From “Naples at Table” by Arthur Schwartz, HaperCollins, 1998
This recipe is from Arthur’s friend Agata Lima, who lives in a house with a terraced hill on the Amalfi coast. It quite typically uses the area’s famous lemons.
Pollo al Limone
Lemon Chicken
Ingredients
1 3½- to 4-pound chicken, cut into 10 pieces
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper
4 or 5 large cloves garlic
12 or more large sage leaves
2 or 3 6-inch sprigs rosemary, leaves stripped off the stem
½ cup dry white wine
2/3 cup freshly-squeezed lemon juice
1 rounded tablespoon finely cut flat-leaf parsley
Season the chicken all over with salt and pepper.
Directions
- Arrange the chicken in a skillet or sauté pan that can hold it all in 1 layer – a 10- to 12-inch pan. The chicken may crowd the pan. Tuck in the garlic, the sage, and the rosemary. Do not add any oil or fat. Set over low heat and continually shake the pan or jiggle the pieces of chicken so they don’t stick to the pan. After a few minutes, the chicken’s fat and juices will start running, and this will become less of a problem. Turn the chicken pieces. Continue to cook over low heat, turning the chicken frequently. It will not brown, but will take on color. If the chicken juices accumulate in the pan, more than just skimming the bottom of the pan (because the chicken is particularly moist), increase the heat slightly.
- After about 15 minutes, when the chicken has taken on some color, add ½ the white wine. When the first addition of wine has nearly evaporated, in about 10 minutes, add the remaining wine. There should never be more than a skimming of liquid at the bottom of the pan. Keep turning the chicken frequently.
- When the second additional of wine has evaporated, add ½ the lemon juice. When the first addition of lemon juice has reduced, add the remaining juice. Altogether, the chicken will cook about 50 minutes. In the end there should be very little sauce – just a few spoons of reduced juices and fat.
- Arrange the chicken on a platter. Scrape whatever is left in the pan – herbs, garlic juices – into a strainer. With a spoon or spatula, Press the juices out of the solids and let them drip over the chicken.
Serve hot, sprinkled with parsley.
