Chicken Cacciatore

Nothing says winter cooking better than a good stew. Chicken cacciatore is an Italian chicken fricassee, with some added tomatoes, red wine, and olives bringing the Italian flavor on top of the usual mushrooms, onions, and garlic that are probably shared with almost all of the chicken stews out there. It translates as "hunter's style chicken", defined as having onions, garlic, and tomatoes. It actually has some commonality with Jägerschnitzel if you have tried it, given the addition of mushrooms and herbs in the sauce. And while I can't capture the smells in this post, I assure you that the combination of rosemary, onions, garlic, and sage make for some memorable comfort food.

I pulled my recipe from The Joy of Cooking, which is a great reference book for those getting started. The well-worn page of this recipe also contains Brunswick stew and coq au vin, making it easily the most used page in the whole book for me. But I'll repost the recipe here, with my notes on the process added. The recipe does state that the oil-cured olives are optional, but I highly recommend adding them, as it gives a briny, salty punch reminiscent of a good puttanesca sauce.

Chicken Cacciatore
Joy of Cooking

• 3.5-4.5 lb chicken parts
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 1 cup chopped onions
• 1 bay leaf
• 1.5 tsp chopped fresh rosemary, or .5 tsp dried
• 1 tsp minced fresh sage leaves, or .5 tsp dried
• 1 large clove garlic, minced
• ½ cup dry red or white wine
• 8 oz canned whole tomatoes, with juice, crushed with hands
• ¾ cup chicken stock
• ½ cup oil-cured black olives, pitted and sliced (optional)
• 8 oz mushrooms, sliced
• Pasta for serving

An hour before cooking, take chicken out and allow to come to room temperature. Season chicken with salt and pepper on both sides. Heat oil in large heavy skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken in small batches and brown on all sides; remove to a plate.

Remove all but 2 tbsp fat from the pan. Reduce heat to medium and add onions, bay leaf, and remaining herbs. Cook, stirring, until onions are golden brown, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and cook 30 seconds more, being careful not to brown the garlic. Return chicken to skillet and pour in wine. Cook over medium-high heat until wine is evaporated, turning chicken and scraping up fond. Add tomatoes and stock and simmer, covered, for 25 minutes, up to 45 minutes.

Add olives and mushrooms and cook, covered, for 10 minutes. Remove chicken to a platter. Boost heat to high, uncover, and reduce pan juices until slightly thickened, about 15-20 minutes.