Chicken Cacciatore
We all love a roast chicken for dinner. Like my Lemon Curd Roast Chicken. It’s delicious and homey, but that whole chicken can be so much more. Here’s a great example. Go a head and buy it already cut up ,most grocery stores sell whole chicken that way. The work is done for you! You just have to cook it up! If its not worth the premium to you, by all means break down that whole chicken yourself. I’m not that talented, so I’ll take the help where I can get it!
This dish refers to chicken cooked “hunter style.” Traditionally it was made with rabbit, but nowadays chicken cacciatore has become an Italian staple. Again, as with many Italian dishes, there are many variations. I have made it simply here, but many versions also add mushrooms. I didn’t this time, but I have in the past and feel free to do so if you like. Some Italian black olives would also be delicious!
In this dish I cut my veggies very chunky and rough. I’ll tell you its because I want the dish to look rustic. That’s partially true. It really does help the appearance of the dish. But, If I’m being honest, bigger chunks make it easier when my kinds complain to pick out. Grrr.
Also, as I said earlier, I use a whole chicken here. The skin on the chicken and the dark meat really help with the flavor of the sauce. If you prefer white meat, I suggest using bone in chicken breast to add depth.
Speaking of sauce, the sauce here is really rich. When the flavors of the veggies, chicken and wine combine, the result is a hearty sauce for a cool night.This version of chicken cacciatore makes a decent amount of sauce. I do this so I can serve the chicken with pasta or rice. Plus extra sauce to sop up with some crusty Italian bread is always a good idea…
I hope this recipe will make you rethink that boring chicken dinner..
Chicken Cacciatore
Ingredients
- 1 4-5 pound whole chicken cut into pieces
- 2 bell peppers seeded and rough chopped
- 2 carrots peeled and rough chopped
- 1 large onion peeled and rough chopped
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1 28 ounce can tomatoes whatever kind you like
- 1 cup dry red wine
- 1 tablespoon flour
- 1 bay leaf
- 2 teaspoons poultry seasoning
- 1 teaspoon thyme fresh or dry
- salt & pepper
- water
Instructions
- Season chicken with salt & pepper on both sides.
- In a large saute pan, heat olive oil over medium heat. Brown chicken on both sides. Remove the chicken from pan.
- While chicken is browning, rough chop the peppers, carrots and onion. and season with salt and pepper.
- After removing the chicken from the pan, add 1 tablespoon of butter and the veggies and cook for about five minutes over medium heat. Once the veggies have cooked down a bit, sprinkle them with 1 tablespoon of flour and gently mix.
- After the flour has been mixed with the veggies, add 1 cup dry red wine and reduce the liquid by half.
- Add the tomatoes and fill the tomato can up 1/4 of the way with water. Make sure to gently roll the water in the can to pick up any remaining tomato in the can. Add the water to the pan. Add the poultry seasoning and the bay leaf. Stir to combine.
- Add the chicken back to the pan. Drop the heat to a high simmer, cover and cook the chicken about 45 -60 minutes, or until the chicken has cooked through and is no longer pink. If you want the sauce to thicken up some more, uncover the chicken the last 10-15 minutes of cooking.
- Check the sauce for seasoning. Remove chicken and sauce to a serving dish (or leave in the pan- rustic and all that) and top with thyme. Serve over rice or pasta with crusty bread.
