May 30, 2010

Oven Chicken Cacciatore

oven chicken cacciatore - yum

Oven-Roasted Chicken Cacciatore

Serves 6 and doubles easily. If doubling, bake in two pans.
10 minutes prep time; 45 minutes oven time
This can be made 2 days ahead and reheats well.

This Tuscan one-pan meal neatly sidesteps the traditional time-consuming stovetop browning with its usual mess. For big, unstoppable flavors roast the chicken pieces in a cloak of garlic and herbs along with tomato, peppers, and meaty black olives. These aromatics become the sauce.

Cook to Cook: Feel free to pile up the herbs and vegetables and chop them together. This cuts the prep time by half. Cacciatore, or "hunter's salami," are the size of sausages, taste winey and meaty, and originated in the Lombardy region of northern Italy. Some domestic brands to check out (for this and other salami) are Fra' Mani, Biellese, Salumi, Molinari, and Oldani.
Ingredients2-1/2 to 3 pounds bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs (8 thighs)
1/3 cup pitted Kalamata olives
4 thin slices cacciatore or Genoa or hard salami, cut into 1-inch squares (I use andouille sausge and I have used spicy italian sausage - whatever I had on hand). I especially like the andouille1 large red bell pepper, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 large fresh tomato, or 3 drained canned ones, coarse chopped
1 medium to large red onion, coarse chopped
Leaves from two 4-inch sprigs fresh rosemary
10 fresh sage leaves, torn
4 large garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon fennel seeds, lightly crushed
1/4 cup dry red wine
1/4 cup good-tasting extra-virgin olive oil
Salt and fresh-ground black pepper
Juice of 1 lemon
1. Turn the oven to 400 degrees F. Arrange the chicken on a large, shallow roasting pan (a half-sheet pan is ideal), and scatter all the ingredients except the lemon juice over the chicken.
2. Roast the chicken for 30 minutes. Baste with the pan juices, turn the chicken pieces over, and continue roasting for another 10 to 15 minutes, basting and turning occasionally. When the chicken reaches 170 degrees F on an instant-reading thermometer, it is done. If you'd like, brown the chicken under the broiler.
3. Turn the contents of the pan into a big bowl. Adjust the seasonings, and squeeze the lemon juice over it. Serve hot.

From the Splendid Table weekly recipe email

1 comment:

Christina Ray said...

Just wanted to thank you for this scrumptious recipe. I've used it many times over the last few years, and it's one of my family's favorites. The sauce is to die for!