Chicken with Pepperoni Sauce

One of my favorite parts of DC is the number of former Top Chef contestants who are always buzzing around.  The really famous chefs, like Jose Andres, might leave their signatures on the menus, but these chef-lebrities are around town - at Nat's Games, walking down the street, and often at their restaurants.  It's a lot of fun!

Mike Isabella was not one of my favorites on his first season of Top Chef, but by the time he was on All Stars, I was a fan.  Since then we've seen him a number of times around town.  He just opened a new Mexican tapas restaurant, Bandolero, so we're going to visit for my birthday dinner tonight!  However, last night, we made our own Mike Isabella dinner - we whipped up his famous pepperoni sauce.  This could be spread on almost anything and it would be absolutely delicious.  We put it on some pan seared chicken and it was a delight!  Hopefully tonight's dinner will be just as good - maybe I'll even get Mike Isabella to sing Happy Birthday to me!



Chicken with Pepperoni Sauce
from Mike Isabella at Graffiato

Ingredients
6-oz. pepperoni, cut into thin slices
4-oz. yellow onion, sliced thin
2 cloves garlic, sliced thin
1 teaspoon chili flake
1 teaspoon fennel seed, toasted
4-oz. crushed San Marzano tomatoes, chopped
4-oz. chicken stock
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
1 lb chicken breasts, hammered until thin
1 tbsp olive oil

Instructions
1. In a pot, sweat onions in olive oil for five to seven minutes. Add garlic and continue to sweat for two minutes.
2. Add the pepperoni and cook for about three more minutes. Add spices and cook for an additional minute.
3. Add the crushed tomatoes with the juice and cook for five more minutes. Lastly, add chicken stock and simmer for 40 minutes.
4. Remove the mixture from heat and puree in a blender. Season with salt and pass it through a fine china cap. Finally, add the splash of vinegar.
5. Season chicken with salt and pepper. Heat oil over medium heat in a large skillet. Pan sear on each side until just cooked through. Top with pepperoni sauce and serve immediately.