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Chicken Italiano I

Chicken pieces simmered in a blended tomato, herb and garlic sauce, topped with parsley and mozzarella.

From the Recipes Wiki (Fandom) · 10 ingredients
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Why it works: Basil and tarragon match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 326 recipes. Both carry 4-methoxybenzaldehyde, which smells sweet, anise. The science ↓

Chicken Italiano I

Time15 minutes

Ingredients

Directions

Make the sauce

  1. Pour tomatoes into the container of a blender or food processor.

  2. Add basil, tarragon, salt and pepper.

  3. Puree until smooth.

Cook the chicken

  1. Melt margarine in a large frypan.

  2. Saute garlic over medium heat 1 min.

  3. Add chicken pieces and saute, turning once or twice until golden on both sides.

  4. Cover with tomato mixture.

  5. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer 15 min until tender.

Finish and serve

  1. Remove chicken and place in a warm oven-proof dish.

  2. Stir parsley into sauce and spoon over chicken.

  3. Sprinkle with mozzarella.

  4. Place under heated broiler 1 min just until cheese melts.

  5. Or place on a microwave-safe dish and melt cheese in microwave.

  6. Or sprinkle with grated parmesan cheese and serve immediately.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

514Calories
39 gProtein
36 gFat
10 gCarbs
What these numbers assume: 12 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Chicken100g cooked165
Olive Oil1 tbsp (14g)119
Butter1 tbsp (14g)102
Mozzarella Cheese1 oz (28g)85
Tomato1 medium (123g)22
Clove1 tsp ground (2g)7
Black Pepper1 tsp ground (2.3g)6
Garlic1 clove (3g)4
Tarragon1 tsp dried (0.5g)2
Basil5 leaves fresh (2.5g)1
Parsley1 tbsp chopped fresh (3.8g)1
Salt1 tsp (6g)0

One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.

Recipe from the Recipes Wiki (Fandom).

Steps grouped into stages for easier reading; the method is the source's own.

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

  1. Basil + tarragontop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together326 recipes

    Shared aroma: 4-methoxybenzaldehyde (sweet, anise).

  2. Tomato + basiltop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together3,979 recipes

    Shared aroma: 3-hexenal (apple, fruity).

  3. Tomato + garlictop 3% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together14,076 recipes

    Shared aroma: furaneol (caramel, strawberry).

  4. Basil + garlictop 4% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together4,805 recipes

    Shared aroma: linalool (floral, citrus).

  5. Basil + peppertop 4% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together5,294 recipes

    Shared aroma: methyl cinnamate (strawberry).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Chicken pieces
Provide the main protein, which becomes tender as it simmers in the sauce.
Tomatoes
Form the moist, acidic sauce that flavours and tenderises the chicken.
Mozzarella cheese
Melts over the chicken to add a creamy, browned topping.
Garlic clove
Adds aroma and savoury flavour when gently sauteed in the fat.

The step that matters

Browning the chicken before adding the sauce. Frying the chicken until golden builds browned flavour through the Maillard reaction, which the simmering sauce cannot fully create later. Turning it only once or twice helps it brown evenly without drying the surface.

Swap the clove

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (tomato, basil, tarragon, pepper, butter, garlic, chicken):

  1. Thymefits better
  2. Parsleyfits better
  3. Marjoramfits better
  4. Clovethe original

Fit is the average pairing score against tomato, basil, tarragon, pepper, butter, garlic, chicken. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

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