Balsamico Chicken with Olives

This is the kind of six-ingredient dinner that shows you how few things you actually need to cook well. Half a chicken, a few spoons of tomato paste, good chicken broth, half a cup of balsamic, and a generous handful of pitted green olives. Forty-five minutes later, the kitchen smells like a Tuscan osteria.

The balsamic is the whole flavor engine. As the chicken braises in the covered casserole, the vinegar mellows, the tomato paste caramelizes against the edge of the dish, and the olives soften and give up a briny edge that plays off the sweet-sharp balsamic. Reducing a small amount of the sauce separately at the end is what concentrates it into something glossy and coats the chicken properly.

Good balsamic matters here. Look for a traditional Modena variety (not the cheap stuff). The flavor concentrates as it cooks, and a thin, sharp vinegar will concentrate into something aggressive. A thicker, aged balsamic concentrates into something nearly candy-like.

Kitchen Tips

• Brown the chicken skin-side down in a hot dry pan for 5 minutes before arranging in the casserole. The recipe skips this step, but it makes the finished dish much more visually appealing and adds flavor depth.
• Use Castelvetrano or Cerignola olives if you can find them. Larger, meatier, less brine-sharp than standard cocktail olives.
• Pull the chicken at 165°F (74°C) internal temp in the thickest part of the thigh. Dark meat on the bone takes longer than breast meat, so check both.
• Serve over crusty bread or creamy polenta that can soak up the dark, tangy sauce. Plain rice doesn’t do it justice.

Variations

• Add a handful of sliced mushrooms or halved cherry tomatoes to the casserole for more texture.
• Swap green olives for a mix of black and green olives like a classic cacciatore.
• Toss in a tablespoon of capers with the olives for extra briny punch.