Chicken Cacciatore

Serves 4

This is an Italian classic that’s hard not to love. It’s essentially a braise that’s done on the stovetop that includes a lush and deep-flavored tomato sauce and slow-cooked chicken. Simple ingredients done right.

Cacciatore is translates as ‘hunter’ and would be a meal comprised of whatever game or foul was killed that day. It predates tomatoes in Italy but it’s hard to imagine it without it.

I used skin-on semi-boneless chicken legs here (I deboned the thigh), but any cut of chicken will do. Use skinless or skin-on here, but if you include the skin, cook that first and pour off the grease so you don’t get a fatty sauce. Because I got a nice crisp on the skin, I didn’t drown the leg in the sauce, but feel free to bury it in the sauce for a more stew-like meal.

This is a fairly classic tomato sauce for this dish, using red pepper, diced canned tomatoes, quartered mushrooms and a sofrito of carrots, celery and onion. This can be served as it or over pasta. I served mine over polenta. Make this to your liking and with what you have on hand. Enjoy!

Pair with...

I recently had a wine from Sardinia that is a great pairing for this recipe. That wine is Cannonau. This red is known otherwise as Grenache or Garnacha and has a ripe, full, fruity profile. It has little acidity and low tannins, showing instead strawberry and floral notes and a long finish.

Ingredients

4 chicken legs
2 T olive oil
1 small onion, minced
1 small carrot, minced
1 celery stalk, minced
1 red pepper, sliced
2 garlic cloves, minced
½ cup red or white wine
8-oz cremini mushrooms, quartered
1 28-oz can diced tomatoes, with juice
Sprigs of thyme
1 bay leaf
Salt
2 tablespoons fresh minced Italian parsley, for garnish

Preparation

Season the chicken with salt and pepper.
Over medium heat, cook the chicken for 5 minutes on each side.
Transfer the chicken pieces to a plate and reserve.
Pour the fat off from the pan and discard.
Add oil to the pan and cook the onion, carrot and celery for 5 minutes.
Add the mushrooms and peppers and cook for 5-10 minutes.
Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute.
Deglaze the pan with wine and cook for a few minutes.
Add the tomatoes, thyme, bay leaf and 2 t of salt. Cook for 10 minutes.
Nestle the chicken pieces in the tomato sauce. Cover and simmer over medium-low heat for 30 minutes, until the chicken is tender.
Remove the bay leaf and thyme stems. Adjust salt to taste.
Serve over pasta, polenta, rice or all by itself with some crusty bread.

Chris Chisholm is a Certified Specialist of Wine and a graduate of Boston University Wine Studies and Wine Making programs. He is also a graduate of Cook Street School of Culinary Arts in Denver, CO. He has worked as a personal chef and chef instructor.

If you have any questions, email Chris at chris@snugharborwine.com. You can also follow Chris on Instagram @winechefchris for more delicious food photos!