Chicken Saute with Summer Vegetables
Submitted by conrsm01
Browned chicken simmered with eggplant, zucchini, bell peppers, and tomatoes in olive oil, finished with fresh basil. A rustic Provençal-style summer braise.
YIELD
4 servingsPREP
30 minCOOK
60 minREADY
90 minCall it a ratatouille with chicken and you wouldn’t be wrong.
This hearty summer braise starts by browning chicken pieces until golden, then slow-simmering them with cubed eggplant, zucchini, red and green bell peppers, onions, garlic, and ripe tomatoes.
Everything cooks down together until the vegetables are meltingly soft and the flavors have melded into something deeply savory.
A generous shower of fresh chopped basil at the end makes the whole dish sing with summer.
It feeds a crowd and tastes even better the next day.
Pro Tips
- Salt the eggplant and zucchini and let them drain for 30 minutes to draw out moisture so they brown instead of steam
- Pat the salted vegetables dry before frying or they’ll splatter in the hot oil
- Brown the eggplant in batches so the pan stays hot and each piece gets a golden crust
- This reheats beautifully, making it a great cook-once, eat-twice meal
Ingredients
Directions
Cut eggplant into approximately ¾ inch cubes.
Cut zucchini into thick slices.
Put eggplant and zucchini in a colander, sprinkle generously with salt and let stand 30 minutes.
Meanwhile heat 2 tablespoon of the oil in a frying pan over medium high heat.
Sprinkle the chicken with salt and pepper, add to pan and brown well on both sides; add more oil as needed.
Return all chicken to the pan, reduce heat to simmer, cover and and cook until almost done about 20 minutes.
Meanwhile slice the onions, cut the peppers into squares, mince the garlic and chop the tomatoes.
Pat the eggplant and zucchini dry.
In a dutch oven heat 2 tablespoon oil over high heat and add half of eggplant.
Cook stirring until browned and softened, about 5 minutes; remove and repeat with remaining eggplant adding more oil as needed.
In the same skillet brown the zucchini, about 5 minutes. Add to the cooked eggplant.
Add remaining 1 tablespoon oil to the pan, reduce the heat to low and sauté the onions, red and green peppers.
Cover and cook until softened about 15 minutes.
Stir in garlic, eggplant, zucchini; cover and simmer for 1 hour until very soft.
Add chicken and simmer until heated through about 30 minutes.
Serve hot sprinkled with fresh chopped basil.
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