An acquaintance of mine served this at a dinner party on the basis it was fairly easy and low-maintenance, so she could chat and things – you can marinade the chicken in the garlic-rosemary mix overnight if you leave it in a ziplock bag, then it’s only about half an hour to cook on the hob.

This is still one of our family go-to dishes on a weeknight, perfect with new potatoes and crusty baguette.

Serves 4ish.

INGREDIENTS:

Marinade

2 Garlic Cloves.
1 Sprig Fresh Rosemary
1 tsp black peppercorns
1 Lemon
6 tbsp olive oil
Salt

In the pan…
1.5kg/3lb chicken fillet
275g/10oz tomatoes
1 tbsp tomato puree
150ml dry white wine
1 sprig fresh sage
50g/2oz stoned black olives
2 tbsp capers
Sage sprigs to garnish

Peel and roughly chop the garlic then pound it mercilessly together with a few rosemary needles and the pepper corns using a pestle & mortar or large blunt instrument. Finely grate the zest off the lemon straight into the mortar or bowl. Stir in 3 tablespoons of the oil and a pinch of salt.

Cut the chicken into 8 pieces (or smaller). Rub the marinade thoroughly into the chicken and put in a bowl. Tip what’s left on top of and cover with cling film. Chill for about an hour (or put in a ziplock bag and leave in the fridge overnight).

Cut the skin of the tomatoes a few times put in a bowl and cover with boiling water. Leave for a few minutes, then peel off the skins and cut in half. Set aside.

Heat the remaining oil in a large heavy-bottomed pan or cast-iron casserole and fry the chicken in batches for ten minutes each batch. Squeeze juice from lemon and mix with tomato puree and wine.

Pour the wine mixture into the chicken and stir in the tomatoes, olives and capers. Cover the pan and simmer over low heat for 20 mins.

Serve at the table straight from the pan.