Hi there,

I have been in “clean out the freezer” mode these past few weeks. I have gotten into the habit of pandemic buying. You know, “I better buy this because it might not be here next time”. I had some chicken and some sausage to defrost and made Giambotta, a dish I haven’t made in some time. You should have seen the smile on Dom’s face when I told him what was on the menu for dinner.

Giambotta “is a member of that hard-to-define category of Italian foods known as minestre, generally somewhere between a thick soup and a stew.  It is part of the broader family of western Mediterranean vegetable stews. Dom said that when he was a boy it was often served at religious festivals and weddings.

GIAMBOTTA

Ingredients:

• 1 lb of Italian sausage cut into bite sized pieces (I used hot sausage)
• 1 lb of boneless, skinless chicken breast cut into bite sized pieces
• 1 dozen small, new potatoes, quartered
• 1 onion roughly sliced
• 1 small fennel bulb sliced
• 2 cans of chopped tomatoes
• 1 jar of Dellalo peppers in sauce (I used medium heat)
• 1 heaping teaspoon of Calabrian chili paste
• 1 small box of button mushrooms
• 1 small eggplant
• !/4 cup EVOO

Directions:

1. In a dutch oven or slow cooker heat the olive oil
2. Saute all the vegetables until lightly browned
3. remove vegetables from the pot and sauce the sausage until almost cooked through
4. add the chicken pieces add sauce for about 5 minutes
5. return the vegetables to the pot
6. Add the 2 cans of chopped tomatoes along with the Calabrian chili paste
7. Cook for an additional 10 minutes
8. Add the Dellalo peppers
9. If using a slow cooker, cook on low for 4 hours
10. if using a dutch oven, reduce your flame to low and cook an diction 2 hours
11. Season with salt and pepper and serve with good crusty Italian bread

Special Note: This dish is very versatile. If you don’t like one of the vegetables leave it out and use one that more suits your taste. I think I will add carrots when I make it again in the fall. Also, it can be made as a strictly vegetarian meal but I would add more seasonings if just using vegetables.

Talk soon, ❤️💕 Bernadette