Garlic Chicken With Giardiniera Sauce Recipe (2024)

Recipe calls for giardinaira "brine", but here in Chicagoland, it all comes in oil. So I use olive or pickle brine and the oil form the giardinaira for the olive oil. Turns out great. One day I'll learn how to spell 'giardinaira'.

I use jarred muffuletta relish which contains giardineira plus capers and olives. The vegetables are already finely chopped and pickled. The result is even better than giardineira alone.

As a chef/restaurateur in a previous life I had a similar dish to this on my menu. It would be improved by marrying the flavors from the cooked chicken with the sauce. To do this I would a tablespoon of minced shallot and teaspoon of garlic in a bit of residual oil in pan after sauteeing chicken (or wipe out pan and add a tablespoon of fresh oil/butter). Then add a cup of unsalted chicken stock, reduce by half and then add in the giardinara mixture and season to taste.

Bess....but....she says "If you’re using chicken breasts, pound to an even ½-inch thickness...". Ten minutes is probably fine, but always check cooked temp with your probe.

10 minutes total to cook chicken thighs ? Something is off here.

A bit tangential to the recipe, but still important…. What is usually used for “real” muffulettas is a distinctly different, albeit related, relish from what is generally thought of as giardiniera. My family in New Orleans used to call what is on muffulettas olive salad, emphasizing the much much heavier use of olives than in the giardiniera that is used for example on Italian beef. It’s generally more finely chopped as well.

I used less oil for the chicken (thighs) and instead added some to the giardiniera mixture, used it as a salad dressing. It went well with mixed greens.

Good enough to eat once, but not good enough to cook again.

I thought this was very tasty but came out a little too greasy what with my using thighs (with less oil than called for) and oil-packed Giard. Next time, I’m not sure how I would fix this. Maybe by using chicken “tenderloins” which are small, easy to pan fry, and less rich. Or I will pat the g. dry. Used spicy g., some oil from that mixture, red wine vinegar instead of brine, and parsley… the sauce was punchy but next time will add some chopped capers to the sauce.

Made this tonight and followed a previous suggestion to add some shallot and garlic after, reduce some stock, and then add the stuff for the sauce. I know we enjoyed it this way and would not have enjoyed it without. So thankful for that tip!

There seems to be a step missing here. They can’t be suggesting that you pour raw sauce over cooked chicken and leave it to rest. Or serve the rest of the raw sauce with chicken. I am totally gonna cook this sauce between tossing the raw chicken in it and pouring it over the cooked.

Use muffuletta mix instead of giardinera. Very tasty and simple dish to make with a lot of flavor!

I really liked this, but my muffalata was Chicago-style (packed in oil), so I followed sigokb’s suggestion (dill pickle brine for sauce, muffalata oil for chicken). Minced garlic for chicken cutlets & added just 2 pinches salt (vs 1t). Didn’t have a soft herb, so I used baby spinach. While chicken was resting in warm oven, reduced 1 c of chix broth by 2/3, tossed “salad”into it in skillet on low & removed before wilted. Could be too olive-y for some

The sauce is delicious and I like the idea of coating the chicken in garlic and oil, but the method of cooking thighs is terrible! It took a long time and was a smokey, grease-spattering mess. It took so long to cook through that by the time the thighs were done the outside was really dry and stringy. Why not just cook the chicken in the oven? (not a rhetorical question)

Thought this was just okay. Followed the suggestion of K. Schrimmer and made a sauce with shallot, garlic and broth. Used parsley, chives and cilantro. Even added olive tapenade to the giardinaira.

Outstanding. Used dill, parsley and cilantro for the herbs. Served with orzo mixed with butter and a lot of freshly grated Parmesan. Plus blanched broccoli with butter, salt and pepper. The chicken and giardiniera plus the cheesy orzo alone was a knockout. Future considerations:- A summer meal, with the chicken grilled and garden herbs (though Dan suspects basil might not quite be the right fit)- Experiment with hot (rather than mild/regular) giardiniera- Serve as a bowl (sans broccoli)

So easy and delicious , the colourful sauce makes a lovely presentation.

“10 minutes total to cook chicken thighs ? Something is off here.“Not if flattened to 1/2 inch as instructed.

What is giardiniera?

A bit tangential to the recipe, but still important…. What is usually used for “real” muffulettas is a distinctly different, albeit related, relish from what is generally thought of as giardiniera. My family in New Orleans used to call what is on muffulettas olive salad, emphasizing the much much heavier use of olives than in the giardiniera that is used for example on Italian beef. It’s generally more finely chopped as well.

As a chef/restaurateur in a previous life I had a similar dish to this on my menu. It would be improved by marrying the flavors from the cooked chicken with the sauce. To do this I would a tablespoon of minced shallot and teaspoon of garlic in a bit of residual oil in pan after sauteeing chicken (or wipe out pan and add a tablespoon of fresh oil/butter). Then add a cup of unsalted chicken stock, reduce by half and then add in the giardinara mixture and season to taste.