Chicken Puttanesca

I always thought that Puttanesca was more of a Greek dish because of the Kalamata olives in the sauce.  But lo and behold, when I looked up what the word Puttanesca stood for, I was a little bit surprised.  I am going to copy verbatim from Wikipedia.com so you can see why I was so surprised:

Because “puttana” means roughly “whore” or “prostitute” and puttanesca is an adjective derived from that word, there is a theory that the dish was invented in one of many bordellos in the Naples working-class neighbourhood of Quartieri Spagnoli. Alternatively, food historian Jeremy Parzen suggests the name has more to do with the practical use of “puttanesca” in Italian than with its literal definition: “Italians use puttana (and related words) almost the way we use shit, as an all-purpose profanity, so pasta alla puttanesca might have originated with someone saying, essentially, ‘I just threw a bunch of shit from the cupboard into a pan’.”

So, after I finished laughing, I checked out Google, and yep! I got many of the same results. Let’s agree to agree that Puttanesca sauce is Italian (not Greek!) and is a quick and easy sauce made by chopping up ingredients, without frills or complicated preparation.

Check out our Chicken Puttanesca recipe that has been adjusted for an anti-inflammatory lifestyle (read — add more vegetables!).  We used to serve this at our anti-inflammatory meal delivery company and it was gobbled up by the customers.  I am giving Crock-Pot or slow cooker instructions but check out the Notes for additional ways to prepare this delicious dish.

Chicken Puttanesca

Our chicken puttanesca recipe is made with lean chicken breast and drenched in a delicious tomato-based sauce made with tomatoes, herbs, garlic, kalamata olives, and capers. This chicken puttanesca is so full of flavor and easy to make.

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Course Main Course

Servings 6

Equipment

• Crock-Pot or Slow Cooker

Ingredients

  

• 3 lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts 6 (8 oz) breasts
• 1 clove garlic minced
• Sea salt and black pepper to taste
• 2 tsp Italian seasoning blend
• 1 tsp dry basil
• 1 jar 26 oz pasta sauce no added sugar, or homemade sauce
• 6 oz mushrooms sliced
• 2 Tbsp drained capers
• ¼ cup Kalamata olives sliced
• 1 tsp lemon zest optional
• 1 ½ lbs broccoli florets
• 1 ½ lbs cauliflower florets
• ¾ cup shredded carrots
• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• Italian seasoning, granulated garlic, salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

 

• Place chicken in a 4 qt. Crock-Pot or slow cooker. Sprinkle with salt, pepper, Italian seasoning and basil.
• In a medium bowl combine pasta sauce, mushrooms, capers, Kalamata olives and lemon zest. Pour over chicken.
• Cover and cook on low for 6-7 hours or high 3-3½ hours.
• Meanwhile, preheat oven to 350°F and line a sheet tray with parchment paper.
• Toss broccoli, cauliflower and carrots with olive oil, Italian seasoning, granulated garlic, salt and pepper to taste. Place on prepared sheet tray and roast until lightly cooked and tops of vegetables begin to brown, 30-40 minutes. Turn once during cooking.
• Serve vegetables topped with chicken and sauce.

Notes

If you prefer to make a quick meal, instead of using the Crock-pot or slow cooker, brown your chicken in olive oil in a large non-stick skillet.  Then add all ingredients in instructions 1 & 2.  While the veggies roast, simmer the sauce so all of your flavors combine into delicious goodness!  Follow the remaining instructions and enjoy the meal!

Keyword Anti-Inflammatory, Broccoli, Cauliflower, herbs, Poultry, Slow Cooker, Tomato

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