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Chicken Cacciatore

What you need

  1. 6 - 8 chicken thighs, or 1 whole 4 - 5 lb chicken cut in pieces
  2. Olive Oil
  3. 1 oz. dried Porcini mushrooms soaked in 1 cup of hot tap water. Retain soaking water for cooking.
  4. 1 large onion, chopped
  5. 1 stalk celery, chopped
  6. 1 carrot, chopped
  7. 1 lb Crimini mushrooms, sliced
  8. 3 - 4 garlic cloves, chopped
  9. 2 - 3 cups fresh tomatoes, diced or use Muir Glen Organic canned tomatoes, diced
  10. 1/2 cup hearty red wine like Zinfandel or Chianti
  11. 2 sprigs fresh thyme
  12. 2 - 3 small bay leaves

How to make it

  1. In a large pot, brown chicken in olive oil over medium-high heat. Remove and discard skin.
  2. Drain off all but 1 tbl fat.
  3. To the fat add onion, celery, carrot and sliced Crimini mushrooms.
  4. When vegetables are wilted add garlic and cook just about 2 minutes.
  5. Add wine and cook until nearly absorbed by the vegetables.
  6. Remove porcini pieces from soaking water, and add soaking water to the pot, (avoiding adding the grit in the bottom) cook hard, stirring until the liquid has reduced by about 1/2.
  7. Return chicken to the pot and add tomatoes, thyme and bay leaves.
  8. Chop porcini pieces and add to pot.
  9. Heat just to the boil, reduce heat and simmer for about 45 minutes to 1 hour, stirring occasionally
  10. Serve chicken with cooked rice or pasta, spooning sauce over top.

This dish makes a thin sauce, but you can remove the chicken to a warm oven just before serving and thicken the sauce with a small amount of cornstarch or arrowroot powder if desired.

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