Aurora's recipe
Remember the movie Seems Like Old Times with Chevy Chase and Goldie Hawn? The Governor is invited over for his favorite dinner, chicken pepperoni, made by the maid, Aurora. But Aurora has to have her feet scrapped and cannot be there to cook the meal. That's when the fun starts. After I saw the movie, I had to try the dish and over the years I have hopefully improved on the original recipe I found. See what you think of my chicken pepperoni.
\"recipe Chicken\"
Ingredients (6 servings):
- 3 tablespoons - extra virgin olive oil
- 1 - large onion, chopped
- 2 cloves - garlic, minced
- 1 28-ounce can - diced tomatoes (I like Hunt's brand)
- 1 6-ounce can - tomato paste (Hunt's brand preferably)
- 8 ounces - button mushrooms, sliced
- 2 tablespoons - fresh basil, chopped
- 9 ounce - pepperoni stick (remove cover around the pepperoni if it has one) cut into 1/4-inch slices and then quarter the slices
- 1/3 cup - all purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon - fresh oregano
- 1 teaspoon - salt
- 1 teaspoon - pepper
- 2 pounds - skinless boneless chicken breasts cut into 1/2-inch cubes
- 2 tablespoons - extra virgin olive oil
- 1/3 cup - white wine (e.g., chardonnay)
- 1 pound - pasta (I prefer rotini noodles for this dish)
Preparation:
Heat the 3 tablespoons of olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onions and cook until soft and translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for one minute. Add the tomatoes, tomato paste, mushrooms, and basil and simmer over low heat for about 5 to 10 minutes (mix well). Set aside.
Meanwhile, place the pepperoni in another smaller frying pan and cook over medium heat for about 10 minutes to cook the fat off. With a slotted spoon, remove the pepperoni and add it to the sauce. Discard the oil.
Add the flour to a small bowl along with the oregano, salt, and pepper and mix. Add the chicken to the flour mixture to coat. Add any remaining flour mixture directly to the sauce.
Heat the 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large Dutch oven over high heat and brown the chicken, about 15 minutes. Add the white wine to the chicken and cook off the alcohol, about 2 minutes. Add the tomato sauce and pepperoni to the chicken and wine, cover and simmer on medium-low heat for 15 minutes. Stir periodically
Meanwhile, cook the pasta in salted boiling water for about 10 minutes.
Spoon the sauce over individual servings of the pasta. Enjoy!
Chicken Pepperoni - Aurora's Recipe
Jack Botticelli
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