Chicken Cacciatore

• servings: 4 servings
• total time: 1 hour 10 minutes

Ingredients

4 bone in chicken thighs large (1 kg / 2 lb)

4 chicken drumsticks

1/2 tsp cooking salt / kosher salt

1/4 tsp black pepper

1 tbsp olive oil

1 onion (, halved, finely sliced)

2 rosemary sprigs (about 15 cm/6" long, or 1 tsp dried rosemary)

2 bay leaves (, preferably fresh else dried)

3 garlic cloves (, finely minced)

3 anchovy fillets (or 1 tsp anchovy paste, optional, Note 2)

250g / 8 oz mushrooms (, sliced)

2 red capsicum (, sliced 8 mm thick, medium, not giant)

1/3 cup tomato paste

3/4 cup pinot noir (or other dry red wine, Note 3)

2 cups chicken stock/broth (, low sodium)

400g/14 oz canned crushed tomato

16 whole kalamata olives (, pitted, drained)

1/4 tsp cooking/kosher salt

1/4 tsp black pepper

1 tsp dried oregano

Mashed potato (or polenta)

Finely chopped parsley (, for sprinkling, optional)

Directions

Chicken:

Season - Spread the chicken out on a tray. Sprinkle both sides with the salt and pepper.

Brown skin - Heat the oil over high heat in a large, deep, heavy based pan, preferably one with a lid (Note 4). Place the chicken thighs in the pan, skin side down, and cook until the skin is golden brown, around 6 minutes. Turn and cook the flesh side for just 1 minute, then remove the chicken onto the same tray. Then add the drumsticks and brown each side as best you can, about 1 1/2 minutes on each side (the shape makes it awkward). Remove onto the tray.

Cacciatore:

Onion - Pour off and discard all but about 2 tablespoons of fat. Turn the heat down to medium and let the pan cool slightly. Add the onion, rosemary leaves, bay leaves and dried oregano. Cook for 3 minutes until the onion is starting to soften.

Garlic and anchovies - Clear a space in the middle of the pan. Add the anchovies and garlic, cooking, mashing up the anchovies, until the garlic is light golden, then stir it into the onion.

Vegetables & tomato paste - Turn the heat back up to high. Add the mushroom and capsicum. Stir until softened - about 5 minutes (the mushrooms will go watery then the water will evaporate). Add the tomato paste and cook for 2 minutes to cook out the sour flavour - do not shortcut this.

Sauce - Add the wine. Stir, bring to simmer then allow to reduce by around 75%. Add the stock, canned tomato, salt and pepper. Stir, bring to a simmer.

Simmer - Then carefully place the chicken into the sauce (skin side up) and pour any juices on the tray in as well. When the liquid returns to a simmer, cover, reduce the heat to medium then simmer energetically for 20 minutes. Remove lid, add olives, simmer for a further 10 minutes (no lid). This will reduce and thicken the sauce.

Serve - Serve the chicken with plenty of sauce over mashed potato or polenta, sprinkled with parsley if desired.

Nutrition

• Calories: 495 kcal
• Total Fat: 30 g
• Saturated Fat: 8 g
• Unsaturated Fat: 19 g
• Trans Fat: 0.1 g
• Cholesterol: 185 mg
• Sodium: 976 mg
• Total Carbohydrate: 15 g
• Dietary Fiber: 4 g
• Total Sugars: 8 g
• Protein: 37 g