Chicken Cacciatore

This hunter-style Italian dish is a beautiful meal to serve to your family or even company. Since the whole dish comes together in one pan, it’s easy to throw together. Serve this dish with polenta, mashed potatoes or even pasta. You’ll want something to soak up all that delicious sauce or should I say gravy since it’s so thick.

Tips:

• If you don’t like chicken on the bone or don’t want the skin on, of course you can do boneless and skinless. The bone and skin do help keep the meat from drying out and adds flavor to the sauce, so the end result will be a little different, but still delicious.

• You can cook this entire recipe a day in advance. To reheat, keep the lid on and gently reheat over a low heat until the chicken is heated through.

• Confession- I love peppers, but I don’t like them in every recipe. This is one of those recipes that I omit the peppers. If you love peppers in your tomato sauce, then add a pepper, diced into the sauce along with the carrots.

Chicken Cacciatore

Serves 6

PREP 20 minutes

COOK 60 minutes

INGREDIENTS

4 chicken thighs, bone-in and skin on

2 chicken breasts, bone-in and skin on

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

3 tablespoons olive oil

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 medium onion, thinly sliced

⅔ cup dry white wine

2 carrots, peeled and diced

8 oz. mushrooms, diced ( I used baby Bellas, but use what you prefer)

1 clove garlic, minced

28-oz can of peeled Italian plum tomatoes in juices

3 tablespoons drained capers

1 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano leaves

1/4 cup coarsely chopped fresh basil leaves

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Dry the chicken pieces. Season with Kosher salt and pepper.

2. Place a large Dutch oven on medium-high heat. While it’s preheating dredge the chicken pieces in flour, shaking off excess.

3. Add oil to the pan then the chicken, skin-side down. Cook the chicken until it has browned thoroughly on both sides. Avoid crowding the pan which will cause steaming. If you need to, do this in batches. Remove browned chicken to a platter while you continue. Chicken will not be fully cooked at this point.

4. Add onions to the Dutch oven. Saute the onions until they are caramelizing, about 5-8 minutes.

5. Deglaze the pan with the wine, scraping the bottom with a wooden spoon to lift up all the fond.

6. Add the chicken back to the Dutch oven along with the carrots, mushrooms, garlic, capers and the tomatoes. Season with salt and pepper. Bring the stew to a simmer, then lower the heat and cover until the chicken is cooked through, about 40 minutes. The meat should be tender and starting to pull away from the bone when done. Flip the chicken a few times while cooking to baste the chicken.

7. Serve the chicken cacciatore family style on a platter with basil sprinkled on top. A bowl of our oven baked polenta or mashed potatoes would be a delicious side! Enjoy.