Lightened Up Mouthwatering Chicken Scarpariello

Chicken Scarpariello - a sauce you’ll want to lick off your plate. I have! Plus some insanely crispy oven baked potatoes 😋 

My lightened up version of the classic Italian American dish, which translates to “shoemakers” chicken, “cobbles” ingredients together that were traditionally leftover or otherwise going to go bad. These ingredients are highlighted in a combination of delectable & perfectly browned braised chicken breasts (leaner than thighs) & sausage (we use chicken or turkey varieties) surrounded by a rich and flavorful sauce. Once again proving my point, that healthy can be delicious! Deprivation and “diet food” have no place in my life!

Kick the spice up as much as you’d like. I like using peppadew and/or Italian cherry peppers, but any pickled peppers will do. My husband and I enjoy some heat so we add a bit of the juice from the pepper jar to the pan. 

Remember to cook the chicken in an oven safe pan as you’ll be finishing off your “it looks like I slaved away for hours in the kitchen, but it actually only took me 30 min” dish in the oven! BUON APPETITO! 

Serve alongside crispy oven roasted potatoes. I love serving these separately so they stay crispy 😋 

The chicken is really yummy the next day as leftovers too.

Yields 4 servings

Ingredients for the chicken rub:

Equal parts: Paprika, Cayenne, Onion powder, Garlic powder, Brown sugar or coconut sugar.

Ingredients for Chicken Scarpariello:

6 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil, divided

Kosher salt, freshly ground pepper

3 links sweet Italian chicken or turkey sausage

2 lbs organic chicken breasts

1 large onions, chopped

1/2 large red bell pepper, chopped

5 garlic cloves, finely chopped

1/4 cup Sherry

1 cup dry white wine

1 cup low-sodium chicken broth

1/2 cup combination of chopped hot cherry peppers & sweet pickled Peppadew peppers in brine (add more hot peppers or their brine if you like more heat)

3 sprigs rosemary

Chopped parsley (for serving)

Preparation:

1. Arrange racks in upper and lower thirds of oven; preheat to 450°.

2. Coat top of chicken breasts with chicken rub . Season chicken breasts on both sides with salt & pepper.

3. Heat 3 tbsp olive oil in a large oven-proof skillet over medium-high. Remove sausage from casing and brown it in pan. 6-8 minutes. It’s ok if not fully cooked through. Set aside on a plate.

4. Add remaining 3 tbsp olive oil to same skillet. Brown chicken rub side down until that side is golden brown. Pat on more rub on the bare side of the chicken breast and turn chicken over to brown that side. About 8–10 minutes (they will also be undercooked). Transfer to plate with sausage.

5. Cook onions, bell pepper, and garlic in same skillet over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally and scraping bottom of pan, until tender and beginning to brown, 10–12 minutes. Add sherry to deglaze pan, stir. Add wine and cook, stirring occasionally, until reduced and you can no longer smell the alcohol, about 8 minutes. Add broth, hot/peppadew peppers, and rosemary and bring to a boil; cook until slightly reduced, about 5 minutes. Nestle chicken into onion mixture, then transfer skillet to upper rack of oven and roast chicken 10 minutes. Add sausages to skillet, pushing them into onion mixture, and continue to roast until chicken is cooked through and an instant-read thermometer inserted into thickest part of breast registers 165°, 5–10 minutes.

6. Top with parsley. Serve with my Crispy Oven-Roasted Potatoes alongside.

   BUON APPETITO!