Roasted Chicken Cacciatore

Irene H Forster's Note:

This a mash-up of several recipes I had from various sources. The roasting and the balsamic give it such a deep taste, it was the best. I just had to share it! Traditional Chicken Cacciatore uses bone in chicken but I find that boneless skinless thighs stay nice and moist and make it easier to eat. No knife needed to cut the thighs, that's how tender they get. And don't worry about the garlic, it mellows into a sweet dream with the roasting. I've tried this recipe with both dry white and dry red, and I prefer the white, but it's a personal preference.

• Total Time: 1 hrs 20 mins
• Prep Time: 15 mins
• Cook Time: 1 hrs 5 mins

Ingredients:

Servings: 6

• 1 1/2 cups plum tomatoes, rough chopped
• 10 ounces mushrooms, any type, quartered
• 1 small green pepper, rough chopped
• 1 large onion, rough chopped
• 8 garlic cloves, peeled, left whole
• 5 tablespoons olive oil, divided
• 3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
• salt
• pepper
• 2 lbs boneless skinless chicken thighs (4-6 thighs depending on the size)
• 2 tablespoons fresh rosemary, chopped, divided
• 1 cup dry white wine
• 1 (14 ounce) can whole tomatoes, squeeze and drain the tomatoes, reserving 1/2 cup of juice
• 1/2 cup chicken broth
• 1 tablespoon fresh marjoram, chopped
• 3 tablespoons capers, drained, divided

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 500°F
2. Prepare all roasting vegetables (tomatoes, mushrooms, pepper, garlic, onions) as indicated above. To simplify garlic peeling, smack the garlic clove with the flat side of the knife, the peel will just come right off.
3. In a large bowl combine chopped plum tomatoes, quartered mushrooms, chopped green pepper, garlic cloves, and chopped onion. Add 2 T Balsamic vinegar and 2 T olive oil and toss to combine well.
4. Place vegetables into a large roasting pan, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and into the oven. Roast, stirring occasionally, until the onions and garlic are golden brown and nearly all the liquid from the mushrooms and tomatoes has evaporated, about 40-50 mins, could be longer depending on the size of the pan.
5. Reduce oven temperature to 325°F.
6. Sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper and 1 T rosemary.
7. In a large skillet add remaining 3 T oil and heat on medium heat until oil is hot. Add one thigh at a time, making sure not to crowd them. I do them in a couple batches.
8. Brown both sides of the thighs until a golden brown, putting chicken into bowl as they are done.
9. Add wine and chicken broth to skillet and simmer until reduced by 1/2 scraping up any browned chicken bits that stuck to the bottom. Add canned tomatoes with liquid and combine thoroughly.
10. Remove roasting pan from oven. Nestle chicken in roasted vegetables and pour wine mixture over the top. Sprinkle remaining 1 T rosemary, marjoram and 1/2 of capers. Stir gently, incorporating any brown bits that may have stuck to the sides of the roasting pan.
11. Return roasting pan to oven and bake for 15 - 20 mins, or until chicken is done and juices run clear. Top with remaining capers.
12. Serve over pasta or polenta.

Reviews

[sushihanna]

Delicious! I followed the recipe exactly except that my grocer did not have fresh marjoram, so I used fresh oregano. My favorite part was biting into a melt in your mouth garlic clove, but my husband did not care for the garlic so much. So I will compromise next time by slicing the garlic, and roasting some on the side that I can add to my serving. This recipe will definitely be appearing on our menu again, and soon!

[Cooks4_6]

In all my years of cooking, I have never found a cacciatore recipe that I believed to be worth making a second time....until now! This has fabulous flavor and definitely was it for this Italian girl! I loved the crispiness of the chicken skin as the chicken was not submerged below the sauce while cooking. I also really loved the addition of capers; not always found in cacciatore. I used bone-in chicken breasts, a 15 oz can of Hunt's Roasted diced tomatoes in place of the plum tomatoes, minced garlic in place of whole cloves, and diced tomatoes in place of the whole tomatoes. The process is not as involved as it appears; but the taste is fabulous! I used an inexpensive Sauvignon Blanc for the wine. I will definitely be making this again! Served with "Creamy Parmesan Polenta" and it went together most perfectly! Thank for posting!

[Chef #824535]

Wonderful deep earthy taste! I substituted extra wine for the chicken broth and it was still wonderful! The extra step of roasting the vegetables is ABSOLUTELY worth it.