Ostropel de Pui
Ostropel de pui·(oh-stro-pel deh poo-ee)
Mămăligă Suppers (Polenta, Pork & Skillets)
Sear bone-in chicken thighs in a cast-iron skillet until the hot oil hisses, adding ten smashed garlic cloves—a borderline offensive amount of garlic blooming gently in hot chicken fat, chased closely by the sharp tang of tomatoes. By sweating the alliums low and slow so they melt into sweet submission without a trace of bitterness, you build a bubbling chicken stew that answers a cold Tuesday night. Spoon the pan juices directly over a bowl of hot mămăligă and eat it right away.
Before you start
Process the garlic for texture.
Don't just run the whole head through a press. Grating half the cloves forces them to melt completely into the sauce, while thinly slicing the other half provides tiny, sweet bursts of texture as you eat.
Ingredients
- boneless skinless chicken thighs1 1/2 lb
- kosher salt1 tsp
- black pepper1/2 tsp
- neutral oil1 tbsp
- unsalted butter1 tbsp
- yellow onion1 small
- garlic1 large head
- all-purpose flour1 tbsp
- dry white wine1/4 cup
- tomato passata1 1/2 cup
- chicken broth1/2 cup
- dried bay leaf1 med
- sugar1 tsp
- dried thyme1 pinch
- fresh parsley1/4 cup
Method
- 01
Season the chicken thoroughly and sear it in a heavy skillet with the oil and foaming butter over medium-high heat until deeply browned.
This takes about 4 to 5 minutes per side. The chicken won't be fully cooked yet—you just want to build that foundational fond in the pan. Remove the meat to a plate and leave every drop of fat behind.
- 02
Drop the heat immediately to low and gently sweat the onions and garlic.
Let the onions turn translucent in the chicken fat for a couple of minutes, then add the mountain of garlic. Stir constantly for one minute. The absolute secret to this dish is patience here; if you let the garlic brown, it turns bitter and the sauce is ruined. You want it sweet, fragrant, and soft.
- 03
Sprinkle the flour over the softened alliums and stir for thirty seconds.
This old-school trick binds the leftover fat and ensures the sauce thickens into a rich, velvety gravy in minutes rather than hours.
- 04
Pour in the wine to scrape up the browned bits, then stir in the passata, broth, bay leaf, sugar, and thyme.
Let the wine bubble away almost completely before adding the tomatoes. The sugar here is just to correct the sometimes harsh acidity of canned American tomatoes, keeping the flavor profile close to the rural homeland.
- 05
Return the chicken to the skillet, bring to a gentle bubble, and simmer partially covered until the meat is tender.
Nestle the thighs back in along with any resting juices. Let it cook on medium-low for 10 to 12 minutes.
- 06
Discard the bay leaf, stir in the fresh parsley, and serve immediately.
Check for seasoning, then ladle the whole glorious mess over wide bowls of hot mămăligă so the starch can mop up the rich, garlicky tomato gravy.
Notes
Sourcing the right tomatoes.
Avoid American canned diced tomatoes; they are often treated with calcium chloride and will stubbornly refuse to break down into a sauce. Stick to smooth passata or high-quality crushed tomatoes.
No wine? No problem.
If you don't keep wine in the kitchen, a tablespoon of white wine vinegar added right before you pour in the tomatoes perfectly replicates the sharp, rural tang of historical ostropel.
From Cook Romanian in America.