Chicken Marinara

This is the fallback chicken dinner that lives in every home cook’s back pocket: cooked chicken pieces swimming in a quick tomato sauce that comes together in the time it takes to boil pasta. Diced tomatoes plus tomato paste delivers both brightness and body, the paste doing the thickening work that a long simmer would normally provide.

A splash of red wine is the grown-up move that lifts this sauce above jarred marinara. Its acidity balances the sweet tomato, and the alcohol cooks off in minutes while the fruity wine notes stay behind for depth.

The tablespoon of sugar might feel wrong in a savory sauce, but canned tomatoes often skew sharp and acidic, especially off-season. A touch of sugar rounds them out the same way Italian grandmothers have done for generations.

Fresh basil is the heart of proper marinara. Dried works in a pinch, but fresh leaves torn and stirred in at the end transform the sauce from workaday to aromatic. Use three times as much fresh as the dried the recipe calls for.

Chef Tips

• Brown the chicken in the same pan before building the sauce; the fond left behind adds huge depth when the tomatoes deglaze
• Simmer the sauce at least ten minutes before spooning over chicken; this mellows the raw tomato-paste taste
• Season the sauce at the end, not the start; as tomatoes reduce, salt concentrates, and seasoning too early leaves you no room to adjust
• Use chicken thighs rather than breasts if you can, thighs stay juicy even when simmered in the sauce

Variations

• Stir in a handful of olives and capers for puttanesca-style depth
• Add red pepper flakes and minced garlic for a fra diavolo-inspired spicy version
• Serve over spaghetti, polenta, or crusty bread to catch every drop of sauce