Chicken With Tomato Sweet Fennel Sausage And Polenta

Description

This is a dish i cook for special occasions. It is rather rich and is time consuming but well worth it. I got this out of the nov 85 edition of bon appetit. It was in the bon appetit cooking class section. This is a recipe by bruce aidells. I wrote the recipe as it is in the magazine but i have made a few changes that make it easier for me. I cut the sausage in half and take the casing off. Don't skip the coppa, it's what makes the dish in my mind. I don't use the classic polenta recipe but included it as it was part of the recipe in the magazine. We like to sprinkle parmesan cheese over chicken and polenta.

Ingredients

• Boiling Water
• Dried Porcini Mushrooms
• Chicken Legs With Thigh
• Salt
• Pepper
• Unsalted Butter
• Olive Oil
• Sweet Italian Sausage
• Dry Coppa
• Leeks
• Onion
• Carrot
• Celery
• Garlic Cloves
• Dry Red Wine
• Italian Plum Tomatoes
• Rich Chicken Broth
• Tomato Paste
• Fresh Basil
• Fresh Oregano
• Chicken Stock
• Polenta
• Butter

Instructions

1. Pour water over mushrooms in small bowl
2. Cover and soak until soft, about 30 minutes
3. Strain soaking liquid through fine sieve, reserving soaking liquid
4. Rinse mushoorms
5. Cut out any tough stems
6. Pat chicken dry
7. Sprinkle with salt and pepper
8. Melt butter with oil in heavy dutch oven over medium-high heat
9. Add chicke and brown on all sides
10. Transfer to plate
11. Pierce sausages with fork
12. Add to dutch oven
13. Reduce heat to medium and cook until brown on all sides
14. Add to chicken
15. Add coppa to dutch oven and stir 2 minutes
16. Add leeks, onion, carrot and celery
17. Reduce heat to low and cook until vegetables soften, stirring occasionally, about 15 minutes
18. Add garlic and cook 2 minutes, stirring occasionally
19. Add wine
20. Increase heat and boil until almost evaporated
21. Add mushrooms and soaking liquid, tomatoes, stock and tomato paste
22. Bring to a boil
23. Add 2 tablespoons fresh basil and oregano
24. Reduce heat and simmer 15 minutes
25. Return chicken and sausages to dutch oven
26. Simmer until chicken is tender and sausages are cook through, about 25 minutes
27. Transfer chicken and sausages to heated plate
28. Tent with aluminum foil to keep warm
29. Boil sauce until thick enought to coat spoon
30. Stirring frequently, about 20 minutes
31. Season with salt and pepper
32. Degrease sauce
33. Spoon polenta onto large platter
34. Top with chicken and sausage
35. Spoon some sauce over
36. Garnish with 1 tablespoon fresh basil
37. Serve, passing remaining sauce separately
38. Classic polenta
39. Bring stock and salt to boil in heavy 4 quart saucepan
40. Add polenta in very thin stream, stirring constantly
41. Reduce heat and simmer until polenta is consistency of thick oatmeal, stirring frequently, about 30 minutes
42. Mix in butter
43. Servce immediately