Incredible Chicken Cacciatore

By Peonys

This Chicken Caccitore is just incredible. It's got lots of flavor, and gets eaten up quickly. This recipe is from a fantastic italian cookbook, that I once recieved as a birthday present. One of the authors, Gianni Scappin, of the book has a supurb restaurant in Rhinebeck, NY.

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 2 red or green bell pappers, seeded and cut into 1 inch wide strips
• 1/2 pound mushrooms, cut into 1/4 inch thick slices
• 3 pound free-range chicken, cut into serving size pieces
• kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
• 1/2 cup dry white wine
• 2 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
• 2 1/2 cups roughly chopped onions (about 2 medium sized onions)
• 1 cup canned whole plum tomatoes, or your own favorite tomato sauce
• (I prefer to purchase a package of chicken breasts with the bones and thighs because it's just easier than buying a whole chicken and cutting it up.)

Details

Servings 4

Preparation

Step 1

Warm the olive oil in a large saute pan set over medium-high heat.

Stir in the peppers and cook, stirring, until slightly softened, about 10 minutes. Reomve from the pan and set aside.

Stin the mushrooms into the pan and cook, stirring, until slightly softened, about 8 minutes. Remove from the pan and set aside.

Season the chicken with salt and pepper. Add to the pan and brown lightly on both sides, about 15 minutes in all.

Remove the chicken from the pan to a platter and set aside.

Pour the wine into the pan ans stir to incorporate any cooking juices. Add the garlic and onions and cook unti the onions are slightly softened, about 3 minutes.

Stir in the tomatoes, crushing them with your hand or back of a spoon.

Return the chicken to the pan, along with any juices that have accumulated on teh plate.

Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to a simmer. Cover and cook, stirring occasionally, until the chicken is cooked through, about 30 mintues.

Stir the peppers and mushrooms into the chicken. Return to a simmer, cover, and cook to blend in the flavor of these ingredients, about 10 minutes.

The stew may be set aside at this point for several hours before reheating and serving with bread to dip in the sauce.