Two Favorite Recipes from Valentino – Piero’s Easy Chicken Cacciatore and Spezzatino di Pollo

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Today on the show, Good Food Segment Producer Laryl Garcia catches up with Piero Selvaggio, owner of Valentino in Santa Monica, about what it takes to stay relevant in the restaurant business for 40 consecutive years. Valetino first opened it’s doors in 1972.

Part of what makes a great restaurant are great recipes like these two recipes for Easy Chicken Cacciatore and Spezzatino di Pollo. Keep reading for the full recipes…

PIERO’S EASY CHICKEN CACCIATORE

Makes 4 servings

4 Chicken breast halves bone and skin on

1 Red bell pepper, diced

4 Cloves garlic, chopped

1 t Dried oregano

1 28 oz can Marzano tomatoes

2 oz Tomato paste

Pinch Crushed red pepper

Red wine to taste

Salt & Pepper to season

2 T Extra virgin olive oil for cooking chicken

Season chicken breasts with salt and pepper. Heat oil in large skillet on medium heat. Add the chicken, skin side down and sauté for 5 minutes. Turn and cook for another 3 minutes on the other side.  Transfer the chicken to a plate and reserve.  In the same skillet, sauté the red pepper, garlic, and oregano. Add the tomatoes, tomato paste and a splash of red wine. Cook until reduced and return chicken to skillet. Reduce the heat to simmer, cover the pan and cook for five minutes.

©From The Valentino Cookbook

Piero Selvaggio

Valentino

Santa Monica, California

SPEZZATINO DI POLLO

Chicken Breast in a Radicchio Cup with a Mushroom Medley

Makes 4 servings

Piero says, “I don’t think we cook enough stews at the restaurant, so I am always happy when we can create a family-style basic dish. The inspiration for the spezzatino starts at home where my mother used little pieces of “poor” ingredients, like potato and chicken cooked together with olive oil, onion and a little tomato. At Valentino, we have the luxury of fine ingredients, but the idea here is the same. Sometimes this is our “family” dish at the restaurant, the one we make for the employees. When you do it the elegant way – with free-range chicken breasts, radicchio, and mushrooms – it’s a chicken dish dressed for the holidays.”

1 large head radicchio

4 8-ounce chicken breasts, skinned, deboned and fat removed

2 t butter

2 T extra virgin olive oil

½ t garlic, finely chopped

1 C mixed mushrooms, sliced

4 sage leaves, fresh

1 t fresh horseradish, grated

½ C dry white wine

½ C chicken stock

½ C cream

Peel 8-12 whole leaves from the radicchio and set aside. Chop the remaining inner leaves.

Cut the chicken breasts into 1” pieces.  In a large skillet over high heat, melt the butter and olive oil and sear the chicken pieces for 2 minutes.  Set aside.

In the same skillet, combine the garlic, mushrooms, chopped radicchio and sage leaves and cook for 2 minutes. Add the horseradish and wine and cook for another 2 minutes. Add the chicken stock and cream, combine, and remove from heat.

Five to 10 minutes before serving, bring the sauce to a boil and add the reserved chicken pieces. Cook at high heat until the sauce reduces, about 5 minutes

When the sauce is very think, taste and adjust seasonings. Overlap 2-3 radicchio leaves on each serving plate to form a cup.  Mound the chicken inside and cover with the sauce.

Wine: Try a red of good structure with this dish; a complex and full-bodied variety like a Cabernet or a rich and elegant Barbaresco.

©From The Valentino Cookbook

Piero Selvaggio

Valentino

Santa Monica, California