Pollo alla Cacciatora {Chicken Cacciatore}
It’s COLD today in my part of the world. Bone chilling COLD (well, okay, maybe not THAT cold, but cold to me) and what better way to warm up (besides downing Grappa LOL) than some Pollo alla Cacciatora {Chicken Cacciatore} It’s a perfect ONE DISH (happy dance, yeah, I HATE doing dishes so one dish meals make me happy) hearty satisfying meal.
Pollo alla Cacciatora is pronounced Po-low all-ah Ka-chi-a-tore-ah. Wow, your Italian is getting so much bettah *wink wink* Btw, Cacciatora means hunter in Italian!
I love it when I get to use my big red dutch oven. It’s just so pretty sitting up there on the stovetop. Yes, it weighs a ton (& I’m always thinking to myself don’t go dropping the lid or you’ll break a toe - I told you before how clumsy I am) but it does an amazing job of cooking. There’s just something about those thick walls and the way they conduct heat. I’m sure a science major could give you a more in depth explanation about heat conductivity, but all I need to know is that it’s awesome & it works! tee hee!
You can serve this by itself with just a loaf of great bread (you’ll want to get every bit of that sauce, I promise ya) and the rest of the wine you cooked with OR it’s fab over Pasta (duh) or even rice. You’re choice. Whatever you choose it’ll be delicious. It’s a simple dish but there’s nothing simple about the flavor!
Just in case: If you don’t want to use Wine you can substitute water or even chicken broth.
What you’ll need:
1 whole chicken - cut into pieces
2 tbsp butter
3 tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 large onion - chopped
2 14.5 oz cans of whole tomatoes
2 carrots - chopped
2 ribs of celery - chopped
1 6oz small package of mushrooms - sliced
2/3 cup white wine
Italian Flat Leaf Parsley - roughly chopped
s/p
What to do:
Pat your chicken pieces dry with a paper towel, season with salt & pepper & set aside. Heat the oil & butter in a large dutch oven over medium heat. When melted, add the chicken pieces & cook for approx 15 mins or until browned turning often. Add onions & cook for a few mins, lower heat to lowest setting and add: carrots, celery, tomatoes. Stir together. Add in the wine, cover the dish & simmer for approx 45 mins. Add in the mushrooms 15 mins before dish is finished, stir to combine. When finishedcheck for seasoning, Adjust if necessary. Garnish with parsley.
Can be served as is OR over polenta, pasta or rice.
Buon Appetito!
Hi Paula
Happy New Year 2010 to you
Wow…you have a nice blog. I love it and thanks for this delish recipe.
gorgeous dish! love chicken cacciatore - esp with bread to mop up all that sauce.
Happy New Year Elin! Thanks so much! I’m going to be making this again very soon!
Thanks Jaden! Me too! Yes, the bread is a requirement ; ) Don’t want to miss one last bit of that delicious sauce.
I love the pictures. I love almost anything chicken and this dish sounds delish! Thanks for sharing.
Great dish for a cold winter night.
This is a gorgeous piece of art, the picture, the food, a piece of resistance’ Bellisimo!!!!!
un piatto favoloso!!
I love chicken cacciatore; I make mine in my big ORANGE Dutch oven, which I also pray never falls on my foot or on my ceramic-topped stove. Great blog.
Your photos make this look truly yummy. I love chicken cacciatore but when I make it it never comes out quite like I want. I will definitely try this one.
Thanks so much Sook! We are crazy about chicken here as well ; )
Thanks Maria! It’s perfect for that & so easy! I saved the sauce & used it in a quick pasta lunch the following day!
Grazie Claudia! Sei sempre molto gentile! Un bacione!
Ciao Federica! Spero che hai passato un bel Natale! Grazie’ mille! E’ uno dei miei piatti preferitti (lo so, ne ho tanti - sto ridendo) Baci!
Hi Arlene! Thanks so much! I LOVE mine and have been using it just about every day now! Can’t be beat!
Thanks so much Karen! I hope you love it! Happy New Year!
It’s cold here too — and cacciatore would certainly serve to warm me up!! It’s one of my favorite dishes, and certainly one of those delicious, nourishing meals that reminds me of all that’s best about the winter months.
Happy 2010!
Happy New Year to you too Lo!
This is one of my favorite dishes and your recipe looks especially delish!!
Delizioso!!!
Thanks Rachael! It’s one of my favorite’s too
I know I have a lot! But this is perfect right now! Baci!
Ehila’ Paola! Grazie mille! Auguri per un Buon Anno Nuovo!
Looks great… Cacciatore is one of my favorites. I might have to make some this weekend. We’re expecting some more snow!
This looks so good! Great picture. Cacciatora is is one of my favorites, I love it with polenta.
Happy New Year! Thanks for sharing this recipe. I love cacciatore but have never tried making it.
Hi,
Okay, I just made this for dinner, and it is *the* most beautiful dish I have ever made in my life.
Thank you so much for sharing!
~ Kurious Kitteh
[...] Recipe here. [...]
WOW! This dish is so simple to make and quick too! Yes it takes an hour to cook, but prep time total is about 15 to 20 minutes and then you just let it work its magic!! Seriously, the hardest thing about making this was the chopping up of the ingredients!! The best part? It is slaved all day over good - done in only an hour! Thanks so much Paula for “teaching” me how to do this one. It is a definite addition to the recipe box!
[...] Italians also tend to eat more game meats and fowl than the average American so words like fagiano (pheasant) and faraona (guinea fowl) are household names are is piccione (pigeon) and coniglio (rabbit). Some weeks ago the New York Times had a very cute bunny on the cover with an entire section dedicated to rabbit recipes. There was a slight uproar in certain corners because it was the first time people were actually talking about rabbit as a food in a national newspaper. No Italian would have been scandalized. This is the same for eating some internal meats such as kidneys (rognone), trippa (intestines) and fegato (liver). Not to mention brains (cervello) and other delicacies. If none of this strikes your fancy, go back to things like pollo which are easy to say and even easier to prepare. Check out this blog post for a great recipe. [...]