A delicios sweet and sour chicken agro dolce. I have also made a variation of this with two roasting chickens. Roasted the birds. Made the red wine reduction separately. Then combined the two for a final 30 mins with the pancetta & pine nuts. Very good.
| Ingredients | ||
| 1 | orange, quartered | |
| 2 | cinnamon sticks, broken in half | |
| 6 sprigs | fresh rosemary | |
| 4 | poussins, preferably free-range | |
| Organic olive oil | ||
| 2 knobs | butter | |
| 2 | red onions, peeled and finely sliced | |
| 4 sticks | celery, trimmed and finely sliced | |
| One 10-ounce jar | sun-dried tomatoes in oil, drained | |
| 3 wineglasses | Chianti | |
| 6 tablespoons | red wine vinegar | |
| A handful | sultanas | |
| A handful | pine nuts | |
| 6 thin slices | smoked pancetta |
| Method |
| 1. Preheat your oven to 400°F (200°C).2. Stuff a piece of orange, half a cinnamon stick, and a rosemary sprig into the cavity of each bird. In a large ovenproof pan in which the poussins will fit snugly side by side, heat a glug of olive oil and a knob of butter. Add the little chickens and color them gently on all sides for 10 minutes, or until lightly golden all over, then remove them to a plate to rest.3. Pick the rosemary leaves off the two remaining sprigs. Carefully discard the fat from the pan and add some fresh olive oil and your remaining knob of butter. Over a medium heat, add your onion, celery, and rosemary and fry for about 5 minutes, until softened. While keeping an eye on the pan, throw the sun-dried tomatoes into a food processor with the wine and whiz them up — this will give you an intense, tangy tomato liquor.4. By this time, the onion and celery should be soft and nicely colored, so put your chickens back into the pan and turn up the heat.5. Add the vinegar and sultanas, shake the pan around a bit, and add the tomato liquor. Continue cooking until the liquid has reduced slightly, then put the pan in the preheated oven with a lid on and cook for 30 minutes, turning the birds in the juices a couple of times.6. Remove the pan from the oven, take the lid off, and turn the poussins once more in all the juices. Lay them breast side up and sprinkle the pine nuts over them, then lay your slices of pancetta or bacon over them and cook in the oven for a further 10 minutes, until crisp and golden.7. Allow the poussins to rest in the pan for 10 minutes while you get your guests to the table. |
