Entertaining with Chef Eddie
Italian Cuisine - Pollo al Forno
At
one of our recent culinary classes recently I had the opportunity
to do a cooking class for some of my friends in racing. They requested
Italian food, and this presented two problems.
One problem with that was one of the people attending the class
is lactose intolerant, so with that in mind I had to limit the amount
of cheese to almost none. The other issue is that for the most part
these people were also health conscious eaters. With these requirements
taken into consideration I decided the main course should be a simple
baked chicken that has a lot of flavor and can be adapted to many
tastes.
After making this dish in the class I found that it’s
a dish that would be perfect to make during the race season. It
is a versatile recipe that works well with pork, or you can change
the oil marinade that goes over the top to create a different
flavor profile.
Have fun with this recipe and feel free to change ingredients
to make it your own!
Pollo
al Forno con Patate (printable)
Oregano Chicken Baked with Potatoes and Tomatoes
8 bone-in, skin-on chicken breasts
2 pounds potatoes
2 lemons
2 pounds fresh tomatoes
2 cloves garlic
1 cup olive oil
1 tsp chili flakes
1 tsp dry oregano
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
Peel and slice the potatoes and finely chop the garlic. In a small
bowl add the olive oil, minced garlic, oregano and chili flakes
and mix well. Zest and Juice the Lemons. Slice the tomatoes about
a 1/2 inch thick and remove the seeds. Layer the bottom of the
baking dish with the potatoes and season with salt and pepper.
Top with lemon juice. Place the chicken on top of the potatoes.
Layer the sliced tomatoes on top of the chicken. Pour the oregano
sauce over tomatoes and top with lemon zest.
Bake at 400 degrees F. until chicken reaches an internal temperature
of 150 degrees F.; about 40 minutes.
