Pollo Genovese

Pollo Genovese is great alone or over your favorite pasta.

Pollo is Italian (and Spanish) for chicken. Easy. Got that.

But what does the Genovese mean?

Genovese translates to “as prepared in the style of Genoa.” a seaport city in northwest Italy.

Specifically, it means a dish made or accompanied with pesto sauce. Pesto originated in Genoa, a seaport city in northwest Italy.

Genovese people are passionate about their famed pesto. It must include basil, pine nuts, garlic, salt, extra-virgin olive oil and two kinds of cheese.

The Global Post reports that their pesto pride is why Genovese residents still talk about the 2001 G8 Summit held in their city. Evidently, Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi asked the chef to prepare a pesto lunch without garlic and the city took it as a personal insult.

Imagine my puzzlement when I discovered my recipe for Pollo Genovese didn’t have any pesto?

Serious? Gotta fix that faux pas.

This dish is inspired byFrom Portland’s Palate.

I’ve been using and adapting this recipe for over 15 years. The recipe and the cookbook are favorites from my early attempts at gourmet, flavorful cooking. I discovered new-to-me ingredients like capers and wine and fresh garlic 🙂

Serve this dish alone, with a salad, or over your favorite pasta.

Ingredients List

• Olive oil spray
• 2 lbs boneless, chcken breast tenderloins cut into bite-size pieces
• Salt and pepper
• All-purpose flour
• 2 Tbsp butter
• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 shallots, thinly sliced
• 1 (2.5 oz) can sliced olives, drained
• 3/4 cup sliced mushrooms
• 1 (15 oz) can diced, tomatoes
• 1 (15 oz) can tomato sauce
• 2 Tbsp capers, drained
• 1/4 cup pesto, fresh or store-bought
• 1 cup white wine

Method

Preheat oven to 350ºF and lightly spray a 2 quart casserole dish with olive oil.

Lightly salt and pepper chicken pieces. Then toss and coat pieces in flour (about 1/2 cup of flour should do it)

Heat a large, deep skillet on medium-high. Add in 1 Tbsp butter and 1 Tbsp olive oil.

When butter is melted, add half of the chicken pieces in a single layer to the pan and cook until golden brown. About 3 minute each side.

Place browned chicken in the casserole dish. Repeat cooking steps for second batch of chicken.

Reduce heat on skillet, spray with olive oil and cook garlic, shallots, olives and mushrooms for 4 minutes.

Add tomatoes, tomato sauce, capers, pesto and wine to the skillet. Bring the sauce to a simmer for 5 minutes.

Pour the sauce over the chicken and bake for 35 minutes. Serve as a stew or as a great topping for your favorite pasta.