Chicken With Tomato Sofrito Sauce

Ingredients

• 1 medium yellow onion
• 1 red bell pepper, or green bell pepper, seeded
• 3 cloves garlic
• 10 white mushrooms, wiped with a damp cloth
• 1/3 cup Spanish extra-virgin olive oil, divided
• 1 (28-ounce) can crushed tomatoes, or fresh tomatoes, washed and pulsed in a food processor
• 2 bay leaves

For the Chicken:

• 1 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• Salt, to taste
• Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Steps to Make It

1. Gather the ingredients. Chop the onion and bell pepper and reserve. Mince the garlic and reserve. Trim the stems from the mushrooms, slice the caps, and reserve. The Spruce Eats
2. Pour half of the olive oil into a large frying pan and heat over medium heat. Add the onion, bell pepper, garlic, and mushrooms and sauté over medium heat, stirring often until the onion becomes translucent—about 7 minutes. The Spruce Eats
3. Add the crushed tomatoes and their juices and bay leaves and stir. Simmer on medium to medium-low heat for 10 minutes, stirring often. If sauce becomes too thick or begins to stick, pour in a few tablespoons of water. The Spruce Eats

Cook the Chicken

1. While the tomato sauce mixture is cooking, pour the remaining half of the olive oil into a large frying pan and heat over a medium flame.
2. Pat the chicken breasts dry with paper towels and season on both sides with salt and pepper.
3. Pan-fry the chicken in the hot oil, turning over twice (for about 10 minutes total cooking time). The chicken should be well browned on both sides but might not be completely cooked in the center, which is no cause for concern because it will finish cooking when added to the sauce.The Spruce Eats
4. After pan-frying the chicken, remove the pan from the heat. Remove the chicken breasts to a cutting board, and cut them into 1/2-inch-thick slices, and return to the pan with tomato sauce. Stir to coat chicken breasts in tomato sauce.Cover and cook over low heat for 10 minutes. Taste and add salt and pepper as needed.The Spruce Eats
5. Serve with rice or potatoes to sop up the delicious sauce. Alternatively, make Spanish French fries as the perfect side dish.The Spruce Eats

Tips

• Leftovers are never a problem because the sofrito sauce mellows and tastes even better the next day.
• Test the chicken for doneness with an instant-read thermometer. Chicken is done at 165 F.