Last week I attended a talk and book signing for The Italian Americans of Los Angeles at our local Barnes and Nobles, Thhe author, Marianna Gatto, talked about a topic that I know nothing about, the Italian American cultural history in Los Angeles, far removed from my native New Jersey. It turns out that Italians in LA are a fascinating subject.
Italians started arriving in LA almost 200 years ago after Mexico gained its independence from Spain in 1821. Even before that, Italians had settled in the region and played a key role in establishing California’s famous wine industry, drawn to the climate similar to their native Southern Italy. Starkist tuna started in San Pedro (a suburb of LA) with much of the fishing and packing labor done by Italian immigrants. Progresso and Del Monte were both started by Italians using sun ripened California tomatoes and veggies. Of course, Italians were found throughout Hollwood ranks with Frank Capra being of particular note.
There were six enclaves of Italians in LA with a Little Italy located where today’s LA Chinatown sits. The largest collection of Italian Americans left in LA is about 40,000 people in San Pedro owning their heritage to Italy. San Pedro even has its own Italian American society, which I need to check out.
I also learned of a gruesome historical event, the lynching of 11 Italian Americans in New Orleans in 1891. This horrific event drove Italians all over the South to head for LA and the greater California for safer homes and treatment. This is the universal LA story.
The author of the book is also the Executive Director of the Italian American Museum of LA. Housed in the Italian Hall, which was constructed in 1908 as a community center. It’s number 1 on my list of places to visit in LA soon.
At the event I also met Filomena D’Amore, whose family owns Pasty D’Amore pizza at the Original Farmers Market. It was the first pizzeria in LA that her father opened the restaurant in 1949. Frequented by Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin and James Dean, the place is lined with celebrity signed photos. We’ve taken our friends’ kids there for slices over the last several years—a full-circle moment.
Lots of Italian food made it to America with these immigrants. Some survived intact, others got severely morphed and yet others never left. One example of the last is Pollo in potacchio which is a common dish in the Marche region of Italy. This is the area where our paternal grandfather lived and whose family we still know today. It’s a lighter chicken dish than its cousin, Chicken Cacciatore, which has a sauce that can also be used to dress a first course of pasta.”
I hope you enjoy this recipe as Springtime is right around the corner.
Joey
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Pollo in potacchi and Italian Americans in LA
Description
This light chicken sauté goes great with roasted Yukon Gold potatoes or over some steamed rice. I suggest avoiding chicken breasts as they will dry out too quickly.
Ingredients
- 3 lbs cut chicken, drumsticks and thighs, skin-on & bone-in
- 1 garlic clove, chopped
- 1 cup chicken broth or white wine (or a combination)
- 1 tbsp good quality tomato paste
- 3 sprigs of fresh rosemary
- Extra virgin olive oil
- Salt and pepper
Instructions
- Layout the chicken pieces on a board or the original packaging. Salt the chicken well all over and let sit for 30 minutes.
- In a pan with a cover large enough to snuggly hold the chicken, heat a few tbsps of olive oil over high heat. Using paper towels, dry off the chicken completely and place in the hot oil, skin side up.
- Quickly move the chicken around to avoid sticking. Brown until the bottom of the chicken is brown, then flip over and brown the other side. Remove the chicken to a dish (the inside of the chicken will not be completely cooked).
- Add the chopped garlic to the pan and quickly stir into the hot oil for about 30 seconds (avoid burning the garlic).
- Add the chicken stock or wine to deglaze the pan using a flat wooden spoon too scrap lose the brown bits.
- Reduce the heat to low and add the tomato paste and dissolve into the liquid. The sauce should be very thin. If needed, add some more stock or wine to thin it out. Once heated taste the sauce for salt.
- Place the chicken and the accumulated juice back in the pan and nestle the rosemary springs around the chicken. Season with some ground pepper.
- Cover the pan and place over low heat for 15 minutes. Flip the chicken pieces over, cover and cook for another 15 minutes. Test the chicken for doneness with an instant read thermometer. The final temp should be 165℉.
- Serve right from the pan.
I’ve made pollo in potacchio and can attest to just how delicious it is.This one looks amazing!