March 11, 2011

Chicken Cacciatore the Real Way

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Undoubtedly you've had chicken cacciatore before. It's a pretty common dish, although it has a lot of variations. A quick Google search shows it done in a variety of ways, served over pasta, on it's own, etc. Generally speaking, if it's chicken in a tomato base with mushrooms and other vegetables, it's chicken cacciatore. The familiarity of all those flavors makes it a very comforting dish, although not necessarily "gourmet."

I don't need gourmet. Just need chicken!
This recipe is simple yet delicious. It's got all the basics you'd expect to find in your mom's chicken cacciatore, but it's preparation and the use of superior ingredients (e.g., portobello mushrooms vs. regular white mushrooms) amp it up closer to the gourmet level.

Making the Dish

2 cloves garlic, minced
1 branch rosemary, leaves only, minced
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 cup evoo
4 pieces chicken (thigh/drumstick)
1 yellow onion, coarsely chopped
1/2 lb portobello mushrooms, cut into 1 in cubes
2 strips thick cut bacon
2 celery ribs, diced
1 cup basic tomato sauce
1/2 cup white wine
1/2 cup chicken stock
Hot pepper flakes (optional)
Pinch of sugar (optional)



The first thing you'll want to do is prepare your marinade to let the chicken soak up some flavor while you're preparing the rest of your ingredients. Mince up some rosemary and garlic, and add in about half a cup of olive oil. Stir together until a sort of paste is formed, and then add a touch of salt and pepper to taste. Place your chicken in a bowl and coat with the paste, making sure to get it covered entirely. Let it sit in the fridge while you do the rest.

Chicken marinating in seasoning paste


This is one that has a lot of different ingredients, all diced up, so get that out of the way now. Dice up your portobello's, celery, onion, garlic, and bacon and set them aside.

Chopped up bacon. 


Once you've got everything chopped up, it's time to brown your chicken. Remove it from the paste and let the excess drip off. Heat some olive oil in a large dutch oven until it's smoking, and then add in your chicken pieces, searing it and getting it nice and golden brown. Flip and do the other side as well, and once all sides are browned, remove from the dutch oven and set aside.

Browned chicken, resting on a paper towel. 
In the same delicious mixture you've just created, add your chopped veggies and sauté until softened. Once softened, add in your wine, and tomato sauce, mix, and then bring to a boil.

Adding in the cooking wine to the veggie mixture. 

Return the chicken to the mixture and make sure it is submerged. Then, cover and simmer for 15 - 20 minutes until the chicken is cooked through. 






Once it's done cooking, you can take it out and put it in a warm bowl, topped with sauce. 


The Result
What you'll have on your plate is an extremely flavorful chicken in a mix of delicious, comforting, sauce with simmered vegetables. It's certainly a simple dish, nothing fancy, but it hits the spot and does so with a little pizzaz.



Give it a try and let us know what you think.

7 comments:

  1. Oh that looks good!!!!!!!!

    http://emmaobarnett.blogspot.com

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  2. Definitely comfort food. Looks really good. I will have to try this soon. Thanks for posting!

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  3. I love the cat- Sending your recipes to my husband, he's the cook.

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  4. Thanks all! Let us know how it goes if you try it out at home :)

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  5. OMG, this food looks so good, i almost wanna cry, i dunno where to start, i'm gonna try them all. You do good work, Kudos!!

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  6. thnx for posting, what a fantastic blog

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  7. Great blog. Thanks to Gojee for referring me. I just wanted to ask again, where do you add the bacon to saute? After the chicken has been browned? Add bacon then the veggies?

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