Chicken Scarpariello

After a visit to New York three years ago to visit my elderly aunt and favorite cousins, I was determined to recreate a dish I had eaten in an amazing Italian restaurant on Arthur Avenue  in the Bronx.  All of the recipes I found online contained sausage and peppers.  The dish I had at the restaurant did not contain these things.  This sounded more like Chicken Murphy, which I've only seen on menus in Italian restaurants in New Jersey.  Don't worry, I don't get it either.

But, I digress.  Back to the Chicken Scarpariello.  I read bunches of recipes and took a little from here, and a little from there to come up with a version that's pretty close to my Arthur Avenue experience.

Chicken Scarpariello

chicken parts (I used about 3 lbs of thighs, with the bone, without the skin)
1 cup flour
salt & pepper
1 tsp oregano (dried)
4 TBSP olive oil
3 cloves garlic, sliced
1 small onion, chopped
1 tsp rosemary (if I had fresh I would have used it, but alas, I only had dried)
3 cups chicken broth (I used the kind in the box)
1/2 cup white wine (plus another half cup for sipping while you cook)
juice of 1 lemon
3 TBSP butter, melted
1 TBSP flour

Combine the flour, salt & pepper and oregano.  Dredge the chicken in this mixture.
Heat the olive oil in a large frying pan (I use my electric frying pan).  Brown the chicken on both sides.  Remove the chicken and set aside.

Add onion and garlic.  Saute until soft and translucent.  Add wine and reduce by about half.
Add broth.  Bring to a boil.  Add rosemary and put chicken back in the pan.  Spoon some of the sauce over the chicken.

Turn heat to very low and cook until chicken is done.  This can take anywhere from 30-45 minutes, depending on the size of the chicken parts.  The meat should be starting to fall off the bones.

Remove chicken.  Bring remaining sauce to a boil.  Add lemon juice.  Mix melted butter and the 1TBSP flour. (Please don't skip this part because you're scared of the butter.) Whisk this into the sauce.  Pour over the chicken.

I serve this over pasta -- a shape with lots of nooks and crannies to hold the sauce.

Of course, I forgot to take pictures while making this the other night.