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Chef John’s Roman-style chicken recipe delivers one of the best bites of braised chicken you will ever enjoy. Tomatoes and bell peppers make the sauce, and you’ll never believe how good this is over olive oil mashed potatoes.

Ingredients

• 6 large bone-in skin-on chicken thighs (about 2 ½ to 3 pounds)
• 2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
• 2 ½ teaspoons kosher salt, plus more to taste
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 pinch cayenne pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary
• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 yellow onion, sliced
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tablespoon capers
• 1 anchovy filet
• 1 cup white wine
• 2 cups crushed tomatoes or tomato sauce
• 1/2 cup water
• 1 teaspoon chicken bouillon paste
• 3 red or orange bell peppers, seeded and cut into 3/8-inch strips
• 3 slices prosciutto, cut into strips
• chopped Italian parsley (optional)

Directions

Step 1

Use a sharp knife to make 2 cuts through the skin in the center of the thigh, down to the bone, about one inch apart from each other. Once cut, transfer thighs into a mixing bowl.

Step 2

Drizzle with 2 teaspoons olive oil, and season with salt, black pepper, cayenne, and dried herbs. Use tongs to toss until very thoroughly coated. Wrap and refrigerate chicken for at least 2 hours, or up to 12 hours.

Step 3

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (180 degrees C).

Step 4

Heat remaining olive oil in a large oven-safe skillet on medium-high heat. Add chicken, skin side down, and cook until a deep golden brown crust has formed, 5 to 6 minutes. Turn chicken over and cook for 3 minutes more. Turn off heat, remove chicken to a plate, and set aside.

Step 5

Turn heat back on to medium, and add onions. Cook, stirring, for a few minutes or until the onions just begin to soften. Make a space in the center of the pan, and add garlic, capers, and anchovy. Cook for about 1 minute, while stirring and smashing with the edge of a wooden spoon or spatula.

Step 6

Pour in wine, and raise the heat to high. Cook, stirring occasionally, for a few minutes until the wine reduces by about half. Add tomatoes, water, and chicken bouillon paste; stir to combine. Return mixture to a boil, and cook, stirring occasionally, until liquid reduces slightly, 3 to 4 minutes.

Step 7

Add sliced peppers, and mix in evenly. Scatter about 3/4 of prosciutto slices evenly over the top. Place chicken thighs back on top, spaced evenly, skin side up. Place remaining prosciutto slices between chicken pieces.

Step 8

Add sliced peppers, and mix in evenly. Scatter about 3/4 of prosciutto slices evenly over the top. Place chicken thighs back on top, spaced evenly, skin side up. Place remaining prosciutto slices between chicken pieces.

Step 9

Top with parsley and serve immediately on olive oil mashed potatoes, rice, or pasta.

Nutrition Facts (per serving)

458	Calories
27g	Fat
11g	Carbs
40g	Protein

This dish is called red-cooked pork, or hong shao rou in Mandarin. It’s delicious served on steamed buns or over rice. Caramelized sugar, star anise, and sherry give the braising liquid a complex flavor, and a combination of soy sauce and molasses gives the finished sauce its rich, mahogany color. Serve on steamed buns (such as Andrea’s Steamed Buns on this site).

Ingredients

 

• • 3 pounds skinless pork belly

• • 1 tablespoon canola oil

• • ⅓ cup white sugar

• • 2 tablespoons white sugar

• • 4 cups water, or more if needed

• • 5 large green onions, diagonally cut into 2-inch pieces

• • 8 cloves garlic, smashed

• • ½ cup fino dry sherry

• • ½ cup reduced-sodium soy sauce

• • 2 tablespoons dark molasses

• • 8 whole star anise

• • 1 cucumber, thinly sliced

• • 1 green onion, thinly sliced

Directions

Step 1

Cut pork into eight 2×3-inch pieces.

Step 2

Heat oil in a 6-quart Dutch oven over high heat. In 2 batches, sear pork, fat sides first, until light golden, 30 to 60 seconds per side. Transfer to a plate. Pour out all but 1 to 2 tablespoons of the drippings.

Step 3

Add 1/3 cup sugar to pot; melt, stirring if needed, over medium-high heat. Cook until a light caramel color, about 1 minute. Reduce heat to medium, then return pork to pot, turning pieces to coat. When sugar darkens to an orange color, after about 1 minute, add water; stir to loosen any sugar stuck to the bottom.

Step 4

Add green onions, garlic, sherry, soy sauce, molasses, star anise, and remaining 2 tablespoons sugar. If needed, add up to 1/2 cup additional water to nearly cover pork. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium-low. Simmer, covered, turning occasionally, until a knife inserted 1/4 inch into the fat layer meets little resistance, about 1 hour and 45 minutes.

Step 5

Transfer pork to a plate with a slotted spoon; loosely cover. Skim fat and drain solids from cooking liquid. Return 4 cups liquid to pot and bring to a boil; simmer over medium-high heat until reduced to about 1 cup, about 30 minutes. Sauce will thicken more as it cools.

Step 6

Slice pork into twenty-four 1/2-inch-thick pieces. Working in batches, warm pork with half the sauce in a large nonstick skillet over medium to medium-high heat. Turn pork frequently to coat and, if desired, let sear slightly. Garnish with cucumber slices and sliced green onion.

Nutrition Facts

279	Calories
17g	Fat
16g	Carbs
15g	Protein

The Denver omelet is a change of pace from a French omelet and is known for its firmer texture and caramelized flavor. It’s one of the first foods I learned to cook professionally as a line cook in high school. Make it a complete lunch or dinner with arugula salad and toasted bread.

Prep Time: 10 mins Cook Time: 10 mins Total Time: 20 mins Servings: 1 Yield: 1 omelet

Ingredients

• 3 large eggs
• 1 tablespoon butter
• ¼ cup diced smoked ham
• 2 tablespoons diced onion
• 2 tablespoons diced green bell pepper
• salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
• ⅓ cup shredded Cheddar cheese
• 1 pinch cayenne pepper

Directions

Step 1

Gather all ingredients.

 

Step 2

Beat eggs in a small bowl until just combined; do not overbeat.

 

Step 3

Melt butter in a skillet over medium-high heat. Add ham, onion, and bell pepper; season with salt and pepper. Cook and stir until onions soften and ham begins to caramelize, about 5 minutes.

 

Step 4

Reduce heat to medium-low and pour in eggs. Mix briefly with a spatula while shaking the pan to ensure ingredients are evenly distributed.

 

Step 5

Quickly run the spatula along edges of omelet.

 

Step 6

Sprinkle Cheddar cheese and cayenne pepper over omelet.

 

Step 7

Cook, shaking the pan occasionally, until top is still wet but not runny, about 5 minutes. Use a spatula to fold omelet in half and transfer it to a plate.

Nutrition Facts

527	Calories
39g	Fat
9g	Carbs
34g	Protein