Cooksister | Food, Travel, Photography

Food, photos & faraway places

  • HOME
  • ABOUT
    • About me
    • Contact me
    • Work with me
    • Legal
      • Copyright notice & Disclaimer
      • Disclosure
      • Cookies and Privacy Policy
    • Press and media
    • Cooksister FAQs
  • RECIPES
    • Recipe Index – by course
    • Baking (savoury)
    • Braai/Barbecue
    • Breakfast & brunch
    • Christmas
    • Dessert
    • Drinks
    • Eggs
    • Fish
    • Gluten-free
    • Leftovers
    • Pasta & rice
    • Poultry
    • Pulses
    • Salads
    • Soup
    • South African
    • Starters & light meals
    • Vegan
    • Vegetables
    • Vegetarian
  • RESTAURANTS
    • British Isles restaurants
    • Dubai restaurants
    • France restaurants
    • London restaurants
    • Montenegro restaurants
    • New York restaurants
    • Pop-ups and supperclubs
    • Serbia restaurants
    • Singapore restaurants
    • South Africa restaurants
    • Sweden restaurants
    • Switzerland restaurants
    • USA restaurants
  • TRAVEL
    • All my travel posts
      • Austria
      • Belgium
      • Canada
      • Dubai
      • Cruise ships
      • France
      • Germany
      • Greece
      • Grenada
      • Hong Kong
      • Hotel reviews
      • Italy
      • Israel
      • Jersey
      • Mexico
      • Netherlands
      • Norway
      • Portugal
      • Singapore
      • Ski & snow
      • South Africa
      • Spain
      • Sweden
      • Switzerland
      • UK
      • USA
      • Wales
  • PORTFOLIO
    • Freelance writing portfolio
    • Speaking and teaching
    • Photography portfolio
    • Buy my photos
You are here: Home / Book reviews / Chicken with tomato, olives and capers from “Hazan Family Favourites”

Chicken with tomato, olives and capers from “Hazan Family Favourites”

by Jeanne Horak on May 15, 2012 7 Comments in Book reviews, Gluten-free, Main course - poultry

Giuliano Hazan chicken title © J Horak-Druiff 2012

 

Did your family have a favourite family recipe as a child?  Well, if you did, you are not alone:  if you enter the term “family favourite recipes” into Google, you will get quite a few results – 27 million results to be exact.  As you look through them, there is obviously some regional variation:  for instance the UK lists are full of things like chicken tikka masala, fish pie, or sticky toffee pudding; whereas in the US you are more likely to find fried chicken, mac ‘n cheese and chocolate brownies. But I always think that each family is so unique and meals acquire significance in so many extremely persoal ways that such lists are close to being meaningless.  They become merely collections of easy-to-make crowd pleasers, rather than any sort of reflection of any real family, its complicated relationships, its crazy preferences, its quirky references and its favourite meals.

When I was a little girl, one of my favourite foods was chicken a la king.  As it was also a classic “family friendly” dish, my mom often made it when we had visitors with kids – those halcyon days when the adults sat at one table and the kids got a table all to ourselves in the corner of the dining room.  On one such occasion, my mom dished up for us and left us to our own devices as she served the other guests.  After staring at his food for a good few minutes in mute horror, little Harry suddenly grabbed his plate and dashed to his mother’s side at the table.  “What is it?” she asked. “Mommy!  Mommy! take the pooh out!” wailed the clearly affronted Harry.  You could almost hear the collective intake of breath as the adults wondered what the hell had been happening at the kids’ table while their backs were turned.  But as it turned out, the “pooh” he was referring to was the mushrooms – their little black gills evidently offended him.  Or there was the time that my mom made really rather delicious pilchard fishcakes for lunch, but my brother spent an inordinate amount of time pushing them around his plate and not eating anything. When he eventually asked to be excused from the table, having eaten almost nothing, my mom asked if something was wrong. “What’s wrong”, he blurted out, “is that these fishcakes taste the way I always imagined catfood to taste!”. (Evidently, my brother’s survival instincts had not yet fully developed by this stage!).  Both of these meals remained on our family meal rotation for years to come, never to be enjoyed without some reference to these anecdotes that had become so fused with the dishes in our family’s folklore. To me, that’s what family favourites are all about. Did your family have any favourite meals or stories like this?

 

GiulianoHazanCookbook

 

I was recently fortunate enough to be sent a review copy of the latest cookbook by the legendary Giuliano Hazan, entitled Hazan Family Favourites.  Giuliano, the son of Italian cooking icon Marcella Hazan, is an author, teacher, entrepreneur, and considered by some to be one of the foremost authorities on Italian cooking.  Although born in the United States, Giuliano spent much of his childhood in Italy where he learnt to love and prepare traditional Italian dishes.  But Hazan Fam­ily Favor­ites is not so much a book of Italian recipes as it is a book about Giuliano’s family, with food as a parallel plotline.  There are plenty of photographs scattered throughout the book, both of Giuliano as a child, as well as grandfathers, nonnas, his parents, his daughters and his wife Lael.  Having leafed through the book, you feel as if have had a peek into his family photo album – and what an interesting album it is.  His maternal grandparents were from Emilia-Romagna and were clearly a huge influence on him. His paternal grand­par­ents were Seph­ardic Jews who settled in Italy but later fled to the United States. Add to this the fact that his maternal grandmother spent some time in Egypt and brought back some Arab-influenced recipes, and you have a rich seam of recipes – and family stories – to mine.

The book is well laid out and written in Giuliano’s conversational yet unfussy style.  Most recipes are accompanied by a recollection of making or eating the dish together with a family member and all are written in clear and concise language, with useful features like “time from start to finish”  (am I the only one who hates having to add up cook time and prep time to get to a total?!).  But best of all is that although the book is full of beautiful photos, it is not the sort of coffee table recipe book that you will page through once and then leave on the shelf to look pretty.  It is a book that makes your fingers itch to begin cooking; a book that makes you think about your own family’s story, and the foods through which it might be told.

The recipe I chose to make was a simple dish of chicken in a tomato, olive and caper sauce.  The recipe was dead simple to follow, with useful asides and tips; and spot-on timings.  I absolutely loved the end result – so much reward in terms of flavour for so little effort!  It was also low-fat and made from ingredients that I almost always have to hand – so the perfect weeknight meal really. My biggest dilemma now is what to cook next from Hazan Family Favourites…

 

DISCLOSURE: I was sent a review copy of this book by the publisher


Read more reviews of Hazan Family Favorites:

  • Veal Rolls in a Tomato Wine Sauce from Jamie on Lifes’a Feast
  • Nonna Mary’s Ciambella from Lora on Cake Duchess
  • Review of Hazan’s Family Favorites by Charlie on Eggs on the Roof
  • Swiss Chard and Almond Gnudi from Alessio on Recipe Taster
  • Strawberry Gelato from Gwen on Bunky Cooks

 

 

GiulianoHazanChickenFinal

 

CHICKEN WITH TOMATO, OLIVES & CAPERS (serves 2)

Ingredients:

500g boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 2 large breasts)
2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
half an onion, finely chopped
1 clove of garlic, crushed (I added this – there was no garlic in the original recipe)
1 cup whole tinned tomatoes with their juice
1.5 tsp oregano
about 12 black olives, pitted and halved
1 Tbsp capers

Method

Peel and finely chop the onion, crush the garlic.  Chop the tomatoes roughly and set aside. Slice the chicken into two or three thin fillets – flatten them a little with a meat mallet if necessary.

Heat the oil in a large frying pan until hot (try dropping a crumb in it – it should sizzle) and then add the chicnek fillets.  Fry until beginning to brown and slightly crispy at the corners, then flip over and repeat on the other side (about 4 minutes per side).  Remove from the pan and keep warm.

Remove the pan from the heat and add the onions and garlic (I added an extra drop of olive oil as the pan was quite dry by this stage). Fry over gentle heat till the onions become translucent but not brown.  Add the tomatoes and continue to cook for about 5 minutes, then add the oregano.  Cook for another 5 minutes, until the tomatoes are no longer watery, then add the olives and capers. Add the chicken fillets back into the pan and heat through before serving.

 

CRUSH19_coverAnd in other news… my article and photos on Corfu island appear in the latest issue of Crush online magazine – check it out on pages 38-39!

 

 

Never miss a Cooksister post

If you enjoyed this post, enter your e-mail address here to receive a FREE e-mail update when a new post appears on Cooksister

Thanks for subscribing! We have sent a confirmation link to your e-mail address – please note you must click the link in order to start receiving updates.

I love comments almost as much as I love cheese - so if you can't leave me any cheese, please leave me a comment instead!

« Bizerca Bistro, Cape Town [CLOSED]
Saturday Snapshots #195 »

Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

  1. johanna says

    May 16, 2012 at 8:28 am

    sounds delicious! i can just taste it by looking at the glorious picture! yum…

    Reply
  2. Rosa says

    May 16, 2012 at 5:33 pm

    Yes, it seems most families have a favourite family recipe… This dish is wonderful. Just so tasty and droolworthy!
    Cheers,
    Rosa

    Reply
  3. Simone says

    May 16, 2012 at 6:27 pm

    We’re one of those families without a favorite recipe. Well if you don’t count Mac and cheese as a real meal..;) That’s what you get with a mum who hates cooking! But this looks delicious Jeanne!

    Reply
  4. Firefly says

    May 17, 2012 at 9:10 am

    I don’t have DSTV at home so I don’t get to watch a lot of those channels. I just spent a week in Durban at Indaba and stayed in a Garden Court so had DSTV in my room. Most of the time the channel was on BBC Lifestyle and I loved all the cooking shows. Thought of you quite a lot.

    Reply
  5. Kit says

    May 17, 2012 at 8:12 pm

    Roast chicken was always one of our favourites – in those days more of a treat than roast beef. I think it was before battery farms made chicken the cheapest meat of all.
    What I want to know is how my mother managed to carve it so that half of the chicken served the four of us for one meal hot, to be followed by the other half as cold chicken salad the next day? She managed to slice the breast so that we all had a generous slice of white meat too.
    With my family of five the chicken is pretty much demolished after just one meal, with only a wing and a drumstick left for the next day.
    Either the chickens have shrunk or that one extra child is fatal to domestic economy!
    I’ve always loved Marcella Hazan’s books, but I haven’t yet tried Giuliano’s recipes, though I do follow their blog. Will have to look out for the book.

    Reply
  6. Krista says

    May 18, 2012 at 1:11 am

    This cookbook sounds wonderful! I love the looks of this dish. Olives and capers make me happy any time. 🙂 Yes, I definitely have some favorite family dishes. Most of them are Christmasy ones for some reason. 🙂

    Reply
  7. Jamie says

    May 21, 2012 at 9:47 pm

    This is such a wonderful book and not only for the delectable, well-explained recipes – but the family history is fascinating. I love mine as I love the other two Giuliano Hazan cookbooks I own. Now I have to try this recipe. It looks fabulous!

    Reply
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • RSS
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Never miss a Cooksister post!

Thanks for subscribing! We have sent a confirmation link to your e-mail address – please note you must click the link in order to start receiving updates.

Search over 500 recipes

Recently on Cooksister

  • Beef, ginger & butternut squash stew in the Wonderbag™ (GF, dairy-free)
  • Deconstructed avocado Ritz with ruby grapefruit (GF, pescatarian, dairy free)
  • L’Atelier Robuchon, Mayfair (2024)
  • Perfect broccoli and Stilton soup (keto, low carb, GF)
  • Masalchi by Atul Kochhar – Indian street food in Wembley
  • Barbecued salmon with blood oranges and capers
  • Roasted Brussels sprouts with feta, pomegranate and pine nuts [GF, V]
  • Love Yourself healthy meal delivery [Review]

Archives by month

Archives by category

Popular posts

Peppermint Crisp fridge tart - a South African treat
Oxtail and red wine potjie
Jan Ellis pudding - a classic South African dessert
My big, fat South African potato bake
Roosterkoek - a South African braai essential
Courgettes stuffed with beef mince and cheese

Featured on

Also available on

Follow Jeanne Horak-Druiff's board Recipes by Cooksister on Pinterest.

Cooksister

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • RSS
  • Twitter

Jeanne Horak is a freelance food and travel writer; recipe developer and photographer. South African by birth and Londoner by choice, Jeanne has been writing about food and travel on Cooksister since 2004. She is a popular speaker on food photography and writing has also contributed articles, recipes and photos to a number of online and print publications. Jeanne has also worked with a number of destination marketers to promote their city or region. Please get in touch to work with her Read More…

Latest Recipes

Beef butternut ginger and clementine stew - Wonderbag
Avocado and shrimp in a pink sauce with ruby grapefruit segments
Bowls of broccoli and Stilton soup
Salmon with blood oranges dill and capers
Brussels sprouts with feta and pomegranate
Roast lamb with pomegranate glaze
Blood orange & pistachio galettes
Cauliflower topped steak with melted cheese

SITEMAP

Home

Contact

About me

Recipe Index

Restaurant Index

Copyright & Disclaimer

Cookies & privacy policy




blog counter

© 2004 - 2025 · Jeanne Horak unless otherwise stated - ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. You may not reproduce any text, excerpts or images without my prior permission. Site by Assistant

Copyright © 2025 · Cooksister on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in

Cooksister cookie consent
We use cookies to ensure you receive the best experience on our site. If you continue to use this site, you are agreeing to our terms and conditions. Accept
Privacy & Cookies Policy

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Non-necessary
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
SAVE & ACCEPT