My friend, Bob Villing, who lives down the road, already has 3 kinds of peas planted: snow, sugar snap and English. He also has beets and greens growing. 

Bob is way ahead of me. I finally got the herb garden and the front field of the vegetable garden tilled a few days ago. My plan is to get the peas and early root vegetables in this week. 

Anyway, seeing Bob’s rows of peas made me hungry for a family favorite: chicken Vesuvio. It’s a Chicago specialty named after Mount Vesuvius volcano in Campania, Italy. I’m so glad the recipe found its way to my little patch of heaven here in Southwestern Ohio.

Chicken Vesuvio

A new twist on an old favorite.

This time I used bone in, skin on, chicken thighs. They held up beautifully and stayed moist.

I punched up the amount of garlic and lemon juice, too. So my advice is, as I often tell you, feel free to do what you like here. A little more, or less, of any one ingredient won’t make a huge difference. 

I did add parsley and a few halved grape tomatoes as garnish. They were so good that I suggest you add more — enough to give each person some.

As far as the yield, if you’ve got hungry eaters, count on 3 servings. Otherwise, it could serve up to 4 or so.

Ingredients

4-5 chicken thighs with bone and skin 

Salt and pepper

Olive oil

2 pounds or so Yukon gold or red potatoes, peeled and quartered

3 nice cloves garlic, minced (a good tablespoon)

1 teaspoon rosemary, minced

1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

Couple pinches red pepper flakes 

Salt to taste 

1 cup dry white wine

14.5 oz can chicken broth

10 oz. frozen peas, thawed or 2 cups fresh

3-4 tablespoons butter

Fresh lemon juice to taste – I used a couple tablespoons

Instructions

Season chicken with salt and pepper. Film a large nonstick skillet with olive oil and heat until just smoking. Cook chicken until golden, but not done. Remove from pan.

Add enough oil to cook potatoes, cut-side down, until golden brown but not done.

Stir in garlic, rosemary, oregano, red pepper flakes and salt to taste and cook just until fragrant, about a minute. 

Add wine and broth, scraping up browned bits, and bring to boil. Return chicken to skillet on top of potatoes. Reduce heat to simmer and cook, covered, until chicken is cooked through and potatoes are tender, about 12 minutes. 

Transfer chicken and potatoes to serving platter; tent with foil.

Increase heat to medium-high and cook, uncovered, until sauce is reduced to your liking. Stir in peas and cook until heated through.

Remove from heat, and whisk in butter and lemon juice. Adjust seasonings. 

Pour sauce over chicken and potatoes.