Italian
Silvia’s Masterclass
From
Silvia’s Masterclass
season
3
episode
8
Poached chicken in Salsa verde
With
Silvia Colloca
Gently poached chicken sliced over Italian salsa verde of parsley, capers and anchovy.
PREP
10
MINS
SERVES
4
About this recipe
Silvia Colloca's chicken breasts gently poached in aromatic stock until the meat stays juicy and tender, then sliced over a sharp green salsa of parsley, capers and anchovy. Italian summer food, the kind that lands cold on the plate but tastes alive. Make extra salsa.
The Italian salsa verde (literally green sauce) is the foundational raw-herb condiment of the Lombard and Veneto repertoires, served with everything from boiled meats (the Milanese bollito misto) to grilled fish to roasted vegetables. The defining ingredients are flat-leaf parsley, capers, anchovies, garlic and olive oil; bread or hard-boiled egg yolk sometimes added for body, lemon or wine vinegar for brightness.
Gentle poaching (the chicken cooked just below a simmer, around 75 to 80 degrees) is the technique that keeps the breast meat tender. A rolling boil seizes the proteins and turns the chicken stringy; the gentle poach allows the meat to set evenly through with the centre remaining moist. The aromatic vegetables in the poaching liquid (celery, shallot, garlic, parsley stems, lemon zest, bay leaf) build a quick stock that can be reused for risotto or soup the next day.
The salsa verde itself benefits from sitting for an hour before serving; the herbs hydrate, the garlic mellows, the flavours marry. Chop the parsley by hand with a sharp knife rather than blitzing in a food processor (which bruises the leaves and turns them grey-green). The chicken sliced thin against the grain, fanned across the plate, salsa spooned generously over the top. A cold glass of pinot grigio or a chilled rosé; a crusty bread alongside.
Ingredients
For the chicken and broth:
2 boneless, Bare Birds skinless Chicken Breast fillets (about 300–400 g total), kept around 2 cm thick
2 litres water
1 celery stalk, roughly chopped
1 French shallot, halved
1 garlic clove, crushed
1x bunch flat-leaf parsley, stalks only, save the leaves for later
a strip of lemon zest
1 bay leaf
salt and freshly ground black pepper
For the salsa verde:
1 small bunch flat-leaf parsley, leaves only
1 garlic clove
1 heaped teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon Mazzetti Apple Cider Vinegar
1 tablespoon capers
80 ml Monini Organic extra virgin Olive Oil
salt and freshly ground black pepper
Essteele - Per Silvia
Method
Place the water, celery, shallot, garlic, parsley stems, lemon zest, bay leaf, a generous pinch of salt and a few cracks of pepper into a medium saucepan. Bring to a gentle simmer over medium heat.
Lower in the chicken breasts. Keep the heat at a very gentle simmer and cook for 5 minutes, uncovered.
Turn off the heat, cover the pot with a lid, and let the chicken sit in the hot broth for 1 hour. The residual heat will gently poach the chicken, leaving it juicy and tender.
While the chicken is poaching, prepare the salsa verde. In a food processor or with a stick blender, blitz the parsley leaves, garlic, mustard, capers, apple cider vinegar, olive oil and a pinch of salt until finely chopped. If required, add more olive oil until you have a thick, spoonable sauce. Adjust salt and pepper to taste. Move to a small bowl.
Once the chicken is ready, lift it from the broth and slice it. Serve warm or at room temperature, generously spooned with the salsa verde, a drizzle of apple cider vinegar, and extra virgin olive oil and finish with a crack of pepper.
Notes : This dish is wonderful served with crusty bread, boiled potatoes or a simple salad. The broth left behind is full of flavour—strain and save it for soups, risottos, or to cook grains like farro or rice.
Silvia Colloca
Silvia Colloca is an Italian-born food writer, opera singer, TV producer and host. She has authored seven cookbooks, including Silvia’s Cucina, Made in Italy, La Dolce Vita, Love, Laugh, Bake!, Simple Italian (2024), and The Italian Homecook (2025), all published by Penguin.
Silvia’s most recent television work is Silvia’s Italian Masterclass (Channel 10), with its latest season airing in October 2025. The series is currently funding for Season 4. She has also appeared as a special guest on SBS’s Mastermind in 2025. Her earlier TV credits include the SBS Food series Cook Like an Italian, which has screened internationally across three seasons, as well as Made in Italy with Silvia Colloca (SBS), filmed on location in the Le Marche and Abruzzo regions and earning her a 2015 TV WEEK Logie Award nomination for Best New Talent. She also co-wrote, co-produced and hosted the ABC prime-time series Silvia’s Italian Table in 2016.
Outside of food and television, Silvia has enjoyed a career as a celebrated opera singer and actress. In 2022, she released her debut solo classical album with Universal Music, which topped the Classical Charts for over 20 weeks. That same year, she performed with Andrea Bocelli at his Sydney concert, a once-in-a-lifetime experience.
Inspiration Starts Here
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