Kortni’s Kitchen: chicken cacciatore
Last week I brought you an eggplant parmigiana. This week, we are still cooking with my family and we are making chicken cacciatore. This chicken simmers slowly, but melts in your mouth. This is perfect for a family, even one with small children. It is simple and is a good way to practice your knife skills. Everyone in the family can have a job, and the cacciatore will be done in no time.
Ingredients: Chef Pamela
3 LBS chicken, cubed
1 cup bacon julienne (roughly 6 slices of bacon)
8 carrots, diced small
5 celery sticks, diced small
1 onion, diced small
3 TBSP olive oil
2 cups tomato sauce
1 sprig fresh rosemary
6 medium leaves of fresh laurel
2 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
2 cups water
Directions:
1. Cut up carrots, celery and onions and lightly sauté in the olive oil. Once onions are translucent, add the chicken and bacon. Lightly brown on all sides.
Kortni’s Kitchen: chicken cacciatore
- I know cutting up veggies of the same size is sometimes hard to do. If you want a shortcut, Trader Joe’s has pre-cut veggies.
- You want to do this meal in either a deep pan, or if you have one, a Dutch oven .
2. Add whole laurel, rosemary, tomato sauce and water along with the salt and pepper.
Kortni’s Kitchen: chicken cacciatore
- You want to add the laurel and rosemary whole. This way you get all the seasoning, but you can pull them out before you serve.
3. Let simmer on low until the chicken is cooked to 165 degrees, stirring occasionally so nothing sticks to the bottom.
Kortni’s Kitchen: chicken cacciatore
- If you prefer dark meat or bone on, you can use any type of chicken. Just make sure there is no skin.
Kortni’s Kitchen: chicken cacciatore
This is a healthy and sustainable meal. Since the veggies are so soft, they just melt in your mouth. The tomato sauce thickens up great due to the long simmer so it is creamy, not soupy. You just have to cut into the chicken to see how tender it is. This simple recipe not only gets the family together before the meal, but it will keep them at the table.
Kortni’s Kitchen: chicken cacciatore
*Originally published on Jan 31, 2017 @ 09:06
