Baked Chicken

Submitted by Queen Dragon Mom

"I devised this take on cacciatore when I got tired of the original I use. This is not as hard as it looks, it's more a matter of timing than difficulty. Make sure your orzo and peas are ready, you could cook them before starting the chicken."

 

• Ready In: 3hrs
• Ingredients: 14
• Serves: 4

ingredients

• 4 lbs chicken, cut up
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 tablespoons butter, clarified
• 2 cups onions, thinly sliced
• 5 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 cups dry vermouth
• 2 (28 ounce) cans tomatoes, diced
• 2 cups tomato juice, from canned tomatoes
• 1⁄2 teaspoon anise seed, crushed
• 1⁄2 teaspoon basil
• 1⁄2 teaspoon oregano
• 2 bay leaves
• 1⁄2 cup frozen peas
• 12 g orzo pasta

directions

1. Oil a 13 x 9 inch casserole.
2. Preheat oven to 350°F.
3. Heat large frypan, add butter and oil.
4. When oils "swim" turn heat down to low. Add onions.
5. Cover and let sweat for around 40 minutes, or until soft. Remove cover.
6. Turn heat up to medium-high, add garlic and stir until aromas start to meld. (This sounds weird, but it is how it happens. Just don't overcook the garlic.)Reduce heat so remaining oil doesn't burn.
7. Remove onions and garlic to a strainer, keeping drained oils.
8. Return oils to pan, increase heat to med-high and brown chicken pieces for about 5 minutes a side.
9. When chicken is browned, place in the casserole.
10. Keeping heat up, pour all the vermouth into the pan, stir to get all the crispys off. Reduce heat and slow-boil until the vermouth has reduced by about half and lost its bite.
11. Add juice from the tomatoes, the herbs and the bay leaves.
12. Keep everything at a slow boil for about 10 minutes, watching it so it doesn't burn, then add the tomatoes.
13. Distribute onions and garlic from strainer on the chicken while the tomatoes are cooking.
14. Start 4 quarts water boiling in a large pot.
15. The tomato mixture needs to cook for about an hour (on my lame stove) and when it is reduced to a moderate liquid, pour it on the chicken in the casserole. Place the casserole in the oven, uncovered.
16. By this time the water should be boiling, add all the orzo. Cook for 10 minutes.
17. Drain pasta, add peas. Set aside.
18. After the chicken has been in the oven for about 1 hour and the chicken is getting tender, add the orzo and peas. Carefully pull up the sauce from the pan to cover and fold the orzo/peas into the sauce.
19. Bake for another 30 minutes, remove from oven and let sit for 15 minutes.