THE GOOD OIL MILL
AT YOUR HOME
A popular recipe like chicken cacciatore is one of those musts of Italian cuisine when it’s that time between summer and fall, when it is not yet cold enough to dedicate yourself to dishes that require long cooking, but the temperatures are no longer such that you can only enjoy cold dishes prepared in 5 mins. You need a rich and substantial dish but still not very demanding… and this is where the recipe for pan-fried chicken cacciatore comes into play.
There are many variations but we at Frantoio Bonamini, proud olive growers and producers of extra virgin olive oil, love the recipe for chicken cacciatore enriched with tasty pitted black olives which, thanks to the presence of aromatic herbs and fruity extra virgin olive oil, give our dish an authentic and genuine flavor.
But before we share our version of free-range chicken cacciatore recipe, would you like to find out about the origins of this dish and why it was called “alla cacciatora”?
This dish, with humble and peasant origins, was first prepared with the best products of the land: free-range chickens, wine from the own vineyard, vegetables and aromatic herbs grown in the home garden. The name “alla cacciatora” immediately brings to mind the image of a robust and tasty dish, prepared with simple but essential ingredients such as garlic and rosemary; which, coincidentally, seem to be the same condiments that hunters used to flavor the prey they had just caught and prepare them to be transformed into delicious dishes that satisfied their appetite.
The name “chicken cacciatore” therefore has its roots in an historical context in which hunters, upon returning from their excursions, needed preparations that made wild meat, such as rabbit or pheasant, soft and tasty.
And you? Did you know this?
Ingredients for 4 people
• 1.2kg of chicken pieces
• 1 onion
• 1 carrot
• 1 stick of celery
• 1 clove of garlic or garlic-flavoured oil
• 2 sprigs of rosemary or rosemary-flavoured olive oil
• 100ml of Valpolicella DOC Cort’Emilia Bonamini red wine
• 400g peeled tomatoes
• 100g pitted olives in Bonamini EVO oil
• Bonamini extra virgin olive oil to taste
• Salt and pepper to taste
Preparation
1. In a large pan, add a generous amount of San Felice extra virgin olive oil and roughly chop the carrot, onion and celery
2. Turn on the heat and after a few minutes add the rosemary sprigs and the garlic clove (unless you decide to use flavoured oils) and let it brown
3. Once the mirepoix has wilted, add the chicken pieces with the skin facing down and let it brown further
4. From time to time, be sure to turn the pieces from time to time to make the chicken cacciatore evenly cooked
5. Salt and pepper to taste and blend with the Valpolicella DOC Cort’Emilia Bonamini wine – if you want to make this pan-fried chicken cacciatore recipe suitable for even more bold palates, we recommend using chilli oil
6. Once the wine has evaporated, add the tomatoes, previously chopped, and water
7. Close the pot with the lid and let it cook for about 40 minutes on low heat, taking care to add water if it dries out too much
8. 5 minutes before the end of cooking, add the pitted black olives and finish cooking everything
Well, now that we have our chicken cacciatore nice and steaming in the pan, you’re wondering how to serve it and enjoy it;
don’t worry, we have an idea and solution for that too!
This simple recipe for chicken cacciatore stew is as versatile as it is delicious; therefore, it lends itself well to being served both as a Sunday lunch, or as a tasty second course for a midweek dinner. It is a must to pair it with slices of homemade bread, perhaps freshly toasted, precisely because it is impossible to finish the meal without first polishing off the plate by doing the famous “scarpetta”, as well as with cooked and raw seasonal side dishes, roast potatoes or simply a mix of pickles such as our Giardiniera in extra virgin olive oil, Champignon Mushrooms or Artichoke Hearts in extra virgin olive oil.
Need more preparation and storage tips?
Chicken cacciatore can also be prepared with specific pieces of chicken, in fact you can find recipes for chicken legs, drumsticks or thighs cacciatore, based on what you can find fresh from your trusted poulterer.
For stewed chicken cacciatore you can combine different aromatic herbs, not only rosemary but also bay leaves, marjoram or parsley and also for the sauce, go ahead with peeled tomatoes, tomato puree, tomato olive sauces or tomato concentrates.
Furthermore, you will be interested to know that there is also a version of chicken cacciatore in white and that it is as easy and tasty as the original Tuscan recipe for chicken cacciatore.
The only variation is to use the white wine Soave DOC instead of the red wine Valpolicella DOC Cort’Emilia Bonamini and, if you want, since the white wine has a more delicate flavor, you can add more aromas and herbs such as sage, dill, chives…
You can store the chicken cacciatore in the fridge, tightly closed in an airtight container or with film. The next day you just need to reheat it and it will be as good as freshly made, in fact, perhaps even better in our opinion.
