Braised chicken with sweet peppers and olives - Pui cu ardei si masline

Maybe last week when i made this i couldn't have said that the fall is here, especially when every single day we had over 90F at lunch. But the mornings are colder, and so are the nights, the sun sets pretty early, so why not start cooking some comforting recipes that make the house smell amazing and warm.

I found this recipe in the Food & Wine newsletter i get every week, and i am glad i looked at it.

It takes a while to make, and i know it keeps going back and forth between the oven and the stove, the roasting pan and the skillet, and seems complicated, but it isn't. Or maybe just a bit, but it was so worth it. The house smelled so nice from the roasted peppers, the chicken was so flavorful and really falling off the bone, the sauce absolutely amazing and we love olives, what else could i say? We had some crusty bread with it, but i thought it could be served with polenta as well.

Now, here is the original recipe, and the one below is my tweaked version. I am not going into why i changed it, i cannot help myself not to, but i didn't take out any ingredients, just adapted it a bit. Read them both and see which one suits you better, but give this one a try if it's tempting, you will like it a lot.

Braised chicken with sweet peppers and olives - adapted after Ethan Stowell's recipe

4 bell peppers (2 red and 2 yellow), cut in strips
11/2 onions, one thinly sliced and the other half diced
10 chicken drumsticks
salt and pepper
one carrot diced or shredded
1 celery ribs, diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon thyme leaves
1 ½ cups dry white wine
2 cups chicken stock or low-sodium broth
1/2 pound green and black olives
2 tablespoons chopped flat-leaf parsley

Preheat the oven to 400 F (200C). On a large rimmed baking sheet, toss the bell peppers and the onion slices with a little bit of oil. Roast the peppers for about 30 minutes, turning them halfway through, until they are softened.
Season the chicken pieces with salt and pepper. Working in batches, cook the chicken in a very large skillet, over moderately high heat until it is golden all over. Put the browned chicken pieces in a large roasting pan or baking dish.
In the same skillet, add the carrots, celery, garlic, thyme and the diced onion and cook until the onion is translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the white wine and bring to a boil, scraping up the browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Pour the wine and the vegetables over the chicken. Add the chicken stock to the pan, cover with foil and put it in the oven, lowering the temperature at 350F(175C).
Braise the chicken for about 1 1/2 hours, until it’s falling off the bone. Transfer the chicken to a serving dish and cover with foil. Set the roasting pan over medium heat (if it’s a roasting pan, but if you used a baking dish, pour the sauce in a saucepan), stir in the peppers and the olives into the sauce and boil the juices for about 5 minutes. Season the sauce with salt and pepper. Pour the sauce and vegetables over the chicken, sprinkle with parsley and serve with crusty bread.

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Pui cu ardei si masline - reteta adaptata dupa reteta lui Ethan Stowell

4 bucati ardei gras (2 rosii si 2 galbeni), taiati solzisori
1 ceapa + jumatate, ceapa intreaga taiata solzisori si jumatatea tocata marunt
10 pulpe de pui - partea inferioara (pot fi amestecat partea superioara si inferioara, asa e reteta originala, numai ca eu am avut numai ciocanele)
sare si piper
1 morcov tocat marunt sau dat pe razatoarea mare
1 tija telina verde, tocata
2 catei de usturoi tocati marunt
1 lingurita cimbru
375 ml vin alb sec
400-500 ml zeama de supa ( de pui sau legume)
200-250g masline verzi si/sau negre
2 linguri patrunjel tocat marunt

Se incalzeste cuptorul la 200C (400F). Pe o tava tapetata cu folie de aluminiu se pun ardeii si ceapa taiata solzisori, stropiti cu ulei si condimentati cu sare si piper. Se coc cca 30 minute, amestecandu-I sa nu se arda, pana cand sunt moi.
Intre timp se condimenteaza carnea de pui cu sare si piper. Se prajeste puiul in doua transe intr-o tigaie la foc mai mare, pana cand e aurie carnea peste tot. Se pune puiul intr-o tava mare sau un vas termorezistent.
In aceeasi tigaie se pun la calit morcovul, telina, usturoiul, cimbrul si jumatatea de ceapa care a fost tocata marunt, timp de vreo 5 minute, pana cand ceapa devine translucenta. Se adauga vinul si se lasa sa dea in clocot, amestecand cu lingura sa se topeasca toate bucatelele ramase de la prajitul puiului. Se toarna vinul si legumele peste pui. Se adauga zeama de supa, se acopera tava cu folie de aluminiu si se pune la cuptor, micsorand temperatura la 350 F/175C (foc mediu).
Se lasa puiul la cuptor timp de o ora si jumatate, pana cand carnea cade de pe os. Se scoate puiul in vasul de servit si se tine acoperit. Se pune tava pe aragaz la foc potrivit (daca e de metal, daca nu, puneti sosul din tava intr-o craticioara), se adauga ardeii, ceapa si maslinele si se lasa sa fiarba vreo 5 minute. Se potriveste de sare si piper.
Se toarna sosul peste pui, se presara patrunjel proaspat tocat deasupra si se serveste imediat cu paine proaspata, din aia cu o crusta groasa, numai buna de muiat in sos.