Depending on the size of the thighs (doesn’t that sound kinky?), this will take another 30-45 minutes. When simmering, nestle browned chicken thighs in the sauce and let simmer to cook through. Sprinkle the onions and mushrooms with the flour, and cook through for a minute more.Īdd crushed tomatoes and their juices, the rest of the wine, garlic and 3/4 of the fresh herbs, and bring to a simmer. Continue to saute the mushrooms & onions, until the pans becomes mostly dry and the mushrooms appear slightly browned and soft. I know that ‘crowded’ mushrooms do not brown, but we’re not looking for beautifully browned mushrooms here, we just want to ‘sweat’ them out so they give off most of their juices. Then add the onions and saute them until translucent and soft.ĭump all of your mushrooms in the pan. They will not be fully cooked, but that’s OK.Īdd 1/4 of the wine and another tablespoon of butter and deglaze the pan, scraping up any browned chicken bits. Brown the chicken on all sides for a few minutes and set aside. I used a 15-inch cast iron skillet for this dish, but you can use any large heavy pan. Over medium-high heat, heat a bit of olive oil & 1 tbsp of butter (for flavor) in a large heavy pan. If you dread this whole process, just buy a few bags of pre-sliced shrooms, and you’ll be fine as well. DO NOT rinse your mushrooms in water, as they will absorb a lot of water and become less flavorful. Wipe the mushrooms clean with a damp cloth, and slice into thick slices if large. Just make sure they do not vary too much in cooking time. I used a combination of baby bella mushrooms and regular white button mushrooms, but you can use a variety of wild mushrooms too. (*) this may look & sound like a lot of mushrooms, but mushrooms shrink down to nothing when cooked and you want these mushrooms to be a key ingredient in your dish. – butter and/or olive oil to brown the chicken – a good handful of fresh parsley, finely chopped – 1/4 cup of finely chopped fresh tarragon – 1.5 cups of dry cured black olives, pitted (or a 12-14 oz can, drained) – 1 28oz can of peeled whole tomatoes, crushed by hand (or a large can of crushed tomatoes) (Adapted from a traditional Italian Chicken Cacciatore) I love the flavor or tarragon and it goes well with the olives and wine that are in this dish as well. Below is my version and I opted for tarragon and parsley. In short, there is no right or wrong way to prepare chicken cacciatore, there is only the tasty way. The selection of herbs depends entirely on the region you are in, and olives don’t always make an appearance either. ‘Hunters’ Chicken’ has many varieties but it’s always a tasty stew of poultry, slowly braised in a tomato sauce with mushrooms, onions, garlic and wine. The dish was served in tin bowls with big honks of crusty bread, since silverware didn’t make its debut until the 1700’s. I don’t know the history behind the aspect of wine being added, but I suspect a busty jezebel is part of the equation. Rumor has it that tomatoes were added because their acidity tenderized the meat in question, and olives & onions were often added for flavor. Well, maybe not entirely like that, but the dish received its name because reportedly the hunters would return from the woods with wild mushrooms and fragrant plants, all of which would be handed off to the house cook, who was then responsible for turning this into a meal (hm? Deja-vu much?). Upon return to the homestead, the hunting party would stop on the trail and his lordship would turn to his page boy and say: “Luigi, picketh these shrooms & herbs for they shalt tasteth awesome in the chicken pheasant soup”. I’m pretty sure that medieval Italy did not harbor flocks of ferocious free-roaming wild chickens in its woods, so let me go out on a historical limb and state that the Italian aristocracy probably hunted for pheasant. Hunting chickens?! What? This almost resembles drunken history. Maybe Lady Gaga is on to something?īut we digress… In those times, the only people who could afford to enjoy a delicacy such as poultry, were the well-to-do Italian noblemen who indulged in hunting as a form of entertainment. You know, that part of history of awful torture, the black plague, magnificent art and ornately corseted powdered women practicing the harpsichord. Legend has it that ‘chicken Cacciatore’, or chicken in the style of the hunter, originated somewhere in Central Italy in the Renaissance period (ca.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Details
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |