Chicken Scarpariello

Chicken Scarpariello is a classic Italian American dish of tender and juicy chicken cooked with Italian sausage, onions and sweet pickled cherry peppers with just the perfect amount of spice. Served with roasted potatoes on the side to absorb the sauce, it is a super easy one pan meal with bright, robust flavors.

My husband grew up in the New York Westchester area where Chicken Scarpariello or “shoemaker’s chicken,” was on all the neighborhood Italian restaurant menus. To this day, it is one of his favorite dishes and this is his recipe that he enjoys cooking when we have friends over for a casual dinner.

If you have been following me for awhile, you know that when we entertain, I like to serve a simple but delicious meal where most of the cooking can be done ahead of time so that I can enjoy my guests instead of being in the kitchen. Not only is this meal easy to prepare, the taste actually gets better when cooked ahead of time as the flavor of the sauce has time to permeate the chicken. All that will then be needed is to be warmed in the oven right before the guests arrive.

Chicken Scarpariello

What makes this one pan dish so good is that the chicken, sausages and vegetables are cooked together in a tangy, slightly spicy and very savory sauce. It is a complete meal in itself and the recipe can feed a crowd just by doubling or tripling the ingredients. While not a fancy dinner, it is one that all our friends enjoy. The chicken is moist, tender and has a nice depth of flavor…my mouth is watering just thinking about it.

Chicken Scarpariello

Serves 2 to 4, adjust the recipe accordingly

Preheat oven to 375 F.

• 4 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs (about 1 1/2 lbs.)
• salt and pepper to taste
• garlic powder and onion powder to taste
• olive oil
• 3 sweet, hot or both, Italian sausage links (about 10 – 12 oz..)
• 2 sweet red bell peppers, seeded and sliced into strips  
• 1 large onion quartered and sliced
• 4 – 5 garlic cloves, chopped
• 1/2 tsp. oregano (thyme or rosemary may be substituted)
• 4 – 6 pickled cherry peppers (I used sweet cherry peppers but hot can be substituted), halved or quartered and seeds removed
• 1/4 c. white wine
• 1 c. chicken stock
• cherry pepper juice from jar to taste
• Roasted Potatoes (optional – see recipe below)

Pat the chicken thighs dry with paper towels and season well with salt, pepper, garlic powder and onion powder. Heat the olive oil in a large ovenproof pan over medium high. Add the thighs, skin side down, in a single layer. Sear the chicken, turning once, until browned on both sides, 6 to 8 minutes total then transfer to a plate.

Add the sausages to the pan and cook until browned but not cooked through, about 4 to 5 minutes. Remove the sausage and set aside. If you wish, you can then slice the sausage into 2 to 3 inch pieces. Add the bell pepper and onions and sauté until the onions are translucent, about 6 to 7 minutes. Add the garlic and oregano and cook for 2 to 3 more minutes.

Add the wine and deglaze the pan, stirring up any brown bits, Cook about 2 minutes then add the stock and cherry pepper juice. Cook until slightly reduced, then add back the chicken, skin side up, along with the cherry peppers.

Place in the oven and bake for 15 minutes. Remove and nestle the sausages between the chicken pieces. Taste the sauce and adjust the seasoning, if needed. Return to the oven and cook until a thermometer inserted in chicken (near but not touching bones) registers 175 – 180 and the sausages are cooked through, about 30 minutes more. If you want crisper skin, turn on the broiler for a few minutes, keeping an eye on it until the chicken gets a beautiful brown color on top. Remove pan from the oven and allow chicken to rest, about 5 minutes before serving. To serve, arrange the chicken, sausages and vegetables on a plate, along with some crispy roasted potatoes to absorb the sauce, if using, and spoon some sauce over the meat.

Roasted Baby Potatoes

Cut the potatoes in half and toss with a 1/4 cup or more of olive oil,. kosher salt, and black peppe to taster.  Roast the potatoes cut side down on parchment paper (375 F. oven for about 30 minutes) until easily pierced with a skewer and crispy and golden brown.  

You can use a combination of sweet(mild) and hot Italian sausage. If so, I would suggest leaving the mild sausages whole or cut in half and cutting the hot sausages in smaller pieces so that you can tell them apart by size when cooked.

If you want to use chicken breasts instead of thighs, you will have to reduce the cooking time so that the meat doesn’t dry out.

I used sweet cherry peppers that are slightly spicy but not overpowering. Hot cherry peppers will naturally be much spicer. Make sure you taste the peppers and juice before you start, to see if they’re the right heat for you. If too hot or too salty, you can add half white red vinegar and half cherry peppers juice for a milder flavor.

The liquid from a jar of pickled cherry peppers provides a vinegary base for this recipe, don’t throw it out.

Make sure that the skin remains above the liquid in the pan so that it will be crisp and not rubbery.

NOTES FROM THE KITCHEN

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Chicken Scarpariello is a complete meal in itself and can feed a crowd. You don’t really need to make a side but a salad of mixed greens would go well. I do suggest that you include is a loaf of crusty bread to soak up all the delicious sauce.