Chicken all’arrabbiata with long grain rice

Arrabbiata in Italian means angry. In this case it refers to the fact that the sauce is very hot. Courtesy of Italian imagination! But again the use of chilly should be up to personal taste. I would recommend that you use fresh basil, though, because this dish owes most of its flavour to this herb.

Ingredients

8 pieces of chicken assorted

1 can chopped tomatoes

Fresh chilly

2 tbsp olive oil

1 small red pepper sliced

1 clove of garlic

1 large onion sliced

8 or 9 black olives

A nice bunch of basil

200-300 gr long grain rice

Remove all the skin from the chicken pieces and pat them dry. Put them in a shallow pan, add the onion, garlic, oil, chilly, tomatoes, olives, half the basil and ¾ mug of water, season well, mix all the ingredients, cover and bring to boil. Let it simmer covered on a moderate heat, stirring every now and then to ensure that chicken cooks evenly. After 20 minutes add the sliced pepper, remove lid and let it cook on a lively fire for another 15 minutes until the liquid has evaporated and the sauce looks very dense almost clinging to the meat. During this time stir frequently to avoid chicken sticking to the bottom of the pan. Turn off the heat, add the rest of basil and give a final stir. Keep it covered.

In the meantime, you should cook the long grain rice in boiling and salty water until tender. Drain it well and serve it with chicken in the same plate.

*If you like you could substitute the rice with a bed of polenta. It is widely available in supermarkets and there is also an easy cook type. You should allow 50-70 gr each. After cooking just pour it on the plate and use chicken as a sauce.