Almost Italian

Gathering recipes for the first edition of Almost Italian, we included over twenty different Italian-American preparations for chicken.

Given European Italians’ relative indifference to their own poultry, we were surprised. As we’ve already written, the chickens the immigrants had known back home were small, sinewy birds, better suited for egg production or the soup pot than for Chicken alla Cacciatora.

But Italians new to America quickly took to an inexpensive source of protein. Back in Calabria in 1910, a man might have eaten chicken once or twice a year, but here in America even on his $10.00 per week wages, he could afford to provide his family with chicken every week.

Assuring a supply of both eggs and meat, the urban immigrants built poultry coops on tenement rooftops, while those who moved to rural areas could raise larger flocks.

The immigrants’ early recipes followed the old treatments they knew for dealing with tough fowl—stewing and braising the whole bird, more for the stock than for the meat. But as Italians settled into America where chicken was meatier, more tender, and much more plentiful, they developed new recipes. Birds were cut into portion-sized pieces as with Chicken alla Cacciatora. With more birds, there were more livers, giblets, and necks to be gathered for those long-simmered sauces Italians enjoyed over pasta.

Veal had never been as popular here as in Italy, and when it was available, it was still expensive. But Italian cooks discovered that less expensive chicken breasts could be pounded and sautéed as cutlets—or rolled around other ingredients like cheese and spinach. Restaurant menus printed after World War II feature Chicken Francese, a breaded chicken breast, sautéed in butter and finished with a sauce of butter, lemon juice, and white wine.

Chicken Francese was so well received that chefs soon began turning out all manner of dishes involving chicken breasts. By the late 1970’s food writers Craig Claiborne and Florence Fabricant were busy informing eager New York Times readers about the latest neighborhood restaurant to offer Chicken Marco Polo, Chicken Saltimbocca, Chicken Margherita, and Chicken Marsala.

Of course it would have been unthinkable to discard the legs, thighs, and wings, and these continued to go into stews and braises, as well as new recipes like Chicken alla Contadina, and Chicken Scarpariello.

For the next few weeks, Almost Italian will focus on chicken recipes. While we’ve already presented a few chicken dishes from the Italian-American repertoire, we still have a lot of ground to cover. From ubiquitous dishes like Chicken Parmesan to regional American favorites like Chicken Vesuvio and relative newcomers like Chicken Fra Diavolo, we’ll be looking at the vast array of Italian-American chicken recipes. Stay tuned and send us your comments.

Chicken Francese

In 1891, Italian cookery writer Pellegrino Artusi published several recipes (including one for gooseberries) served, alla Francese ‘in the style of the French.’ The description refers to dredging an item in beaten eggs and flour before sautéeing.

Ingredients:

4 Skinless, boneless chicken breasts
Salt & freshly ground black pepper
1 Egg, lightly beaten
1 Cup flour
1/4 Cup olive oil
1/2 Cup dry white wine
1 Cup chicken stock
Juice of 1/2 lemon
4 Tbs. flat-leaf Italian Parsley

Preparation:

Place the chicken breasts between two sheets of plastic wrap and pound them with a meat mallet or a rolling pin to a uniform thickness of approximately 3/8 in. Season the breasts on both sides with salt and pepper, and reserve on a plate.

Pour the flour into a shallow-sided dish and season with salt and pepper. Pour the eggs into another shallow-sided dish and season them with salt and pepper as well.

Dip each chicken breast into the eggs, covering both sides. Remove and drain for a moment, then dredge each breast in the flour and reserve on a plate.

Heat a large sauté pan over medium-high heat, then add the oil. Add the chicken breasts and sauté until the breasts begin to turn white around the edges (Approximately 2 – 3 minutes per side). If necessary, do this step in batches. Don’t crowd the pan.

Remove the breasts and reserve on a plate, covering them loosely with aluminum foil.

Raise the heat to high, and add the wine. Boil for 1 – 2 minutes to evaporate the alcohol, and to reduce, stirring with a wooden spoon to loosen any bits of chicken that have caramelized on the bottom of the pan.

Add the chicken stock, the lemon juice, and the lemon zest, and boil for approximately 5 minutes until the sauce is reduced to approximately 2/3 cup. Turn off the heat, but leave the pan on the burner.

Add the reserved chicken breasts, basting them with the sauce as they reheat.

To Serve:

Place one chicken breast on each of four dinner plates. Spoon the sauce over each one, and garnish with the chopped parsley.

Serves four

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