloomed spice right before serving. (Again, so you don’t lose the crispy skin—I know, I’m harping on this crispy skin… you’ll thank me later). Buon Appetito!!
Pairs perfectly with 2025 Clementina Greco.
