ORECCHIETTI w/OYSTER MUSHROOMS & CHICKEN

By BobD

Ingredients

• Pasta With Oyster Mushrooms, Braised Chicken and San Marzano Tomatoes
• 2 chicken drumsticks and 2 thighs
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 4 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
• 2 carrots, peeled and diced
• 1 onion, peeled and diced
• 8 ounces oyster mushrooms, cleaned and coarsely chopped
• 1 10-ounce can San Marzano tomatoes (and juices), crushed by hand
• 1 bay leaf
• 1/2 cup chicken stock or water
• 1 pound torchio, campanelle or other torch or bell-shaped pasta
• Grated pecorino Sardo, for garnish
• Chopped fresh oregano, for garnish.

Details

Servings 8
Adapted from nytimes.com

Preparation

Step 1

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Pat chicken dry with paper towels, season liberally with salt and pepper, and set aside. Place a Dutch oven over medium heat and add olive oil. When oil shimmers, add chicken and brown well on both sides.

2. Remove chicken from pan and set aside. Add garlic and allow to brown slightly (15 to 30 seconds) then add carrots, onion and mushrooms. Saute until onions are lightly browned, 10 to 15 minutes.

3. Add tomatoes, bay leaf and chicken stock. Bring back to a simmer and nestle chicken leg quarters into tomato sauce, spooning some sauce on top. Cover and transfer to oven to braise until chicken pulls easily away from bone, 45 minutes to 1 hour.

4. Transfer chicken to a plate and allow to cool; keep tomato sauce warm. Meanwhile bring 6 quarts of lightly salted water to a boil. Pick cooled chicken meat from bone and return to tomato sauce.

5. Cook torchio in salted boiling water until al dente, about 10 minutes. Drain well and add to chicken mixture. Serve garnished with grated pecorino Sardo and fresh oregano.

Yield: 8 appetizer servings or 4 main servings.