Gypsy Chicken, aka Chicken Zingara (pronounced, Chicken Zinga-duh)
This is a wonderful dish for when you need to serve a group of people, but are limited in the ingredients you have on hand. You can and should freestyle with these ingredients, you can make the dish your own. Below is my version.
Ingredients:
– 2 whole boneless chicken breasts, halved and cut into strips/pieces
– 3-4 Italian Sauces
– 1 Box of Criminal Mushrooms, Quartered
– 3 bell peppers – green, red or both – cut into wide strips
– 1/2 cup chopped pickled peppers (optional)
– 4 White Potatoes cut into cubes
– 1 Large Can Whole Tomatoes (Squeeze The Tomatoes, Reserve The Liquid)
– 2 Large White Onions, cut into wide strips
– 4-6 garlic cloves cut into 3 pieces each
– Olive oil, salt and pepper
– 1 Red Wind Cup
1. Place sausage in a large skillet. Prick everything with a fork. Place ¼ inch of water in the pan, then turn the heat to high. The water will poach the sausage and cause much of the fat to come off. In the end, the water will completely evaporate and the sausage will turn brown. After the sausage has browned, turn off the heat and place on a paper towel to cool. Once cooled, cut sausage into ¼-inch slices and set aside.
2. Boil the potatoes in salted water until they are half full. Remove from the water and reserve
3. In a large Dutch oven, over high heat, heat 2-3 tablespoons of the olive oil. Brown the chicken pieces and reserve. Deglaze the Dutch oven with red wine
4. Add 2 tablespoons of olive oil to the Dutch oven and sauté the peppers, onions and garlic until softened.
5. Add mushrooms and cook until done.
6. Add the sausage, chicken, potatoes and squeezed tomatoes (and any reserved liquid)
7. And the liquid tomato, salt and pepper to the Dutch Pot. Cook for 10-15 minutes or until everything is cooked and soft.
8. When done, mix the chopped parsley and basil into this
Definitely serve with Italian bread and a glass of wine.
There are many places where you can make substitutions. For example, substitute macaroni or rice for potatoes. I once prepared all of this food in a large aluminum pan on my barbecue grill.
You can do it. It’s really easy and delicious.