Chicken cacciatore

Have you ever made anything without really knowing what it was? Although I've heard the name, I have never eaten chicken cacciatore before, nor have I seen it on a cooking show or read the recipe in a cookbook. Even so, when I found this recipe, I bookmarked it because it sounded like a delicious and cozy winter meal.



All in all, it was a slightly time-consuming meal to make, with the chopping of vegetables, and the trimming of fat on the chicken (optional, I just prefer it), and the slow simmering.


And really, it was just a simple combination of veggies, tomatoes and chicken with seasonings. But it was exactly what I was looking for, a kind of chicken stew with a warm, tomato-y broth.


I added green bell peppers with the red peppers and onions in my version. Although I did add wine as the recipe said, I would say it was optional, or you could use white too, I'm sure that would be fine.


I happened to have a tomato, so I used a combination of fresh tomatoes, a 14 oz can of diced tomatoes, and a little bit of canned crushed tomatoes.



I would highly suggest using only dark (thigh) meat. I used a combination of thigh and breast meat, but the thigh meat became much more tender as it stewed. The recipe calls for using chicken with skin on, but I went with skinless (again, just a preference).


One nice thing about making this is that while it stews, you have time to do another things, like clean up the mess you've made (is that just me? I think I'm a very messy cook) and make a side dish (in this case, polenta).


By the way, this makes a LOT. I seriously think I could have served about eight people (or four plus the Mexican Chef). But I think it could easily be pared down.


Or make the entire batch and have leftovers for lunch and dinner the next day (and for a few days after). Overnight, the broth gets even thicker. Yum.