
Crispy chicken in spicy tomato sauce with paprika/sweet peppers, olives and capers. It’s called Italian chicken casserole because it’s like a sauce-heavy stew that you can pour over crispy bread or drizzle over pasta. An amazing and filling dinner that can be on the table in less than 30 minutes!

This Italian chicken casserole was inspired by Italian-American chef and restaurateur Mario Batali’s Sicilian chicken recipe. He’s also one of the employees at Eataly, a popular New York-based Italian restaurant that I visited the most during my last visit to New York. Souvenir, light lunch, afternoon tea (oh pastry counter!!), early evening glass of wine (oh wine bar!
!) with cheese and jerky (oh deli!), or a full multi-course dinner (oh choice restaurant!!).
And while some go home wearing the obligatory “I ❤️ NYC” T-shirt, I always take home a cookbook from every country I visit. Don’t ask what’s different about buying Lidia and Mario Batali’s cookbook from Eataly when you can order it online with free shipping. It just is. And I curse my unrealistic decisions about the rest of the trip. Because it adds a few extra kilos to your luggage.
I remember doing the same thing in Mexico.
Mario Batali’s original recipe is actually quite different. It has carrots, celery, potatoes and eggplant, and much less sauce. Regular readers know I’m a fan of Sauce. If you’re sharing a sauce-less recipe or it’s not very spicy, there’s a good reason.
I wanted more sauce.
As for serving, I’m happy either way. It’s just tossing the sauce on crispy bread or pasta that you dip into the sauce. The sauce is good enough, half can be tossed in pasta and the other half served with chicken.