Italian Hunter’s Chicken (Chicken Cacciatore)
A beautifully balanced, classic Italian dish, served with nutty brown rice or a side of buttered, crusty bread.
Italian hunter’s chicken, or chicken cacciatore is a rustic dish of tender chicken pieces simmered in a rich tomato sauce with olives and herbs. It’s easy to make, and quickly fills the kitchen with a mouthwatering aroma.
The name cacciatore means “hunter” in Italian, and it refers to a style of cooking that uses simple ingredients that hunters would have on hand, such as onions, garlic, tomatoes, and herbs. Some say that this dish originated in central Italy during the Renaissance when hunters would prepare it with game birds like quail or pheasant. Others say that it was a dish of the poor, who used chicken as a substitute for more expensive meats. Either way, this dish has become a staple of Italian home cooking, and there are many variations depending on the region and personal preference.
For this recipe, we’ll use a whole free-range chicken, cut into pieces, and browned in olive oil, giving it a nice golden crust and sealing in the juices.
Next, the onion, garlic, and bell peppers are sauteed in the same pan and then deglazed with some red wine. This will create a flavorful base for the sauce and also help scrape up any brown bits from the bottom of the pan.
Once the wine has been reduced slightly, we’ll stir in the crushed tomatoes, chicken broth, anchovies, and dried oregano. The chicken is left to simmer in the sauce for about 30 minutes, or until the meat is cooked through and falling off the bone tender.
We’ll scatter the olives in at the end, along with fresh torn basil, then season with salt and pepper to taste. Add a pinch of chili pepper flakes if you like extra heat.
To serve, spoon the chicken and sauce over some cooked brown rice. You’ll love the contrast – the rice has a nutty flavor and chewy texture that goes really well with this dish. If you do decide to serve the rice, cook it ahead of time, or whilst the chicken is cooking in the sauce. Alternatively, serve this dish with some buttered, crusty bread. Enjoy!
Italian Hunter’s Chicken (Chicken Cacciatore)
Ingredients
- 1 whole free-range chicken, cut into pieces
- 2 teaspoons salt (plus more to taste)
- 1 teaspoon black pepper (freshly ground, plus more to taste)
- ½ cup all-purpose flour (for dredging)
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 large red bell pepper (chopped)
- 1 onion (chopped)
- 3 garlic cloves (minced)
- 3 anchovy fillets (drained, finely chopped)
- ½ cup red wine
- 2 cups tomato sugo (tomato sauce)
- 1 cup reduced-sodium chicken broth
- 3 tablespoons pitted black olives (drained)
- 1 ½ teaspoons dried oregano leaves
- ¼ cup fresh basil leaves (coarsely chopped)
- 1 cup brown rice
- 1 ½ cups water
- Salt and pepper, to taste
- Dried chili flakes, to taste
Preparation
- Prepare the dredging flour in a medium sized tray. Season the raw chicken pieces with 1 teaspoon of salt and 1/2 teaspoon of pepper. Dredge the chicken pieces in the prepared flour, coating them lightly.
- Place the oil in a large heavy sauté pan on the stove over medium-high heat. Once the oil is hot enough, reduce the heat to medium and add the coated chicken pieces. Cook the chicken until they turn brown, about 5 minutes per side. Transfer to a plate and set aside.
- To the same pan, add the bell pepper, onion, garlic and anchovies. Sauté until the onion is tender, about 5 minutes. Add the red wine and simmer until slightly reduced. This will create a flavorful base for the sauce and also help scrape up any brown bits from the bottom of the pan.
- Add the tomato sauce, broth, oregano and chicken pieces to the pan. Gently bring the sauce to a boil then cover and simmer for about 30 minutes, or until the chicken pieces are cooked through and tender.
- Meanwhile, cook the brown rice. Rinse the rice in a fine mesh colander under running water to remove excess starch. Then, add the rice and 1 ½ cups water to a heavy based pot. Bring to the boil then turn the heat down to low. Cover and simmer for 30 minutes. Cover and let stand for 10 minutes, then fluff with a fork.
- Once the chicken is cooked through and tender, stir in the olives. If the sauce is too runny, remove the chicken pieces from the pot and boil the sauce until it thickens slightly. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
- To serve, set the chicken pieces over the brown rice and spoon the sauce on top. Sprinkle with fresh basil and a dash of chili flakes for extra heat.