Chicken Puttanesca with Mushrooms

Ingredients

• Olive oil
• 6 large or 8 small skinless, boneless, chicken breasts
• 1 large onion, roughly chopped
• 4 large cloves garlic, roughly chopped
• 1 tsp anchovy paste (to taste)
• 5 oz cremini or white button mushrooms, quartered
• ½ to 1 cup chicken broth, as needed
• 15 Kalamata olives, pitted and halved
• 1 Tbsp capers, drained and rinsed
• 1 28-oz. can plum tomatoes, chopped, with their
• 1 Tbsp fresh thyme leaves
• 2 Tbsp roughly chopped flat-leaf parsley
• 2 bay leaves

Instructions

1. In a large Dutch oven or stock pot, heat a few glugs of olive oil over medium-high heat. Brown chicken breasts on both sides, in batches so as not to crowd the pot, and remove to a plate.
2. Add onions and sauté three or four minutes, until they begin to brown. Add garlic and sauté another minute, until the fragrance fills the kitchen. Add anchovy paste and stir around to break it up.
3. Add mushrooms and sauté another three or four minutes, until they release some of their liquid. If pan appears too dry and brown bits are sticking, pour in a little chicken broth to release all that good stuff from the bottom of the pot.
4. Add next seven ingredients, and bring to a boil. When mixture boils, return chicken to pot with accumulated juices, pushing the meat beneath the tomato mixture.
5. Reduce heat to a simmer, cover, and let it bubble away gently for another ten minutes, until chicken is cooked through.
6. If sauce looks too thin, remove cover for the last five minutes and let it cook down, or stir in some tomato paste to thicken.
7. Remove bay leaves before serving.