Pollo Pepperazzi (Chicken and Peppers)

1. Preheat oven to 350ºF.

2. Cut chicken meat off of the bone, leaving the skin attached. Reserve the bones. Season everything with kosher salt and black pepper. Set aside.

3. Heat a Dutch oven on the stove top over medium-high heat. Add olive oil.

4. Put the flour into a shallow bowl. Dredge chicken and the bones in the flour and shake off excess. Add the chicken into the pan, skin side down. Add the bones as well. Cook without disturbing for 5 minutes or until browned on the bottom side. Reduce heat to medium, turn over the chicken and bones and cook for another 5 minutes to brown the skinless side.

5. Drop the smashed garlic around and between the chicken and cook, stirring to keep the garlic from burning, for 1 minute.

6. Add the halved cherry peppers and cook for another 2 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and add the wine and stock. Stir carefully to loosen any bits stuck to the bottom of the pan (the liquid should be between ½ and ¾ of the way up the sides of the chicken). Return pan to heat and bring to a simmer then toss the sweet pepper slices on top of the chicken. Sprinkle with dried oregano, cover and braise in the oven for 30 minutes.

7. Then remove it from the oven. Transfer the Dutch oven to the stove top, uncover it and set over medium-high heat. Remove the chicken and peppers to a serving platter, dispose of the bones and bring the liquid to a simmer until reduced by ⅓. Whisk 2 tablespoons of butter into the pan to smooth out and enrich the sauce.

Serve the chicken on a bed of the braised peppers with the sauce poured over the top. A nest of angel hair pasta dressed simply with some of its cooking water, olive oil, kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper is perfect alongside of the chicken.