Ingredients for 4 people:1 chicken (approx. 1.2 kg) 10-15 sage leaves 2 sprigs of rosemary2 cloves of garlic6 tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil2 glasses white wine salt pepper (optional) For the Caponata:
2 aubergines 2 stalks of celery (without leaves) 100 g pitted green olives (if possible Sicilian) 1 large white onion1 handful of capers50 ml Balsamico Bianco1 sprig of parsley6-7 tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil (plus ½ glass if you want to fry the aubergines) 1 tsp sugar500 g fresh tomato flesh, without the skins (or preserved peeled tomatoes) 1 handful of sultanas salt
Finely chop the sage and rosemary leaves with the peeled cloves of garlic, set aside. Wash the chicken, use tweezers to remove any pieces of feathers left in the skin; then wash it again, pat it dry with a cloth and cut it into 8-10 pieces. Put them in an oven dish, drizzle with the olive oil, season with salt and pepper (if you like it) and the chopped mixture you prepared before. Mix everything well, pour in the wine and cook in a preheated oven, at 180 °C, for 1 ½ hours (while it’s cooking check on the chicken at least twice, taking the dish out of the oven and turning the pieces of meat over). In the meanwhile prepare the Caponata: wash and clean the aubergines, then cut them into small pieces and sauté them in a heavy-bottomed frying pan with 3 spoonfuls of olive oil(1). When they are golden brown, put them on a plate and set them aside. In the same frying pan, sauté the finely chopped onion with the rest of the oil. As soon as it starts to turn golden, add the capers, the celery stalks cut into pieces, the olives, sultanas, tomato flesh and chopped parsley, and season with salt to taste (it’s always best not to over do it and then, if necessary, add more at the end). Gently cook, in order to thicken, for about 15 minutes. Add the cooked aubergines, the sugar and the Balsamico Bianco, mix everything together and leave to evaporate over a high heat for 3 to 4 minutes. Then lower the heat and cook for another 5 minutes; taste and, if you think it’s necessary, add some more sugar or Balsamico Bianco. Turn off the heat and set aside. When the chicken is cooked, take the dish out of the oven, tip in the Caponata, stir quickly and put it back in the oven for about 10 minutes. After which, take it out of the oven, leave to cool for a few minutes, transfer the chicken with Caponata onto a serving dish and serve... buon appetito!
(1) This is La Vialla’s version of Caponata; it’s lighter than the traditional Sicilian one, in which the aubergines are actually fried.