Seared Chicken With Salami and Olives
Published March 29, 2022
- Total Time
- 25 minutes
- Rating
- Comments
- Read comments
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Ingredients
- 1½ to 2pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts or thighs, patted dry
- 2tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- Kosher salt (Diamond Crystal) and black pepper
- 4ounces salami, coarsely chopped (about 1 cup)
- 1large shallot, coarsely chopped
- 1cup pitted, halved olives, preferably a mild green olive like Castelvetrano or Picholine (see Tip)
- ½tablespoon cold unsalted butter
- Honey or light or dark brown sugar, to taste
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Preparation
- Step 1
If you’re using chicken breasts, pound to an even ½-inch thickness with a heavy skillet or meat pounder. In a large (12-inch) skillet, heat the olive oil over medium-high. Season the chicken lightly with salt and pepper. Working in batches if necessary to avoid crowding the pan, add the chicken to the skillet and cook until browned underneath, about 5 minutes. Flip and cook until cooked through, 2 to 5 minutes. (Breasts will be done before thighs.)
- Step 2
While the chicken’s cooking, place 1 cup of water near the stove. (You’ll need it in the next step.) Transfer the cooked chicken to a plate, leaving the skillet over the heat.
- Step 3
Reduce the heat to medium. Add the salami and a few generous grinds of pepper. Cook, stirring, until browned and crisp, 3 to 5 minutes. Add the shallot and cook until softened, 1 to 2 minutes. Add the water, increase heat to a simmer and cook, scraping up browned bits, until reduced by half, 3 to 5 minutes. Add the olives, chicken and any juices from the plate. Simmer until the chicken is warmed through, 1 to 2 minutes.
- Step 4
Transfer the chicken to serving plates. Remove the skillet from the heat and stir in the butter until incorporated. Taste the sauce; if it’s too salty, add honey or brown sugar to taste. Spoon the sauce over the chicken.
- If using a saltier olive like black oil-cured, reduce the quantity.
Private Notes
Comments
Made per the recipe except to add some white wine to the water and subbed onion for the shallot. Not nearly as good as Kim Severson’s similar braise although simpler and quicker. Chicken is stringier and flavors lack depth. Next time I’ll go back to Kim’s recipe.
Subbed beer for water, red onion for shallot. Husband raved but I thought it needed something to brighten the flavors -- some acid, lemon or lemon zest perhaps, and some chopped parsley to finish. Some garlic, crushed red pepper and fennel seed or rosemary might be nice too. Definitely needs something!
Flavors are nice. Searing unfortunately made the chicken rubbery. The sauce was amazing and I paired this with fluffy mashed potato potatoes. I agree with others about using a little white wine and maybe some chicken broth. Next time I will either use chicken tenders and grill them or lightly egg wash/bread and pan fry them so that they are crispier and then make the sauce a little thicker. Yummy.
Taking another’s suggestion to add balsamic vinegar, I marinated thighs in balsamic vinaigrette before following the recipe exactly. It was excellent!
Definitely needs some lemon and/or vinegar to brighten the flavor. It turned out extremely salty, and the honey didn’t do much to reduce it.
I disagree with the notes saying the sauce needs to white wine or stock. The sauce was light and buttery as a pan sauce should be. As far as the comments suggesting lemon zest I again disagree the acidity of the olives alone would be enough to not need to add a citrus to. Only addition I would consider as a helpful note would be to add an herb if you feel it necessary. Otherwise this recipe needs no adaption
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