Stir It Up: Chicken Cacciatore

“Serve it over pasta or rice and enjoy.”

By Chef David “Smitty” Smith

I was talking to one of the instructors the other day about chicken and he confessed that cacciatore was his absolute favorite chicken dish. I told him I had written a recipe for that dish as one of my articles, and he was all excited to check it out.

After looking through all my archived articles however, I discovered I had done an article on chicken tetrazzini and chicken coq au vin, but not cacciatore. Although they are similar, there are enough differences to warrant the recipe, and since Darren also is one of my fishing buddies and shares driving duties with me, I thought I would get this to him as soon as possible so I can use it as driving leverage come next fishing season. Serve it over pasta or rice and enjoy.

Chicken Cacciatore
1 whole chicken, cut into 10 pieces (2 wings, 2 thighs, 2 drumsticks, 2 breasts, still on the bone and halved width-wise)
1 yellow onion, medium diced
1 red pepper, medium diced
10-12 mushrooms, quartered
2 garlic cloves, diced
1 14.5 oz. can whole tomatoes, cut into large dice
1⁄2 C dry white wine
1⁄2 C chicken broth
1 t oregano
1 t thyme
11⁄2 T fresh basil, rough chopped
2 T oil
2 T butter
1⁄2 C flour
Salt and pepper

Get the oil hot in a heavy skillet. Season the chicken with salt and pepper, dredge with the flour, and brown off on all sides in the skillet. Remove the chicken to a plate and add the butter, onion and red pepper and cook until they start to soften.

Add the garlic and stir in for about half a minute before adding the mushrooms. When the mushrooms start to brown, add the white wine and let reduce by half. Add the tomatoes with the juice, stock, oregano and thyme and bring to a simmer.

Return the chicken to the pan working it down into the sauce, covering it as much as possible, and place the pan into the oven for about 20 to 30 minutes or until the chicken is done. Sprinkle the fresh basil over it and season with salt and pepper to taste.

Trained under Master Chef Anton Flory at Top Notch Resort in Stowe, Vt., Smitty is a personal chef specializing in dinner parties, cooking classes and special events. For more information and archived copies of Stir it Up, visit www.chefsmitty.com. Smitty welcomes your questions and comments at smitty@chefsmitty.com or (530) 412-3598.