Chicken cacciatore

Name: Chicken cacciatore
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 1 h 5 min
Total time: 1 h 25 min
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: Italian
Ingredients: 8 bone-in chicken thighs, skin on, about 1.2 kg in total; 2 tbsp olive oil; 1 onion, sliced; 1 red pepper, deseeded and sliced; 200 g chestnut mushrooms, thickly sliced; 3 clove garlic, sliced; 2 sprig rosemary; 150 ml dry red wine; 1 can chopped tomatoes, 400 g; 1 tbsp tomato paste; 60 g black olives, pitted; 2 tbsp flat-leaf parsley, chopped; salt and black pepper

1 h 25
Prep 20 min
Cook 1 h 5
Serves 4
easy

Start cooking

Bone-in chicken thighs browned, then braised with tomatoes, peppers, mushrooms, rosemary and red wine into a rustic, deeply savoury stew.

Method

1
Pat the chicken dry with kitchen paper and season it all over.
2
Heat the oil in the casserole over medium-high heat and brown the chicken, skin side down first, until the skin is deep golden, then turn and brown the other side.
3
Lift the chicken onto a plate and pour off all but about 2 tablespoons of the fat.
4
Add the onion and pepper and cook until they start to soften.
5
Add the mushrooms and cook until they have released their liquid and begun to brown.
6
Stir in the garlic and rosemary and cook until fragrant.
7
Pour in the wine and let it bubble until reduced by half.
8
Stir in the tomatoes, tomato paste and a splash of water and season. Return the chicken skin side up, with the skin above the sauce.
9
Cover and simmer gently until the chicken is very tender and the juices run clear.
10
Uncover, add the olives and simmer until the sauce has thickened.
11
Remove the rosemary stalks, scatter over the parsley and serve.

Notes

Cacciatore means hunter's style, and versions vary across Italy. Some use white wine, and some leave out the tomatoes.
Serve with crusty bread, creamy polenta or pasta to soak up the sauce.
Like most braises, it tastes even better the next day.

Equipment

Large flameproof casserole or deep frying pan with a lid, Tongs, Wooden spoon

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