#LebensfreudeChiantiClassico

As you may have noticed, this summer on #NinainChianti we're cooking for all we're worth, or rather for all the pots, pans and ovens we've got. In my last blog posts under the hashtag #LebensfreudeChiantiClassico, I "served" you some typical Tuscan dishes, from pane toscano to pappa al pomodoro, verdure fritte, panzanella and bruschetta to insalata di farro, which should bring a little Italian joie de vivre to your home. Today it's time for a "secondo piatto" - a main course: pollo alla contandina.

A delicacy from the "poor man's kitchen"

Tuscan cuisine is also known as "cucina povera" - which loosely translated means "poor people's cuisine". The reason for this is simply that Tuscany used to be characterized by a rural structure and people were often very poor under the rule of their landlords. And so pollo alla contadina means nothing other than peasant-style chicken. This is because whatever could be grown and harvested on the farm was processed and eaten. This meant seasonal vegetables, but also a wide variety of beans, peas and chickpeas, which of course could also be perfectly preserved. 

Meat, especially beef and pork of course, was precious and rarely found its way onto the table. If you look at it from today's perspective, however, it was not actually poor cuisine back then, but what is considered desirable at the moment: Seasonal, regional food, lots of vegetables, but less meat. What was often on the menu, however, was chicken. This was due to the fact that chickens simply grow faster than beef, for example. And so pollo alla contadina was created with ingredients that were available on every farm: Onions, garlic, rosemary, sage and olive oil. 

Even today, you can still find a rosemary stick or a sage bush at almost every house - sometimes rosemary hedges that give off a wonderful scent in summer and are so large that they have to be trimmed with hedge shears in spring. Perhaps I like Pollo alla Contadina so much because so many of these wonderful Tuscan herbs, which I love so much, can be found in this aromatic dish. By the way: my herb triumvirate, without which I could not survive in terms of cooking, is rosemary, thyme and sage. Then everything will be fine... 

Chicken the farmer's wife way!

I like to use chicken thighs, but you can of course also use a chicken breast - just bear in mind the different cooking times. So: fry the chicken thighs or breast slowly in a pan with not too much olive oil on the skin side. Slowly because the skin will then "fry out" nicely and become crispy.

And what could go better with this chicken dish than a slice of PaneToscano, which is the perfect way to soak up this heavenly aromatic sauce and enjoy every last drop. Of course, you can also serve a leaf salad or potatoes with the farmer's wife-style chicken. And what is also a "perfect match" in this case: a glass of Chianti Classico Riserva. Simply delicious!