CHICKEN WITH PEACHES

This was inspired by a recipe in the September edition of La Cucina magazine which comes with Corriere della Sera.  I've altered the recipe quite a lot as it uses fresh mangoes and I couldn't find any mangoes, fresh or tinned, so I used tinned peaches [which I prefer].  I didn't have any dried chilli peppers either, so I used half a fresh one.  [They come larger in Italy than the ones usually available in the UK.] I also dislike recipes that tell you to brown the meat, then take it out while you do the vegetables;  I find this bothersome and usually unnecessary, as long as I'm using a nice, wide pan.  I liked the idea of using a good amount of chives, as my chive plant on the balcony survives despite my régime of benign neglect.  Anyway, this is what I did:

Brown 6 - 8 chicken joints, skin-on, on all sides in 3 tablesp olive oil.  Meanwhile, chop a lovely Sicilian white onion, 2 cloves garlic and half a fresh red chilli pepper.  When the chicken is brown, add these to the pan and continue to cook everything over a low flame till the vegetables are softened.  Add coarse seasalt to taste, the drained contents of a large tin of peaches, a handful of chopped chives, 3 tablesp water and bring to the boil.  Turn the heat down, cover the pan and simmer, stirring occasionally, for about an hour.  Garnish the dish with more chopped chives.

Buon appetito.