Chicken Cacciatore

One of the most often cooked ingredients in my kitchen is chicken pieces. Legs and thighs mainly, although I do like Marylands (a combination of both) when I can find them. Apart from being an incredibly economical ingredient, chicken pieces are just so versatile.

As with any kind of meat, it always tastes better when cooked with the bone in. The bone just adds so much flavour to the meat as it cooks. That’s why chicken pieces will always taste better than a lean chicken breast. Better yet, they can cook for long periods of time, just roasting away in the oven, or simmering away in a pot, without fear of overcooking, filling the house with those intoxicating smells that reek of a good meal to come. Comforting, homely.

I like to roast them most often, alongside root vegetables, onions, whole garlic cloves and herbs. Maybe a sprinkle of paprika, dried oregano. Chunks of potato and chopped bacon is good in there too. Chunks of lemon, capsicum and chorizo give it a Spanish twist I like on a summer’s day. Sometimes I roast them over a bed of rice that sucks up the chickeny flavour as it cooks underneath, or add risoni, or other small shaped pasta, in with some stock towards the end of cooking which gives a similar result.

But when I really want comfort food, I make Chicken Cacciatore.

Cacciatore, in Italian, means ‘hunter’ – and this dish was so named because it was created by hunters, or hunter’s wives, from what was caught out on the hunt, usually rabbit or game birds. It is robust, full of complex flavours, and is easy, rough-around-the-edges kind of home cooking. Perfect for a family dinner.

That’s why this recipe had to feature in my book, The Corleone Family Cookbook. It is one of those iconic Italian feel-good meals to share, and was served at the family table in The Godfather movie. So, you know, it’s a meal you really can’t refuse….

It may seem like a lot of ingredients, but honestly, this is very simple to make. The chicken is browned in olive oil, then simmered with a little bacon, chopped vegetables and herbs with red wine and tomato sauce until deliciously tender. Olives are added at the end which become little briny flavour explosions as you eat. 

The sauces begs to be tossed through hot fresh pasta to be eaten alongside the chicken (or like I do, a little of this and that on the fork all at once), making this a complete meal for a large family. Of course, you can just eat it with bread, or a side serve of rib-sticking creamy mashed potato or polenta would warm the soul too. I usually say that a fresh green salad accompanies anything, and please, go for it if that’s your thing, but for me, this dish is just too, too comforting to pair with a crisp acidic salad. I want carbs here. I think you will too.

Oh and seeing as you opened a bottle of wine to pour in with the chicken, you get to finish the rest with the meal. Chin chin, win win. If you don’t want to add wine (which honestly does not make this dish alcoholic as the alcohol bubbles off as the wine reduces) simply use chicken stock instead.

Chicken Cacciatore

Ingredients

Olive oil

1 1/2 kg chicken thighs or legs, bone-in

salt

freshly ground black pepper

125g pancetta or bacon, diced

1 onion, peeled and sliced

1 carrot, peeled and diced

1 celery stalk, peeled and sliced

2 red capsicums, seeded and sliced

1 red chilli, seeded and sliced

2 cups brown mushrooms, sliced

4 garlic cloves, peeled and finely sliced

2 tbsp fresh thyme

1 tbsp dried oregano

2 tbsp tomato paste

1 1/2 cups red wine

1 x 400g tin crushed tomatoes

700g passata (pureed tomatoes)

handful fresh basil leaves, chopped

1/2 cup olives, pitted

small handful fresh parsley, chopped

Method

Heat a splash of olive oil in a large heavy-based pot and set to high heat. Season the chicken with a little salt and pepper and brown in batches. Remove and set aside.

Add a little more olive oil to the pot and add the pancetta or bacon. Cook, stirring, until crisp.

Add the onion, carrot, celery, capsicum and chilli. Lower heat to medium and cook, stirring often, until vegetables have softened.

Add the mushrooms and cook until tender.

Add the garlic, thyme and oregano and cook another minute, stirring, until the garlic is fragrant.

Increase the heat and add the tomato paste. Cook for one minute while stirring consistently.

Pour in the wine and stir as it bubbles away, dislodging any browned bits that have stuck to the bottom of the pot. Keep stirring until the wine has been reduced by half.

Return the browned chicken to the pot, add the crushed tomatoes, passata and basil and stir everything to combine. Add a good pinch of salt and a grinding of black pepper and keep stirring everything together until the liquid is boiling.

Reduce heat, place lid on, and simmer for 30 minutes. The chicken should be almost all submerged in the sauce, top up with a little water if you need to.

After 30 minutes simmering, remove the lid and increase heat to medium and cook for another 15 minutes, or until the sauce has thickened and the chicken is cooked through.

Remove from heat, stir in the olives, and sprinkle with parsley to serve.