Chicken Cacciatore

When it comes to hearty stews, the Italians are experts. Red wine, roasted peppers and rosemary give this dish bags of warming flavour whilst the olives and tomatoes bring a touch of freshness to balance the dish out. 

This is cooked low and slow in the oven for an hour until the chicken just falls apart and the sauce has intensified. Stir it through pasta like I did for a real bowl of comfort or serve it with creamy mashed potato and greens for something a little more sophisticated. Just make sure you try it out because it's absolutely delicious... 

Chicken Cacciatore

Serves 6

oil

6 boneless, skinless chicken thighs

6 large portobello mushrooms

2 red onions

1 x 460g jar roasted peppers, drained

12 black olives, stones removed

4 sprigs fresh rosemary

200ml red wine

2 x 400g tins plum tomatoes

sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Preheat the oven to 180C. Season the chicken well with salt and pepper then put in in a large casserole pan on a medium-high heat with 1 tablespoon of oil. Cook for 10 minutes, or until golden, turning regularly. You may need to brown the chicken in batches depending on the size of your pan. 

Meanwhile, peel and tear up the mushrooms, peel and finely chop the onions and roughly chop the peppers. Remove the browned chicken to a plate, leaving the pan on the heat. Stir the mushrooms, onions, peppers and olives into the pan then strip in the rosemary. Cook for 10 minutes, or until softened, stirring regularly.

Pour in the wine and let it cook away then add the tomatoes and half a tin's worth of water. Break up the tomatoes with your spoon then bring to the boil. Stir in the chicken and any juices then transfer to the oven. Cook for 1 hour (or until the chicken is tender) then serve. I stirred mine through fresh tagliatelle but this would work with mashed potatoes or chunks of bread instead.