Chicken Cacciatore

My friend’s mom gave me a recipe for Chicken Cacciatore years ago. A wonderful cook & lovely woman, she has shared several recipes with me.  I have used her recipe as the inspiration for this one.

The flavours are subtle in this dish.  I have had some Chicken Cacciatore that is too tomato tasting for me so that is why this is our household favourite. I did not change much but adjusted some of the ingredient amounts.

This chicken dish is great for entertaining & especially if you add the wine which gives it a wonderful flavour. I did not add the wine this time…sometimes I just don’t like opening up a big bottle of wine for a recipe if we are not going to drink the bottle….I know I can freeze it in ice cube trays…but I do not seem to ever do that!! I should though.. Either way, with or without the wine, this recipe is definitely worth making.

 Here is the recipe

Chicken Cacciatore

Ingredients

3-4 lb chicken, cut into 8 pieces *** the breasts were large so I cut them half

1/4 cup oil *** I used canola oil   I did not really measure my oil. Just use what you need get a nice brown on the chicken

1 onion, sliced

1 yellow pepper, sliced

2 garlic cloves, minced

28 oz can of diced tomatoes

1 tsp dried basil

1/2 tsp oregano

1 tsp kosher salt

pepper

1 cup water

1/2 cup wine *** optional…I did not add the wine this time but I have in the past

Method

1. Heat the oil in a large skillet. Brown the chicken pieces on both sides & remove them to a casserole dish *** I used a corningware casserole dish with a lid. I was able to put the pieces in snuggly in a single layer
2. Using the same skillet, saute the onion, pepper & garlic until the onion is  translucent & the pepper is soft. Put on  top of the chicken
3. Using the same skillet again, add the diced tomatoes with the basil, oregano, salt & pepper & water. Stir to combine. Cook until the sauce thickens a bit. Taste the sauce & add more salt & pepper to your liking if you want to
4. Pour the sauce over the chicken & peppers
5. Take the bay leaf & tuck it into the sauce
6. Cover the casserole dish with the lid or aluminum foil
7. Bake for 1 1/2 hours *** I checked the chicken & moved the pieces around a bit once in awhile during the cooking time
8. Remove the bay leaf
9. Add the wine at this point if you are using it
10. Continue cooking the chicken uncovered for another 1/2 hour *** continue cooking the chicken whether you have added the wine or not

Serve on top of spaghetti or spaghetti squash!  You can garnish this with some chopped parsley for added flavour & colour if you’d like

Please leave a comment I love hearing from everyone. If you make this dish I hope you enjoy it & let me know what you think! You can follow me on Facebook & Instagram…. marilyndishes