Puttanesca Style Panzanella Recipes

EASY-BRINE CHICKEN BREASTS WITH SICILIAN GLAZE AND PUTTANESCA-STYLE PANZANELLA

Steps:

• For the glaze: Heat the EVOO in a small pot over medium to medium-high heat. Add the garlic, rosemary and chile pepper, and stir for a few minutes. Add the wine and cook until reduced to 3 to 4 tablespoons, about 2 minutes. Peel the zest from the orange in strips and add to the pot. Stir in the chicken stock and honey, then cook at a low rolling simmer until reduced to about 1/2 cup, about 20 minutes. Let cool.
• For the brine: Put the onion, salt, garlic, rosemary, lemons and 4 cups water in a large resealable plastic bag. Add the chicken and refrigerate for up to 2 days.
• Heat a grill pan, griddle or cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat. Remove the chicken from the brine and pat dry. Drizzle or brush the chicken with EVOO, then cook, turning occasionally, until the chicken is cooked through, 12 to 15 minutes. Meanwhile, gently warm the glaze. Baste the chicken with the glaze during the last 5 minutes of cooking.
• Serve the chicken with the Puttanesca-Style Panzanella.
• Cook's Note: Make 6 pieces of chicken breast and you'll have extra meat to slice for sandwiches or chicken salad the next day.
• Combine the tomatoes, parsley, onions and bell peppers.
• Whisk together the EVOO, vinegar, anchovy paste, garlic, chile pepper and lemon juice in a bowl.
• Pour water over the bread, then wring out the loaf and tear it into bite-size pieces. Toss the bread, vegetable mixture and olives with the dressing. Serve.
• Cook's Note: Wrap the bread loosely in foil overnight so it becomes stale and a little hard (if it goes too far, place it in a plastic bag overnight). If you are making the salad ahead of time, you can combine the vegetables and parsley in a resealable plastic bag and refrigerate them. Pit and chop the olives and return them to their container in the refrigerator. Store the dressing in the refrigerator and bring it to room temperature before using.

PASTA PUTTANESCA (TART'S SPAGHETTI)

Steps:

• To make the sauce, heat the oil in a medium saucepan, then add the garlic, chilli and basil and cook these briefly till the garlic is pale gold. Then add all the other sauce ingredients, stir and season with a little pepper - but no salt yet because of the anchovies. Turn the heat to low and let the sauce simmer very gently without a lid for 40 minutes, by which time it will have reduced to a lovely thick mass, with very little liquid left. While the sauce is cooking, take your largest saucepan, fill it with at least 4 pints (2.25 litres) of hot water and bring it up to a gentle simmer. Add a few drops of olive oil and a little salt and then, 8 minutes before the sauce is ready, plunge the spaghetti into the water. Stir well to prevent it clogging together, then time it for exactly 8 minutes. After that drain it in a colander, return it to the saucepan presto pronto, and toss the sauce in it, adding the basil. Mix thoroughly and serve in well-heated bowls, with lots of grated Parmesan to sprinkle over - and have plenty of gutsy, 'tarty' Italian red wine to wash it down. You can also watch how to prepare garlic and chillis in our Cookery School Videos on the right.

PUTTANESCA-STYLE PANZANELLA

Steps:

• For the salad: Combine the tomatoes, parsley, onions and bell peppers.
• For the dressing: Whisk together the EVOO, vinegar, anchovy paste, garlic, chile pepper and lemon juice in a bowl.
• Pour water over the bread, then wring out the loaf and tear it into bite-size pieces. Toss the bread, vegetable mixture and olives with the dressing. Serve.
• Cook's Note: Wrap the bread loosely in foil overnight so it becomes stale and a little hard (if it goes too far, place it in a plastic bag overnight). If you are making the salad ahead of time, you can combine the vegetables and parsley in a resealable plastic bag and refrigerate them. Pit and chop the olives and return them to their container in the refrigerator. Store the dressing in the refrigerator and bring it to room temperature before using.