Chicken Scarpariello (w. Sausage & Peppers). This is an insanely fun dish to me. The broth is so incredible that you almost hope there are leftovers. I even added a quick recipe for a crazy good sandwich at the bottom. Salty, tangy, a little bit of heat…and the entire dish is cooked in one pan. This is a fun weeknight dinner that you are used to, but with a little bit of extra Italian American pizazz. I am very excited to share it with you
All the Extra Flavor
Because this dinner is chock full of stuff and cooked entirely in one pan, there are a few little steps we are going to take to add a ton of flavor. Step one: browning the chicken skin & susasages. Not only does browning add nice flavor, but when cooking chicken thighs it also adds texture.
Heat the skillet on high until just smoking and chicken thighs skin side down until golden and crispy. I took it a little far in the picture below, but I actually love some char flavor. When everything is brown and crispy, remove it from the pan to rest sit skin side up. Be careful as you nestle it back in the broth to try to keep as much as the skin above liquid as you can.
Flavor step two: keep that skillet dirty. Empty out some of the juices for browning the meat, but add your wine and garlic and fresh herbs to that burnt-chicken sausauge-y pan. It will smell so good at this point you’ll see what I mean.
Weeknight One Pan Dinner
Chicken Scarpariello is an Italian-American dish that I came across in an old Food & Wine Magazine. I had never heard of it before, but grew up eating tons of Italian American food so it was exciting. I was really inspired by that recipe because this is that typical weeknight chicken dinner, but it’s different without being difficult. And it’s fun. And that’s just kind of my whole thing around here.
There was also a debate about what to serve this with: crusty bread, maybe a roasted potato. But at the end we went with a crusty, seeded loaf because there is truly nothing better than the broth and juices in the skillet.
Leftover Sausage & Pepper Sandwich
Your favorite crusty, seeded loaf of bread is imperative. Toast it lightly under your broiler. Slice sausages thin on a bias & layer them onto one side of the bread with peppadews, pepperoncini, and some shredded chicken thigh. Drizzle a little bit of broth. Layer with spinach or broccoli rabe & provolone. Broil open faced until cheese is melted. Top with other half of bread.
When you make this Chicken Scarpariello, please let me know your thoughts in the comments or if you tried the sandwich! You can also DM me on Instagram @quartersoulcrisis where I put step by step videos of how to make my dishes in stories.
Chicken Scarpariello (w. Sausage & Peppers)
Equipment
- large skillet or braiser
Ingredients
- 2-3 tbs avocado oil (or olive oil)
- 4 bone in, skin on chicken thighs*
- 4 garlic cloves smashed
- 4 sweet italian sausages
- salt & pepper
- 1/2 cup dry white wine (sauvignon blanc or pinot grigio)
- 3-4 sprigs oregano + more fresh leaves for serving
- 3-4 sprigs thyme
- 1 & 3/4 cups chicken broth
- 1 & 1/2 cups pepperoncini and/or peppadew peppers 1/4 cup juices
- crusty seeded bread for serving (& leftovers)
Instructions
- Brown Chicken & Sausages: Pat chicken thighs dry with a paper towel. Trim any excess skin.* Sprinkle generously with salt & pepper. Heat oil in a large skillet or cast iron over medium high with 2-3tbs avocado oil until just smoking. Add chicken skin side down & sausages. Cook until the skin is golden brown and crisp. About 5-6 minutes. Flip sausages about halfway through. Remove chicken & sausages and place them on plate. If there is a lot of oil or drippings, you can pour some out here but keep skillet hot and dirty!
- Make Broth: Add wine to hot skillet with smashed garlic, oregano & thyme. Stir often, scraping up any bits from bottom. Cook until most of the liquid is evaporated (2-3 minutes). Add 2 cups chicken broth to skillet. Bring to a boil over high heat then reduce to low heat.
- Finish Chicken: Nestle in chicken (crispy skin side up, try not to cover with too much liquid) and sausages. Simmer uncovered until chicken is cooked through (about 25 minutes or until thickest portion reaches 165°. With 5 minutes to go, stir in peppers and some of their juice. Sprinkle with extra oregano leaves or even parmesan. Serve with crusty bread.
Home Cook’s Notes
- Wine: Sauvignon Blanc & Pinot Grigio, they are dry & have flavors that compliment this dish. Sub wine with: ¼ cup chicken broth + juice of 1 lemon, ¼ cup chicken broth & 3tbs white wine or sherry vinegar
- Trimming Chicken: we are searing the chicken thighs on their skin to get cripy & then flipping over to simmer half in liquid. If any chicken skin is on the underside of the thigh, I like to trim it off as it will not get crisp while cooking.
- Oven Option: Preheat oven to 400°. Place in oven after adding chicken to broth & bake 20-25 minutes or until chicken is 165°.
- Leftover Sammy: slice some sausage or chicken or both on your toasted, seeded crusty bread. Drizzle juices & add some peppers. Cover in provolone cheese & broil. It is delicious.
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