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Italian · V The Canonical Dishes · Marche

Pollo in potacchio — Marche

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I

Origin

Pollo in potacchio belongs to the cooking of Le Marche, the Adriatic region of central Italy, where the method of cooking "in potacchio" is applied to chicken and to rabbit. Marcella Hazan — Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking gives chicken braised with garlic, rosemary, white wine and tomato, reduced until the sauce clings to the pieces.

II

Description

Chicken pieces browned in olive oil, then braised with garlic, rosemary, white wine, and tomato. The braising liquid reduces over time until it becomes a thick, concentrated sauce that coats the chicken rather than pooling around it. The chicken should be tender enough that the meat nearly falls from the bone, and the sauce should be dark, glossy, and intensely flavoured. Served with bread to catch the sauce.

III

The Thread

—Both braise jointed chicken with tomato and aromatics until the sauce clings to the meat, and both rely on the sweetness of cooked tomato against the richness of the bird. The basquaise adds peppers and ham from Bayonne and takes its character from them, where potacchio keeps to rosemary, garlic and white wine. French · (Basque)
—Both brown jointed chicken in olive oil and finish it in white wine with garlic, so that the pan liquid reduces to a concentrated coating. The Spanish dish uses no tomato and is built on garlic alone, while potacchio is carried by tomato and a generous quantity of rosemary. Spanish
—Both brown chicken pieces and braise them in wine until the sauce is reduced and glossy, with the wine giving the dish its structure. Coq au vin is made with red wine and enriched with lardons, mushrooms and small onions, whereas potacchio uses white wine and tomato and is kept spare. French
IV

Flavour Context

The long braise concentrates the flavour of the chicken, while the tomato supplies acidity and sweetness. Rosemary, used generously, gives a piney, resinous note that marks the dish, and the garlic mellows in the heat to a sweet, savoury depth. The white wine brings brightness and keeps the reduced sauce from becoming heavy. Bread is served to take up the sauce, and a dry white wine suits the dish for the same reason that one is used in the pan: its acidity cuts the richness of the bird and the tomato.

Pillars V — VII
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