Chicken Cacciatore

Last week, Carrie, aka Ginger Lemon Girl, made Chicken Cacciatore (you can see here recipe here).  It looked and sounded so good that it made me want some.  I’ve made this several times before, and it’s really rather simple.  I adapted the recipe from Giada De Laurentiis’ Everyday Italian after watching her make it on the show.  (I love that show! And her cookbook!)  She used chicken thighs and bone-in chicken breasts.  I use whatever I have on hand.  This week, it’s boneless, skinless chicken breast.  The only other change from the original recipe is having to use something other than regular flour to dredge the chicken in.  I use sticky (glutinous) rice flour (don’t worry about the name–no gluten there).  And I’ve cut the recipe in half.

On the show, Giada served this with a side of Parmesan mashed potatoes – I make my potatoes with both cheese and garlic.  Yum! 

     

 

 

 

 

Recipe adapted from Giada De Laurentiis
Everyday Italian
(original recipe here)
    
Ingredients:

1 package boneless, skinless chicken breasts (we get packs of 3)
1 teaspoons salt, plus more to taste
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus more to taste
1/4 cup sticky rice flour, for dredging
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 large red bell pepper, chopped
1/2 onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1/2 cup dry white wine
1 ( 14-ounce) can diced tomatoes with juice
1/2 cup reduced-sodium chicken broth
1 1/2 tablespoons drained capers
1 teaspoons dried oregano leaves
2 tablespoons coarsely chopped fresh basil leaves (or 1 tablespoon dried basil)

     

Directions:

Sprinkle the chicken pieces with 1/2 teaspoon of each salt and pepper. 

Dredge the chicken pieces in the flour to coat lightly.

In a large heavy saute pan, heat the oil over a medium-high heat.

Add the chicken pieces to the pan and saute just until brown, about 5 minutes per side. If all the chicken does not fit in the pan, saute it in 2 batches.

Transfer the chicken to a plate and set aside.

Add the bell pepper, onion and garlic to the same pan and saute over medium heat until the onion is tender, about 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

Add the wine and simmer until reduced by half, about 3 minutes.

Add the tomatoes with their juice, broth, capers and oregano.

Return the chicken pieces to the pan and turn them to coat in the sauce.

Bring the sauce to a simmer. Continue simmering over medium-low heat until the chicken is just cooked through, about 20 minutes.

Using tongs, transfer the chicken to a platter.

If necessary, boil the sauce until it thickens slightly, about 3 minutes.

Spoon off any excess fat from atop the sauce. Spoon the sauce over the chicken, then sprinkle with the basil and serve.

      

   

PS:  You like the plate?  I painted that at “Ladies’ Night Pottery Painting.”  Now that’s a fun time – pottery painting where you can bring “adult” beverages.  Helps the creative process!  lol!