Chicken with Olives in Tomato Sauce
Chicken with Olives and Borlotti Beans in Tomato Sauce is a comforting Mediterranean-style dish where tender chicken fillets simmer in a rich tomato sauce with green olives and oregano. A splash of light balsamic vinegar adds gentle sweetness and balance, while the sauce deepens as the chicken cooks until almost falling apart. This flavorful chicken dish is perfect served with pasta, rice, or crusty bread.
Equipment
- Large frying pan or sauté pan
- Medium saucepan (for pasta)
- Cutting board
- Sharp knife
- Wooden spoon or spatula
- Measuring cups and spoons
- Colander
Ingredients
Chicken
- 500 g (1.1 lb) thin chicken fillets
- Salt to taste
- Black pepper to taste
- 1 tbsp olive oil
Tomato and Olive Sauce
- 1 medium onion finely chopped
- 2 garlic cloves finely chopped
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tbsp light balsamic vinegar
- 1 tsp sugar
- 400 g (14 oz) tomato passata
- 500 ml (2 cups) chicken stock
- 2 dl (¾ cup) pitted green olives
- 400 g (14 oz) canned borlotti beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 tbsp dried oregano
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
To Serve
- Pasta cooked according to package instructions
- Fresh basil or parsley roughly chopped
- Parmesan cheese grated
Instructions
- Season the chicken fillets with salt and black pepper.
- Heat 1 tbsp olive oil in a large frying pan over medium-high heat. Brown the chicken fillets on both sides until nicely colored. Remove from the pan and set aside.
- Reduce the heat slightly and add the olive oil for the sauce to the same pan. Sauté the chopped onion until soft and translucent.
- Add the garlic and cook for about 1 minute, stirring gently.
- Pour in the balsamic vinegar and let it bubble briefly.
- Add the passata, chicken stock, sugar, salt, black pepper, and dried oregano. Stir well and let the sauce simmer for about 10 minutes.
- Return the chicken fillets to the pan and simmer gently for 15 minutes.
- Add the olives and rinsed Borlotti beans, and continue cooking for another 10 minutes, until the chicken is very tender and beginning to break apart.
- Meanwhile, cook the pasta according to the package instructions. Drain well.
- Serve the pasta on plates, spoon over plenty of sauce, and top with chicken, grated Parmesan, and fresh herbs.
Notes
This recipe highlights the flavorful chicken and olive tomato sauce, with pasta as a delicious base. I often use whatever I have in the pantry; one day it might be spaghetti, the next day tricolored fusilli.
The sauce thickens naturally as it simmers, so no cream or starch is needed.
Leftovers reheat beautifully and taste even better the next day.