Turn Down the Heat: Braised Ligurian Chicken

Over the weekend, I was reading an article about how home cooks can improve their technique. The best was ‘turn down your heat’. Besides ‘High’, people forget that there is ‘Medium’ and ‘Low’ (and a few in between). The above dish taught me that lesson. You start by browning chicken in a pan. Each time I cooked this, as a experiment, I would use a lower heat than the previous time. It is skinless-boneless chicken, so the lower heat helped keep the moisture in, and the crust improved every time. I now cook this dish on ‘Medium’. After the browning, garlic, rosemary, plum tomatoes and olives go into the pan and the dish simmers while it makes it own sauce. I serve it with truffled mashed potatoes.