Pollo alla Cacciatore

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 50 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutes

Servings: 4

Origin

• Region: Tuscany / Central Italy

• Historical Context: Developed as a rustic, wilderness meal prepared by hunters using wild herbs, onions, and forest mushrooms to simmer small game or fowl over rustic campfires.

Description

Comfort food at its finest: chicken thighs and drumsticks braised skin-on until exceptionally tender in a robust, savory sauce packed with sweet bell peppers, onions, wild mushrooms, crushed tomatoes, and a generous splash of dry chianti wine.

Presentation

Spoon hot into broad rimmed pasta plates. Ensure each person receives an even mix of white or dark meat, drenched in the chunky vegetable sauce and garnished with cracked black pepper and fresh rosemary needles.

Ingredients

• 1 whole chicken (approx. 1.5kg, broken down into 8 bone-in pieces)

• 30ml extra virgin olive oil

• 1 large red onion, sliced thin

• 1 red bell pepper, sliced into strips

• 1 yellow bell pepper, sliced into strips

• 200g cremini or porcini mushrooms, wiped clean and sliced

• 3 garlic cloves, smashed

• 120ml dry red wine (like Chianti)

• 400g canned whole San Marzano tomatoes, crushed by hand

• 2 sprigs fresh rosemary

• A small handful of cured black olives (like Gaeta or Kalamata), pitted

• Fine sea salt and red pepper flakes, to taste

Step-by-Step Directions

1. Sear the Chicken: Pat the chicken pieces completely dry and season generously with sea salt. Heat the olive oil over medium-high heat in a deep, wide skillet. Add the chicken pieces skin-side down and sear until the skin turns crispy and golden brown (about 6–8 minutes). Flip and sear the reverse side for 3 minutes. Remove the chicken pieces and set aside.

2. Sauté Aromatics: Lower the burner to medium heat. Toss the sliced onion, bell peppers, mushrooms, and smashed garlic cloves directly into the residual chicken fat. Sauté until the peppers soften and the mushrooms turn brown (about 8–10 minutes).

3. Deglaze: Pour in the dry red wine, using a spatula to lift any caramelized bits from the bottom of the pan. Let the wine simmer until the harsh alcohol smell cooks off and the liquid reduces by half.

4. Combine: Pour in the hand-crushed tomatoes along with their juices. Stir in the fresh rosemary sprigs and a pinch of red pepper flakes.

5. Simmer: Nest the seared chicken pieces back down into the tomato-vegetable sauce. Bring the liquid to a slow simmer, turn the heat to low, cover with a lid, and cook for 35 minutes.

6. Finish: Uncover the skillet, stir in the pitted black olives, and let it simmer uncovered for an additional 10 minutes so the sauce reduces to a thick coating consistency. Discard the woody rosemary sprigs before plating.

Optional Variations

• White Wine Cacciatore (Northern Style): Omit the tomatoes entirely and use dry white wine, chicken stock, and wild sage for a brighter, lighter profile.

Cooking Tips

• Leaving the chicken bone-in and skin-on is essential; the bones impart gelatin into the braising liquid, thickening the sauce naturally.

Nutrition Facts

• Calories: 480 kcal

• Carbohydrates: 12g

• Protein: 36g

• Fat: 28g

• Saturated Fat: 7g

• Cholesterol: 110mg

• Sodium: 650mg