Blasut's Chicken Thigh Pasta Sauce With Herbs, Tomatoes (Il Sugo

Name: Blasut's Chicken Thigh Pasta Sauce With Herbs, Tomatoes (Il Sugo
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 1 h 15 min
Total time: 1 h 35 min
Yield: 6 serving(s)
Ingredients: 1 1/2 lbs chicken thighs (4); 2 tablespoons vegetable oil; 3 tablespoons butter; 1/3 cup onion, chopped fine; 1/3 cup carrot, chopped fine; 1/2 cup celery, chopped fine; sea salt, to taste; black pepper, freshly ground, to taste; 7 -10 fresh mint leaves; 1 cup dry white wine; 2 cups tomatoes with juice (cut up with their juice, using either ripe, firm, fresh plum tomatoes, peeled raw, split and seeds s); 1 teaspoon fresh rosemary; 1 tablespoon fresh sage leaf; 3 -4 slices lemon zest

Submitted by Busters friend

"Came across this recipe published in The Washington Post & it made me reminisce back when one would buy a nice fat capon (neutered young rooster) because they tasted so fine. Gone are the days of capons (unless you raise your own) but this recipe sounds outstanding for late winter fare (we still have mint albeit straggly in the garden). Attributed to "Marcella Says . . . Italian Cooking Wisdom From the Legendary Teacher's Master Classes, With 120 of Her Irresistible New Recipes" (HarperCollins, 2004), by Marcella Hazan. FYI - If grinding the meat sounds too involved, spare yourself & opt for either ground chicken or turkey. Both are readily available & relatively inexpensive. San Marzano canned tomatoes are available from CA - no need to spend on imported (or try with Muir Farms fire roasted canned tomatoes for a splurge). Per the article, "Dante Bernardis uses the name Blasut both for himself and for his restaurant in Lavariano, a Friuli farmland town. Dante makes this pasta sauce with young roosters, which are tastier than hens. To achieve comparable flavor with what is available in the meat counter of most markets, I have used chicken thighs, the tastiest part of the bird. The liberal use of herbs, unusual in most Italian cooking, makes the sauce intensely aromatic and endows it with a depth of flavor that one generally associates with game. It is excellent on sturdy pasta shapes, such as penne." There you go. Chicken - it's what's for supper. Maybe with polenta (or grits LOL)."

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Ready In:: 1hr 35mins
Ingredients:: 14
Serves:: 6

ingredients

1 ¹⁄₂ lbs chicken thighs (4)
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
3 tablespoons butter
¹⁄₃ cup onion, chopped fine
¹⁄₃ cup carrot, chopped fine
¹⁄₂ cup celery, chopped fine
sea salt, to taste
black pepper, freshly ground, to taste
7 -10 fresh mint leaves
1 cup dry white wine
2 cups tomatoes with juice (cut up with their juice, using either ripe, firm, fresh plum tomatoes, peeled raw, split and seeds s)
1 teaspoon fresh rosemary
1 tablespoon fresh sage leaf
3 -4 slices lemon zest

directions

Remove the skin and all the fat from the chicken thighs, wash them in cold running water, and cut all the flesh away from the bone. Grind the meat fine in a food processor or a meat grinder.
Put the oil, butter and chopped onion in a medium skillet, turn on the heat to medium high, and cook the onion, stirring from time to time, until it is colored a light gold.
Add the chopped carrot and celery and cook for a minute or so, turning the vegetables over from time to time to coat them well.
Add the ground chicken, increase the heat, and cook for 6 to 7 minutes, turning the meat over frequently.
Add salt, pepper, the mint leaves and the white wine, turning over the contents of the skillet two or three times.
When the wine has bubbled away, add the tomatoes, turn over the contents of the skillet, and lower the heat. Let the tomatoes cook at a gentle but steady simmer in the uncovered pan for 30 to 45 minutes, until, when you skim the surface of the sauce with the side of a wooden spoon, the fat following the spoon's trail runs clear.
Add the mixture of chopped rosemary, sage and lemon peel, turn it over with the contents of the skillet to distribute it thoroughly, and cook at a gentle simmer for 10 minutes.

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RECIPE SUBMITTED BY

Busters friend

Pleasure Island, 73

First about Buster: Buster moved onto whatever comes next on February 26, 2008. He was just shy of five years old. I miss him terribly. He came into our lives when he ran out in front of my car late one night as I was driving home. A just under 4 pound ball of kitten fluff, complete with an ostrich boa tail that stayed straight up as he assessed his new domain. He became a 19 pound longhaired beast who guarded our house (he followed any new guests or servicepeople the entire time they are on the property) & even killed copperheads (among other things with his hunting buddy, Fergus the short-tailed)! Friends never saw his formidible side as he smiled at them & uttered the most incongruent kitten-like mews as he threaded legs! He liked to ride in the car & came to the beach. There are Buster-approved recipes in my offerings - however, HE decided which he wanted to consider - Buster demonstrated he liked pumpkin anything - ALOT -LOL!!! Copperhead count 2006 - Buster 2 (10 inchers w/yellow tails) 2007 - Buster & Roxie 1 (a 24 incher!) Buster woken from beauty sleep - http://www.recipezaar.com/members/home/62264/DSCN0335.JPG Big whiskers - http://www.recipezaar.com/members/home/62264/DSCN0333.JPG For those of you who gave kind condolences - thank you so very much. http://www.recipezaar.com/bb/viewtopic.zsp?t=250301 I love to cook & incorporate techniques from Southern/Mid Atlantic roots (grits, eastern NC BBQ shoulders, Brunswick stew, steamed crabs & shrimp & shellfish, hushpuppies, cornbread, greens, shad roe, scrapple) with Pacific Rim foods & techniques aquired while living in Pacific Northwest, fish & game recipes learned while living in Rocky Mountain region & foods/techniques learned travelling to the Big Island & up into BC & Alberta & into the Caribbean. The Middle Eastern/African likes I have are remnants of my parents who lived for many years in North Africa & Mediterranean before I was thought of. Makes for wide open cooking! Since moving back east we try to go annually in the deep winter to Montreal (Old Montreal auberges & La Reine) & Quebec City (Winter Carnival & Chateau Frontenac)- for unctuous foie gras & real cheeses, French & Canadian meals prepared & served exquisitely, fantastic music & wonderful people - with the cold helping burn off some of the calories! I love putting in our aluminum jonboat & heading across the Intracoastal Waterway (ICW) to the barrier islands for foraging & exploring! Bodysurfing is a lifelong sport for me - one that a person's body never seems to forget how to do, once the knack is learned (thank goodness!) I especially miss cool summers & foggy/drizzly days & fall mushroom foraging/anytime of year hot springing in WA, OR, MT, ID, BC & Alberta.

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