Chicken cacciatore, an Italian hunter’s style chicken, simmered in a tomato sauce with onions, garlic and white wine.
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Chicken cacciatore is an Italian dish of stewed chicken in tomato sauce and often includes wild mushrooms. It is often referred to as the word “hunter style”. Cacciatore means “hunter” in Italian.
When I first experimented with this recipe, I made it without the mushrooms or peppers that are often found in chicken cacciatore. I’ve been enjoying the mushroom and pepper dish ever since, so I’ve updated the recipe to reflect those additions.
If you prefer it without one or both of these ingredients, feel free to omit them. Many people also add green olives or capers, which would also be a great addition.
Chicken cacciatore (chicken hunter’s style)
This recipe calls for the addition of wine, which is traditional. It adds flavor. If you have a diet restriction that prohibits wine, just skip it.
ingredients
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1 (4 pounds) chickencut into portion pieces, trimmed of excess fat (or 3 1/2 to 4 pounds chicken thighs, bones and skin)
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Salt
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2 tablespoon Extra virgin olive oil
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1 medium Onionthinly sliced root to tip, about 1 1/2 cups
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1 red or green paprikacored, sliced into 1/4 inch wide slices
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8th ounces Cremini mushroomsthick cut
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2 cloves garlicthinly sliced
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1/3 Cup white or red wine
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2 1/2 to 3 cups peeled and chopped, firm ripe tomatoeswith their juices or 1 (28 ounce) can plum tomatoes in their juice
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1/2 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
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1 teaspoon dried thyme (or 2 teaspoons fresh, chopped)
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1 teaspoon oregano (or 2 teaspoons fresh, chopped)
method
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Roast Chicken:
Pat the chicken dry. Season with salt on all sides. Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.
Working in batches so you don’t overcrowd the pan, place the chicken pieces in the pan, skin-side down. Fry until nicely browned, about 5 minutes, then flip and lightly brown the other side.
Place chicken in a bowl, set aside. Drain all but 2 tablespoons of the rendered fat. If you have less than 2 Tbsp of fat in the pan, add more olive oil until you have about that much oil in the pan.
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Sauté onions, peppers, mushrooms, garlic:
Add the sliced onions, peppers and mushrooms to the pan. Increase the heat to medium-high.
Cook until onions are translucent and mushrooms have released most of their moisture, stirring frequently, about 10 minutes.
Add the garlic to the pan and continue frying for a minute.
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Deglaze pan with wine, add tomatoes, spices:
Add the wine and scrape off any browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Simmer until the wine is reduced by half. Add the tomatoes.
Stir in the pepper, thyme, oregano, and about a teaspoon of salt. Test and taste to adapt. Cover and let simmer for another 5 minutes.
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Return chicken to pan, partially cover, cook until tender:
Place the chicken pieces, skin-side up, on top of the tomatoes and onions. Reduce the heat and cover the pan with the lid slightly ajar.
Cook the chicken over low heat, turning and basting from time to time. Cook until thighs are tender, about 30 to 40 minutes.
| nutritional information (per serving) | |
|---|---|
| 773 | calories |
| 44g | Fat |
| 13g | carbohydrates |
| 75g | protein |
