culinary review
   
   

Italian Chicken Cacciatore

Last Modified: 03/25/08
First Published: 10/27/07
Views: 10519
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Views: 10519
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General Info
Servings: 6
Total Cost: $11.47
Cost Per Serving: $1.91
Total Calories: 2,506
Calories/Serving: 418
IngredientVolumeMassCostCalorie
Vegetable Oil 2 Tablespoons 28.00 Grams $0.06 240
Flour, White Unbleached All Purpose (for dusting) 1/2 Cup 2.13 Ounces $0.07 228
Chicken, Thighs, with Bone (10 thighs) * 2,270.00 Grams $5.00 1,530
Onion, Yellow Diced 1 Cup 160.00 Grams $0.35 67
Garlic 3 Teaspoons 8.50 Grams $0.04 13
Tomato Paste 2 Tablespoons 33.00 Grams $0.12 25
Bay Leaf * 2.00 Grams $0.02 7
Oregano Leaves, Dried 2 Teaspoons 2.00 Grams $0.03 0
Thyme, Dried 2 Teaspoons 2.80 Grams $0.74 8
Wine, Red Table 1 Cup 236.00 Grams $2.20 168
Tomatoes, Diced, Generic Can * 28.00 Ounces $1.47 158
Chicken Broth 2 Cups 486.00 Grams $0.22 24
Capers 2 Tablespoons 30.00 Grams $0.95 1
Salt, Table 1 1/2 Teaspoon 9.00 Grams $0.01 0
Sugar, White Granulated 2 Teaspoons 8.33 Grams $0.01 32
Vinegar, Balsamic 2 Teaspoons 10.00 Grams $0.18 7

Chicken cacciatore is a classic Italian dish with chicken cooked in a savory tomato sauce,chicken_cacciatore served with pasta. Cacciatore refers to a “hunting style” meal, and traditionally includes mushrooms, onions, herbs and wine. Here we utilize chicken thighs since chicken with bones provides more flavor. Often, chicken cacciatore is made with a whole chicken and its various parts.

This is a very simple and truly delicious meal. It’s even better if you make it a day in advance and let the flavors come together. This type of meal also works excellent to freeze, perfect to thaw on a cold day when you don’t feel like cooking. We didn’t utilize mushrooms in this recipe, but feel free to add some. Crimini mushrooms would be nice and flavorful, or regular button mushrooms would work fine as well.

6-8 servings:

Ingredients:

  • olive oil
  • flour
  • 10 chicken thighs (or a combination of thighs, drumsticks and breasts)
  • 1 large onion, chopped
  • 3 garlic cloves, minced
  • 2 tablespoons tomato paste
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 2 teaspoons oregano
  • 2 teaspoons thyme
  • 1 cup red wine
  • 2 14-oz cans diced tomatoes
  • 2 cups of broth (or water + 1 bullion cube)
  • 2 tbsp capers
  • 1 ½ teaspoons salt
  • 2 teaspoons sugar
  • 2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar.
chickenflour
chicken

Method:

Wash the chicken well (keep the skin on), dry it and coat it in flour. Salt and pepper both sides, and start sautéing the chicken in some olive oil, skin side down. Sautee the chicken until it gets some nice color, then turn it, cook for about 10 minutes. Cook the chicken in batches, and then move it to a plate to cool.

onionchicken_wine
tomato_sauce

When all the chicken is cooked, remove the fat, but leave about 2 tablespoons. Sautee the onion in the chicken fat until translucent, about 10 minutes. Then add the garlic, the tomato paste, the bay leaf and the herbs. Cook for a few minutes, then add the wine. Let the wine reduce for a few minutes, then add the tomatoes and the broth.

chickenchicken_cacciatore chicken_cacciatore

Remove the skin from the chicken, then add the pieces to the sauce. Let come to a simmer and cook for about 20 minutes. At this point add the capers, the salt, the sugar and the balsamic vinegar. Continue to simmer on low heat for another 10 minutes or longer. If the sauce is too thin at this point, then remove the chicken to a plate and continue to simmer the sauce for as long as it takes to reach your desired thickness (probably about 10 min).

When you are ready to serve, add the chicken to the sauce and serve either with pasta, or why not some rice or potatoes for a different approach…