POLLO ALLA CACCIATAORA
(Hunter's Wife's Chicken)

Americans may know this dish as chicken alia cacciatore (hunter's style), but in its native Italy, it's named in honor of the hunter's wife, the cacciatora—who, in parts of northern Italy, traditionally cooked it on the eve of the hunt as fuel for the chase.

INGREDIENTS

1/ 4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 medium yellow onions, peeled and chopped
2 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
1 3 -Ib. chicken, cut into 8 pieces
1 cup dry white wine
I 28-oz. can peeled whole
Italian plum tomatoes, chopped, juice reserved
1 bay leaf
1 tsp. minced fresh rosemary leaves
1/4 cup minced fresh Italian parsley leaves
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
I cup rich chicken stock

DIRECTIONS:

I. Heat oil in a large pan over medium-high heat. Add
onions and cook, stirrin g occasionally, until salt, about
10 minutes. Add garlic and cook, stirring often, for about
2 minutes. Push onions to sides of pan, then add chicken
and fry, turning pieces several times to brown evenly,
about 4 minutes per side.

2. Add wine to pan and cook until it has evaporated,
about 5 minutes. Add tomatoes with their juice, bay leaf,
rosemary, and all but 1 tbsp. of the parsley and season to
taste with salt and pepper. Reduce heat to low, partially
cover pan, and simmer for 45 minutes, gradually adding
stock to pan as tomato juice evaporates. Remove bay leaf
and serve garnished with reserved parsley and with
steamed potatoes or white rice, if you like.



SUGGESTED WINES: Chianti Classico; Sagrantino

 

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