Chicken Cacciatore

 

Ingredients:
One chicken, chopped, or a combination of breasts and thighs, skin on, bone in2 (16oz) cans of San Marsano whole plum tomatoes – drained and crushed – not chopped – retain tomato juice

4 cloves of fresh garlic – crushed (not chopped)
1 fresh carrot cut into ¼ size pieces
1 large Vidalia onion, roughly cut – not finely chopped
2 large Portobello Mushroom caps – roughly chopped
½ cup of white wine
¼ stick of butter
1 tablespoon of flour
½ cup of organic vegetable stock or chicken stock or *pasta water
4 – 5 fresh sprigs of fresh basil
1 teaspoons of brown sugar
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
2 teaspoons of Kosher Salt
Fresh cracked pepper
½ teaspoon of red pepper flakes
½ cup of black olives – optional – only if you like them. *There is a growing trend to use pasta water over stock in Italian dishes because of the semolina flavor in the water and it adds some thickness.

You can also use a cast iron pot or stainless steel pot.

Oil your pot and brown the chicken with salt/pepper. Remove chicken and keep bits and sediments in pot. Add butter and flour to make a fast roux, then add the garlic, onions, carrots, brown sugar and get them infused. Then add the stock, white wine, a dash of salt and black pepper. Let simmer for 10 minutes. Add the crushed tomatoes and the Portobello mushrooms and let simmer for 10 minutes, stirring as you go. Add the juice of the tomatoes, fresh basil, red pepper flakes and let simmer for 25 minutes uncovered, stirring as you go. Add the chicken to the sauce and slow cook on very low heat for 20 – 25 minutes. Then let stand for 15 minutes before serving. (The longer it sits the better the flavor!!)