By Dr Joe
The chicken cacciatore is one dish I prepare every once in a blue moon. I hadn’t prepared it for about 5 months or so and it needed a comeback. It’s always worth it.
Anyway, the kids back from University and lazing around the house gave me a little nudge the other day.
Dad…Yep, I answered.
“You haven’t prepared the chicken cacciatore for a good number of months now. Don’t you think the time is right and ripe for it?” asked my eldest son.
I thought…Yeah, why not. I will try and do it up for you kids and at the same time share the recipe on the blog for the greater good. I answered.
So off I went from my busy schedule and that’s how the chicken cacciatore recipe you see here now got here.
It’s a lovely dish and you can do whatever you like with it. It’s got a wide range of application. The chicken cacciatore is just a rich sauce designed with only one thing in mind.
> To blow your socks off. I love it. My children love it. My wife loves it. Hopefully you too will love it.
I love the chicken cacciatore so much I don’t prepare it often to maintain that fondness I have for it. Wierd, I know.
So, what do we need to get the chicken cacciatore to the dining table?
Before I list the ingredients, I should mention that the quantity of ingredients you see below serves 5. Yep, you guessed it. It’s a big pot. Why go small when you can go large.
Ingredients:
Rapeseed oil X 10 tbs
Red Onions X 2
Garlic X 4 cloves (crushed)
Mushrooms X 600 g
Celery X 3 sticks
Sweet peppers (Bell peppers) X 2
Red Wine
Tomato Passata X 1000 g (2 Cans)
Tomato Puree X 280 g (2 tubes)
Chicken X 5 servings
Roast peppers X 285 g
Olives X 340 g
Thyme
White pepper
Vegetable stock X 3 cubes
Salt
Don’t be scared!
Yes, it does look like a laundry list of ingredients but this chicken cacciatore recipe is not as daunting as it looks on face value. It’s very easy. We want flavours and that’s what you are going to get. And you are going to love it once you put together what is essentially a multi-purpose tomato-based super sauce.
One more thing: I prefer to boil my chicken before starting the preparation. I like my chicken meat to fall off the bone. If that’s not your thing, then you can add the chicken directly to cook in the richness of the cacciatore. Your choice.
How To Make The Chicken Cacciatore
>> Slice up your mushrooms, red onions, celery, sweet peppers (bell peppers) and crush your garlic.
>> Into a large cooking pot, pour the rapeseed oil and heat it up gently.
>> Add the sliced red onions and crushed garlic to the oil. Stir intermittently until tender.
>> Add the mushrooms, sweet peppers (bell peppers) and celery. Stir and allow to cook for 3 minutes, stirring every now and again.
>> Now pour in the red wine. I use about 180 ml of the wine. Obviously you may add as much wine as you are comfortable with but bear in mind, you will be needing more tomato passata and tomato puree, the more wine you add. Allow to cook for 3 minutes.
>> Add the tomato passata and the tomato puree and stir together very well. Allow to cook for 5 minutes. I use that much tomato passata and tomato puree because I want the finished product to be quite thick in consistency. Judge for yourself if you need more tomato. If you do, add more puree as it has a better thickening effect.
>> Now add the previously boiled chicken. Stir. If you want to lighten the cacciatore because you feel it is too thick (I like it thick), you may use the broth from the cooked chicken for that purpose, otherwise leave well alone. Let cook for 5 minutes. If you are using raw chicken, you need to cook a little longer.
>> Add the roast peppers, olives and the seasoning agents – vegetable stock, thyme, white pepper and salt to taste. Stir.
>> Let cook for another 5 minutes. Turn off heat.
That’s it.
Your gorgeous chicken cacciatore is ready.
What can you do with this dish? Anything really. You are only limited by your imagination. If you are very carnivorous, you can eat it as a stew. But most people aren’t that carnivorous, so you will need to combine it with anything you so choose. Mixed veg, any veg, pasta, bulgur wheat, couscous, veggie salad, potatoes, brown rice, quinoa, beans etc, etc.
Your choice. It’s so tasty, the chicken cacciatore will go with anything you fancy. Enjoy!
Suggested reading:
The #1 Muscle That FIXES Ugly Forward Head Posture, Text Neck & Upper Back Pain
Dr. Joe