Skye McAlpine’s pollo alla pizzaiola recipe

“While chicken breast is undoubtedly an easy, quick and uncontroversial option for supper, I often find it to be quite disappointing,” says food writer Skye McAlpine. “It can be a little bland, usually dry and a bit boring.

“Except when cooked this way: the meat is browned, then lightly poached in rich tomato sauce, so it stays exquisitely tender, and each piece comes enrobed in a blanket of melting mozzarella. Absolutely essential with this is some crusty bread, for wiping up all the juices on your plate.”

Pollo alla Pizzaiola

Ingredients:

(Serves 4)

2tbsp olive oil

4 chicken breasts

460ml tomato sauce

2-3tbsp capers

Leaves from a small bunch of basil, chopped

200g mozzarella cheese, sliced

Method:

1. Heat the olive oil in a large frying pan that has a lid; you want a pan that is large enough to fit the four chicken breasts. Brown the meat on both sides over a medium heat, then take the pan off the heat. Take the breasts out of the pan, set on a plate, and season generously with salt and pepper.

2. Put the tomato sauce in the frying pan while the pan is still off the heat, so the difference in temperature between sauce and hot pan doesn’t cause the sauce to spit, then put the pan back over the heat to warm through. Add the capers and basil. When the tomato begins to bubble, nestle the seasoned chicken in the pan.

3. Cook the chicken in the pan over a medium heat for seven to eight minutes, turning the breasts every now and then, until cooked through.

A Table Full Of Love by Skye McAlpine is published by Bloomsbury, priced £26. Photography by Skye McAlpine. Available now.