Categories: chicken, italian, pasta

Ingredients

• About 1 T extra virgin olive oil. (The majority of the oil for this dish will come from cooking the bacon and browning the chicken).
• 4 slices of smoked bacon or pancetta
• 1 medium onion, coarsely chopped
• 1 large celery rib, coarsely chopped
• 2 carrots, peeled and coarsely chopped
• 5-6 cloves garlic, finely sliced
• 3-4 cups of the above mentioned tomato sauce
• About 4 cups sliced mushrooms (we like the brown Italian ones [crimini])
• 3 T balsamic vinegar
• 2 T Worcestershire sauce
• About 10 black olives, sliced (If you really like them, use more).
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 1/4 cup Italian parsley for garnish

Directions

1. Add the 1 T of olive oil to a skillet large enough to hold all of the chicken and sauce ingredients. It will need a tight fitting cover, preferably. If you don’t have a sizable skillet with a tight fitting lid, you will have to improvise a lid or substitute a stock pot.

2. Cook the bacon until it is crisp, then place it on a paper towel to drain and cool. When it is cool, chop it coarsely.

3. In the same skillet with the bacon drippings, brown the chicken thoroughly on all sides. Remove from pan and reserve.

4. There should still be a couple of tablespoons of oil left in the skillet. If there are not, deglaze with about 3 T of sherry or chicken stock, or add a bit more olive oil.

5. Add the onions, celery, carrots and garlic. Reduce heat to medium low and cover the pan. Cook for about five minutes. This method will help the vegetables to release their wonderful juices.

6. Remove the lid and add the bacon, balsamic vinegar and the Worcestershire sauce. Mix well with the vegetables.

7. Stir in the mushrooms and black olives, then add the tomato sauce (reduced to canned tomato sauce consistency) and stir all in well.

8. Cover and simmer over medium low heat for 20-25 minutes. Turn the chicken a few times during this process so it cooks evenly.

9. Garnish with Italian parsley.

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