Chicken cacciatore over fresh pappardelle

Bring a medium sauce pot of generously salted water to a boil. Separate the pappardelle so the noodles don’t clump together during cooking. 

To the pot of boiling water, stir in the pappardelle and cook, stirring occasionally, until just tender, 3 to 5 minutes. Drain the pappardelle, reserving ½ cup [⅔ cup] pasta cooking water. Return the pappardelle to the pot; toss with 1 to 2 tablespoons oil to keep the noodles from sticking. Cover and keep warm. 

While the water is heating and the pappardelle is cooking, prepare the chicken. 

• Pat the chicken dry with a paper towel; season generously with salt and pepper.
• On a plate or in a shallow bowl, season the flour with salt and pepper and spread in an even layer. 

Working with 1 piece at a time, dredge the chicken in the flour, turning to coat; shake off any excess. 

In a large frying pan over medium heat, warm 1 to 2 tablespoons oil until hot but not smoking. Add the chicken and cook, turning once, until golden brown but not yet cooked through, 3 to 4 minutes per side. Transfer to a plate. Do not clean the pan.

While the chicken is browning, start preparing the vegetables.

• Peel and thinly slice enough onion to measure 1 cup [1½ cups].
• Thinly slice the mushrooms.
• Cut the olives in half lengthwise, checking for any pits.
• Strip the parsley leaves from the stems; coarsely chop the leaves. Divide into two equal portions, one for the cacciatore and one for garnish.

In the same pan used for the chicken, if dry, add 2 to 3 teaspoons oil. Warm over medium-high heat until hot but not smoking. Add the onion and mushrooms, season with salt and pepper, and cook, scraping up any browned bits from the bottom of the pan, until starting to soften, 3 to 4 minutes. Stir in ¼ cup [½ cup] red wine (from your pantry) or ¼ cup [⅓ cup] reserved pasta cooking water and cook until the liquid has reduced by about half, 1 to 2 minutes.

Add the marinara, chicken, olives, half the parsley, and ¼ cup [⅓ cup] reserved pasta cooking water. Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer, and cook, stirring occasionally, until the chicken is cooked through and the sauce is thickened slightly, 5 to 7 minutes. Remove from the heat and season to taste with salt and pepper.