Classic Chicken Cacciatore Food

HUNTER'S CHICKEN STEW (POLLO ALLA CACCIATORA)

Steps:

• Chicken cacciatora seems to be reasonably well known in Britain because it's the classic pre-packed dish you find in Italian food ranges in supermarkets (which, to be honest, never taste of much). When you get the real deal cooked at home with love and passion it's a totally different experience. It's a simple combination of flavours that just works really well. Cacciatore means 'hunter', so this is obviously the type of food that a hunter's wife cooks for her fella when he gets home from a hard morning spent in the countryside. This is also a great dish for big parties, as it looks after itself in the oven. In the picture I've made it for about 12 people.
• Season the chicken pieces with salt and freshly ground black pepper and put them into a bowl. Add the bay leaves and rosemary sprigs and the crushed clove of garlic and cover with the wine. Leave to marinate for at least an hour, but preferably overnight in the fridge.
• Preheat your oven to 180ºC/350ºF/gas 4. Drain the chicken, reserving the marinade, and pat dry with kitchen paper. Dust the chicken pieces with flour and shake off any excess. Heat an ovenproof pan, add a splash of olive oil, fry the chicken pieces until browned lightly all over and put to one side.
• Place the pan back on the heat and add the sliced garlic. Fry gently until golden brown, then add the anchovies, olives, tomatoes (broken up with a wooden spoon) and the chicken pieces with their reserved marinade. Bring to the boil, cover with a lid or a double thickness layer of foil and bake in the preheated oven for 1½ hours.
• Skim off any oil that's collected on top of the sauce, then stir, taste and add a little salt and pepper if necessary. Remove the bay leaves and rosemary sprigs, and serve with a salad, or some cannellini beans, and plenty of Chianti.

ITALIAN CHICKEN CACCIATORE

Steps:

• Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a skillet over medium heat and cook onion, stirring often, until soft and translucent, about 5 minutes. Transfer to a pot.
• Combine flour, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper in a large bowl. Toss chicken thighs in the flour mixture until evenly coated.
• Heat remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil in the skillet over medium heat, add chicken thighs, and brown on one side, without turning, for 5 minutes. Turn and cook until browned on the other side, about 5 minutes more. Transfer browned chicken thighs to the pot.
• Pour white wine into the skillet; bring to a boil. Stir to loosen all the browned bits of chicken and flavors in the skillet pour into the pot. Add diced tomatoes, tomato paste, and sugar; season with salt and pepper. Add as much chicken stock as needed to cover the chicken. Cover pot and simmer over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until chicken is no longer pink in the center, about 45 minutes.
• Stir in olives, parsley, and basil. Stir to heat through.

CLASSIC CHICKEN CACCIATORE

Steps:

• Coat chicken with flour. In 12-inch skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat. Cook chicken in oil 15 to 20 minutes or until brown on all sides; drain.
• Cut bell pepper and onions crosswise in half; cut each half into fourths.
• Stir bell pepper, onions and remaining ingredients except cheese into chicken in skillet. Heat to boiling; reduce heat. Cover and simmer 30 to 40 minutes or until juice of chicken is clear when thickest part is cut to bone (at least 165°F). Serve with cheese.

CHICKEN CACCIATORE

Steps:

• Season chicken with salt and pepper.
• Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a heavy cast iron skillet. Sear chicken on both sides until golden, about 3-4 minutes each side. Remove from skillet and set aside.
• Add remaining oil to the pan. Sauté the onion until transparent, about 3-4 minutes. Add in garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the peppers, carrot, mushrooms and herbs; cook for 5 minutes until vegetables begin to soften.
• Pour in the wine, scraping up browned bits from the bottom of the skillet. Cook until wine is reduced, about 2 minutes.
• Add crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, Roma tomatoes and chill flakes. Season with salt and pepper to your tastes. Return chicken pieces to the skillet and continue to cook over stove top OR in the oven following the instructions below.

CHICKEN CACCIATORE

Steps:

• Heat oil in large skillet on medium heat. Add chicken; sprinkle evenly with 1/2 tsp. of the salt and 1/4 tsp. of the black pepper. Cook until browned on both sides. Remove chicken from skillet; cover to keep warm. Add mushrooms, onions, green pepper and garlic to drippings in skillet; cook and stir 5 minutes or until onions are tender.
• Stir in tomatoes, tapioca, thyme, bay leaf, remaining 2 tsp. salt and remaining 1/4 tsp. pepper. Bring to boil, stirring frequently.
• Add chicken. Reduce heat to low; cover. Simmer 30 minutes or until chicken is cooked through. Remove and discard bay leaf.

CHICKEN CACCIATORE

Steps:

• Remove the chicken pieces from the pan and set them aside, leaving the oil behind in the pan. Add more oil if needed.

CHICKEN CACCIATORE

Steps:

• Sprinkle the chicken pieces with 1 teaspoon of each salt and pepper. Dredge the chicken pieces in the flour to coat lightly.
• In a large heavy saute pan, heat the oil over a medium-high flame. Add the chicken pieces to the pan and saute just until brown, about 5 minutes per side. If all the chicken does not fit in the pan, saute it in 2 batches. Transfer the chicken to a plate and set aside. Add the bell pepper, onion and garlic to the same pan and saute over medium heat until the onion is tender, about 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Add the wine and simmer until reduced by half, about 3 minutes. Add the tomatoes with their juice, broth, capers and oregano. Return the chicken pieces to the pan and turn them to coat in the sauce. Bring the sauce to a simmer. Continue simmering over medium-low heat until the chicken is just cooked through, about 30 minutes for the breast pieces, and 20 minutes for the thighs.
• Using tongs, transfer the chicken to a platter. If necessary, boil the sauce until it thickens slightly, about 3 minutes. Spoon off any excess fat from atop the sauce. Spoon the sauce over the chicken, then sprinkle with the basil and serve.