Pollo alla Diavolo: Devil's Chicken

Spicy, but not too spicy, that's how I like my chicken alla diavolo. (pronounced Dee-AHvolo). Devil's Chicken.

This recipe is from La Cucina Italiana magazine and it was a nice change to my weekly roast chicken.

Ask the butcher to butterfly the chicken for you by removing the breast bone, it makes life so much easier.

Spicy Chicken w/ Olives (Pollo alla Diavolo): (from La Cucina Italiana Dec. 2009)

Extra-virgin olive oil
4 lb. whole chicken, backbone removed and flattened by the butcher
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh marjoram, oregano or sage
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh rosemary
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
Coarse sea salt
1 cup pitted green and black olives (you can omit the olives if you want, they didn't make a difference in this dish)
1 cup dry white wine

Position rack in upper third of oven; heat to 425°. Put chicken, skin-side up, into pan.

In a small bowl, stir together mustard, black pepper, marjoram, rosemary and red pepper flakes. Spread mustard mixture over chicken, distributing mixture evenly; season with salt. Drizzle chicken with 1 teaspoon oil.



Bake chicken for 20 minutes. Sprinkle olives over chicken, if using, add wine to pan and continue baking until skin is golden and chicken is cooked through, 30 to 35 minutes more. Transfer pan to a wire rack and let chickens rest for 5 minutes, spooning juices over the top. Serve with juices.



Look out!