Chicken Cacciatore Recipe
There are 3 million chicken recipes on the internet. We’re here to show you the good ones. Win, win.
Today: A one-pot classic to get fall off to a cozy start.
I’m going to tell you a little behind-the-scenes Food52 secret. Know what our number one recipe search term is? It’s chicken. It beats out all the other greatest hits — cake, kale, quinoa, salmon — handily. But like anything that’s popular, it’s awfully easy for chicken to get a bad rap — it’s boring, bland, basic.
But that’s bad chicken. Good chicken is a beautiful thing. It’s roasted simply with salt till the skin snaps and juices spill out. It’s a crispy, herbed cutlet; or a pickled, pulled salad on toast; or a reason to drink broth from a bowl. To make good chicken, we just need to know the best ways to treat it, and keep finding dependable recipes to add to our files. That’s where our new column Winner Winner Chicken Dinner comes in — every week we’ll be surfacing another stellar chicken recipe from the Food52 community, so we never have to suffer bad chicken again.
This week, it’s inpatskitchen's take on a classic chicken cacciatore. You'll dredge and brown chicken thighs in seasoned flour, stir together a tomatoey stew in the same pot, then add the chicken back to finish braising. Get some pasta or polenta (or farro, or potatoes, or whatever speaks to you) ready at the same time, and dinner — good, chicken, dinner — is done.
Chicken Cacciatore by inpatskitchen
Makes 4 servings
1 cup all-purpose flour seasoned with 1 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
4 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs
Olive oil to lightly coat the bottom of a large skillet with a lid
2 slices bacon, chopped
1 green bell pepper, seeded, cored, and sliced
1 red bell pepper, seeded, cored, and sliced
1 large onion, halved and thinly sliced
4 ounces white or brown button mushrooms, sliced
4 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon ground fennel seed
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1 teaspoon salt
One 14- to 15-ounce can whole plum tomatoes
8 ounces tomato sauce
8 ounces chicken broth
1/4 cup torn fresh basil leaves
1/4 cup torn fresh oregano leaves
Grated parmesan for serving
Cooked pasta or soft polenta for serving
Coat the skillet with olive oil, up the sides of the pan about 1/4 inch, and heat. Dredge the chicken thighs in the seasoned flour and brown each side until golden. Remove the thighs and set aside.
Drain the oil from the skillet and add the chopped bacon. Cook until almost crisp and then add the 2 peppers, onions, garlic, and mushrooms. Sauté for a few minutes.
Stir in the dried basil, dried oregano, ground fennel, red pepper flakes, and salt. Continue to sauté until you can smell the garlic, another few minutes.
Crush the plum tomatoes with your clean hands to break them up and add to the skillet along with the juices from the can. Add the tomato sauce and chicken broth.
Return the chicken thighs to the skillet, skin side up, and bathe the sauce over the pieces. Bring everything up to a simmer and continue to simmer, partially covered, for 30 to 40 minutes.
After the 30 to 40 minute simmer, stir in the fresh basil and oregano. Serve a chicken thigh and some of the sauce with peppers over spaghetti or some soft polenta. Shower a little Parmesan over the top and enjoy!
Photo by Mark Weinberg