Leslie Forbes

Pollastrino al Mattone

Chicken under a brick

Preparation info

  • 2

    • Difficulty

      Easy

Appears in

top 1000A Table in Tuscany

A Table in Tuscany

By Leslie Forbes

Published 1985

  • About

A mattone is a terracotta house brick and the chicken in this recipe gets characteristic crispy texture from the weight of a heavy glazed terracotta plate pressed down on it all through the cooking. You can buy traditional mattone plates in Lucca, or use any clean, heavy glazed terracotta brick.

Ingredients

  • 1 small chicken, cut in half down the breastbone and pounded fairly flat
  • juice of 1 lemon
  • clove

Method

Rub all the ingredients well into the chicken’s skin and then put the chicken in a frying pan. Place the brick on top and fry (in plenty of olive oil) over a low heat for about 20 minutes on each side until the skin is crunchy. Or put the chicken in a marinade made of the same ingredients. Leave for several hours, turning occasionally, and then fry as above.