Chicken Cacciatore (Part 2 )

Deliciously comforting Chicken Cacciatore; wine marinated chicken, braised with onion in an intoxicating broth. Serve with mashed potatoes and crusty bread.

The word Cacciatore means hunter in Italian. And since Pat, my husband, was leaving this weekend to do some coyote hunting, I wanted to send him off with a stick-to-your-ribs, belly warming, home cooked meal.

So what better than to make a yummy chicken dish soaked in wine, and then slowly cooked in wine and then served with a glass of wine?

I was surfing the internet when I stumbled upon this recipe. A Jamie Oliver recipe. And what I love most about his recipes is that they are simple… flavorful and rustic. And I love me some rustic! Rustic meals fill your home with such aromas that when your loved one walks in the door they know that a good amount of time and love was put into the making of the meal. And nothing smells better than that! i.e.; The Thanksgiving turkey, Christmas pork tenderloin or the Easter cheesy potatoes.

So the other day I left off with just the marinade, you know the one that smells amazing, the one that tempted me to kick back with the remainder of the bottle and get all warm and fuzzy.

TO Make This Chicken Cacciatore You Will Need:

• 4 pounds of marinated chicken pieces {reserve the marinade and herbs}
• 1 (28 ounce) can of whole peeled plum tomatoes
• 8 ounce bag of cipolline onions, blanched and peeled
• 2 clove of garlic, peeled and sliced
• 6 anchovy fillets
• olive oil

You could play around here some by adding some other ingredients. Jamie Oliver mentioned olives in his recipe; maybe you could add some red bell peppers sliced up or some whole mushrooms?

Don’t be afraid of the chovies! This is strictly for creating a flavor base! You need not to be afraid of it tasting like fish or anything like that. Plus it’s fillets, not whole anchovies, so it’s less gross then right?!

When you read this Pat… sorry I didn’t tell you I put these in there. (My secret is now exposed!).

Have you ever cooked with cipolline onions before? They are the cutest little things, aren’t they? They are like miniature sweet onions. Perfect for cooking whole… and eating whole now that you mention it! But first you must prep these cuties, by blanching.

How To BesT Peel Small Cipolline or Pearl Onions:

See all those paper skins? Well we need to peel them off; and a simple way is to blanch them. Blanching is the process of adding something to some boiling water for a quick minute and then shocking them in ice cold water to stop the cooking process. This in turn leaves the skin soft and peel-able. And you don’t have to put your manicure at risk!

So just dunk them into a pot of boiling water. Wait one minute.

Pull them out with a slotted spoon and…

Plunge them into the awaiting ice bath. brrrr. jk

Peel all of the skins off, leaving the root intact.

I kept the tops on too because they are prettier that way.

Now is a good time to slice up the two cloves of garlic and have them ready.

Also set aside the 6 anchovy fillets. 6 or 7 doesn’t really matter, just don’t ask what those whisker things are, I’m going with fish fibers.

My friends, you now need to be prepared for the beauty about to be bestowed upon your eyes.

wine.soaked.chicken… isn’t it purty?

In batches, remove the chicken and dab off the excess marinade. Reserve those marinating liquids because they will be added into the sauce later on in this recipe. Don’t worry… it’s all good as long as we bring it up to a boil. Promise. 🙂

After you have blotted, (also still working in batches) dredge both sides of the chicken pieces in some all purpose flour and shake off all of the excess. That’s not the most flattering side of the breast now is it? …sorry about that.

Set them onto a clean plate.

Heat up some olive oil over medium-medium high heat in a large, heavy dutch oven. Mine is a 6 quart-er. So make sure it’s a big one and that it also has a heavy lid.

When the oil is hot you will know because the chicken will sizzle when it hits it. If you hear nothing, take it out and wait for it to heat up some more. Still working in batches until all sides are browned, adjusting the heat along the way so you don’t burn the chicken.

gorgeous!

Once you have seared or “browned” the chicken on all sides, then remove to a clean plate. Browning is key in this recipe, for crisping the skin, locking in the juices and making the end result pretty, oh and the flavor too!

Next reduce the heat to medium and toss in the garlic, anchovies and cipolline onions and scrape up the browned bits on the bottom of the pan.

Mash up the anchovies with a wooden spoon and stir it all around until the garlic is toasty, not burned and the onions have a little color.

Add in the can of whole peeled plum tomatoes. Yes they have to be whole and yes they have to be plum!

Mix, stir and smash the whole tomatoes to make a thick and chunky sauce, just try to keep the onions whole mmm-k? 😉

Pour in the reserved marinade along with the bay leaves and the whole rosemary sprigs. The rosemary will cook down and the leaves will fall off the branch/stem and that is why you don’t pull them off before the marinade! See! The stew does it all for you! Hey that rhymed!

Now just bring all of this goodness up to a good boil and nestle the chicken pieces into the sauce and onions.

Kill the heat, place a heavy lid on your dutch oven and stick it into a preheated 350 degree oven for 1 hour and 30 minutes. Maybe check your facebook, take a nap or watch your dvr’d American Idol?

But after that hour and a half you will be soooo excited to pull of that lid, that you won’t be able to contain it!

Because it will look like this…

…and it will smell delicious… and taste delicious too. Promise.

This Chicken Cacciatore will be moist and falling of the bone.

And you will make yourself proud! I paired this with some roasted potatoes that I will post shortly and also with a salad and it all was soul warming for sure! I could have plated this dish but it isn’t as pretty on a plate as it is in the saucy pot, and I wanted to stop snapping photos and get on with the eating!

Now go back and count how many times I said the words “in batches”.

Enjoy! And if you give this Chicken Cacciatore recipe a try, let me know! Snap a photo and tag me on twitter or instagram!

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

No ratings yet

Leave a Review »

Yield: 6 servings

Chicken Cacciatore

Deliciously comforting Chicken Cacciatore; wine marinated chicken, braised with onion in an intoxicating broth. Serve with mashed potatoes and crusty bread.

Prep Time: 20 minutes mins

Cook Time: 1 hour hr 30 minutes mins

Total Time: 1 hour hr 50 minutes mins

Ingredients

• 4 pounds marinated chicken pieces, reserve the marinade and herbs
• 1 (28 ounce) whole peeled plum tomatoes
• 8 ounce bag of cipolline onions, blanched and peeled
• 2 cloves garlic, peeled and sliced
• 6 anchovy fillets
• olive oil, extra light

Equipment

• Lodge EC7OD13 Enameled Cast Iron Oval Dutch Oven, 7-Quart, Oyster White

Instructions 

• Preheat your oven to 350°.
• Remove chicken from marinade and reserve liquids. Pat dry, and dredge in all purpose flour and shake off any excess, place on a clean plate.
• Heat an ovenproof dutch oven over medium-medium high heat, and add two tablespoons of olive oil. When oil is hot (working in batches) brown the chicken on all sides, adjusting the heat so you don't burn the chicken, set aside.
• Reduce the heat to medium and add in the sliced garlic, blanched cipolline onions and anchovies. Break up the anchovies with a wooden spoon. When the garlic is fragrant add in the whole can of tomatoes, breaking up those as well.
• Add in the reserved marinade and bring to a boil. Nestle in the chicken pieces and cover. Bake in a preheated oven for 11/2 hours.
• When finished in the oven; skim off any fat or oil that accumulates on the top, taste the sauce and add any salt and pepper you think it needs.
• Remove the bay and rosemary stems and serve chicken with a spoonful of the sauce over top.

Notes

Keep in mind, the flavor of wine and tomato are beautiful, but for less of a wine-y taste follow my advice in the marinade recipe.

Serving: 1g, Calories: 585kcal, Carbohydrates: 5g, Protein: 43g, Fat: 43g, Saturated Fat: 12g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 9g, Monounsaturated Fat: 18g, Trans Fat: 1g, Cholesterol: 254mg, Sodium: 204mg, Potassium: 602mg, Fiber: 1g, Sugar: 2g, Vitamin A: 204IU, Vitamin C: 3mg, Calcium: 37mg, Iron: 2mg

Author: Laurie McNamara

Course: Mains & Entrees

Cuisine: Italian