Recipe: Chicken Visuvio (Harry Caray's Restaurant)

HARRY CARAY'S CHICKEN VESUVIO

Jerry Goldberg of Chicago says,"After a Cubs game at Wrigley Field, I drove over to Harry Caray's restaurant to celebrate the victory-and the team's late announcer. The hearty chicken with potatoes was almost as memorable as Caray's singing of 'Take Me Out to the Ballgame,' which was his seventh-inning tradition."

Note: Make this as fiery as you like by adjusting the amount of crushed red pepper.

1 (4 1/2-pound) chicken, quartered, backbone removed
1 tablespoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon garlic powder
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 large russet potatoes (about 14 ounces each), peeled, each cut into 6 pieces

6 large garlic cloves, peeled
1/2 teaspoon (or more) dried crushed red pepper
1/2 cup chicken stock or canned chicken broth

1 cup frozen green peas, thawed
Chopped fresh parsley (optional)

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. Sprinkle chicken pieces generously with salt and pepper. Sprinkle oregano and garlic powder over chicken; set aside. Heat oil in large ovenproof pot over high heat. Add potatoes and saut until golden brown, about 5 minutes. Transfer potatoes to bowl.

Add chicken to same pot and saut until golden brown on all sides, about 10 minutes. Add garlic cloves and dried crushed red pepper and saute 2 minutes.

Return potatoes to pot. Remove pot from heat. Add stock. Return to medium-high heat and bring to boil.

Cover pot tightly; transfer to oven and bake until chicken is cooked through, about 30 minutes.

Add peas to pot; cover and bake 5 minutes longer.

Transfer chicken to platter. Arrange potatoes and peas around chicken. Pour sauce from pot over chicken. Garnish with chopped parsley, if desired, and serve.

Source: Bon App tit, R.S.V.P., October 1999
Harry Caray's Restaurant, Chicago, IL