Chicken Cacciatore
Updated April 13, 2020

- Total Time
- 1 hour 45 minutes
- Rating
- Comments
- Read comments
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Ingredients
- ½ounce dried mushrooms, like porcini (½ cup)
- 2tablespoons olive oil
- Salt and freshly ground pepper
- 6 to 8skinless chicken legs and/or thighs (thighs can be boneless)
- 1small onion, minced
- 1small carrot, minced
- 3ribs celery, minced
- 2large garlic cloves, minced
- 2tablespoons fresh minced Italian parsley
- 1heaped teaspoon minced fresh rosemary, or ½ teaspoon crumbled dried rosemary
- ¼teaspoon red pepper flakes
- ½pound mushrooms, trimmed and sliced
- ½cup red wine
- 128-ounce can chopped tomatoes in juice, pulsed in a food processor
Preparation
- Step 1
Place the dried mushrooms in a bowl or heat-proof glass measuring cup and pour on 2 cups boiling water. Let sit 15 to 30 minutes, until mushrooms are softened. Drain through a strainer lined with cheesecloth or a paper towel and set over a bowl. Rinse the mushrooms in several changes of water, squeeze out excess water and chop coarsely. Set aside. Measure out 1 cup of the soaking liquid and set aside.
- Step 2
Heat 1 tablespoon of the olive oil over medium-high heat in a large, heavy nonstick skillet or Dutch oven. Season the chicken with salt and pepper and brown, in batches, for 5 minutes on each side. Transfer the chicken pieces to a bowl as they are done. Pour the fat off from the pan and discard.
- Step 3
Turn the heat down to medium, add the remaining oil and the onion, carrot and celery, as well as a pinch of salt. Cook, stirring, until the vegetables begin to soften, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic, parsley, rosemary, red pepper flakes and salt to taste. Cover, turn the heat to low and cook, stirring often, for 5 minutes, until the mixture is soft and aromatic. Stir in the fresh and dried mushrooms, turn the heat back up to medium, and cook, stirring, until the mushrooms are just tender, about 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Stir in the wine and bring to a boil. Cook, stirring, for a few minutes, until the wine has reduced by about half. Add the tomatoes and salt and pepper to taste. Cook over medium heat for 5 to 10 minutes, stirring often, until the tomatoes have cooked down a little and smell fragrant. Stir in the mushroom soaking liquid that you set aside.
- Step 4
Return the chicken pieces to the pan and stir so that they are well submerged in the tomato mixture. Cover and simmer over medium heat for 30 minutes, until the chicken is tender. Taste, adjust seasoning and serve with pasta or rice.
Private Notes
Comments
If you use both fresh and dried mushrooms, you get multiple layers of flavor and texture. And if you saute your fresh mushrooms well, until brown and almost crispy, before you add them, then your layers of flavor and texture will be even deeper and more interesting.
Amped up the mushroom, carrot & celery 50% and it was still delicious. (With the additional veg we needed to add a tablespoon of tomato paste, just to keep the consistency correct.)
It took two hours to make this but with how wonderful it came out it was a very rewarding experience. I'm only 19 so I haven't made very many things and it felt cool to make something that tasted like it was gourmet. My mom who normally doesn't have much of an appetite has been going through the leftovers very quickly. This is her favorite meal so I made it for mothers day and im very glad I chose this recipe. Also I replaced the wine with beef broth and again it still tasted amazing.
I learnt to make chicken cacciatore from Dr. Fabio Cappuccini. I will stick to his recipe. Sprinkle salt pepper, and ground up rosemary leaves (0.5 tsp/thigh) onto chicken and rub well. Brown on stove, add garlic between the pieces, let it sizzle, then add chopped up tomatoes. Top with Rosemary sprig. Bake at 425 F, covered for 30 minutes. Finish on stove top till the sauce looks good to you. Garnish with a fresh sprig of rosemary. Serve.
This is a sure fire hit! I use white wine and omit onion due to allergy
The author mentions a variation with adding kale. I've read through this recipe 4 times and see nothing about how much kale, into what size it's to be chopped or when to add it.