Many celebrity chefs, including Ina Garten and Katie Lee Biegel, have versions of “marry me” dishes — meals so good that when served to a potential spouse, you’re destined to get a proposal. Now Giada De Laurentiis is sharing her favorite “marry me” dish, which comes from the island of Ischia off the coast of Naples. It’s a dish that was traditionally prepared and served by Ischian fathers to their daughters’ suitors to show them that they approve of them proposing. And it’s so delicious that you’ll make it again and again, well after the wedding happens!
Traditionally, the Ischian dish is braised rabbit, but the Giadzy team tweaked the dish to use chicken to make it easier to prepare at home. And some versions of the dish are served with pasta because the sauce is just too good to leave behind, so the Giadzy team took inspiration from one of the dishes they tried while in Ischia and paired the braised chicken with bucatini.
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To make this “marry me” dish, start by drying and seasoning your chicken thighs before throwing them into a hot pan, skin-side down. Flip and cook for another few minutes before removing the chicken from the pan. Turn down the heat and add in chopped onions, garlic, pepper flakes, oregano, rosemary, thyme, and salt, cooking until fragrant. Then, deglaze the pan with a bit of white wine.
Add the chicken back in and allow everything to simmer for about 15 minutes before adding in your canned tomatoes and returning the sauce to a simmer once more. You can either serve your chicken thighs whole or shred them to work the meat into the sauce. Serve the chicken and sauce over al dente bucatini, and get ready to say “yes” as soon as your partner gets down on one knee after the first bite.
Grab the full recipe here to taste just how delicious this dish is for yourself. It might just become your secret to a long-lasting and happy marriage!
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