Over the last hundred years or so, there may not be an ethnic food more embraced by the American palette than Italian cuisine. From pizza to lasagna; chicken parmesan to spaghetti and meatballs. We’ve taken these magnificent meals and made them our own. And why wouldn’t we embrace them so enthusiastically? They’re amazing! They can be rich and unctuous, savory and powerfully packed with flavor- and their taste can be appreciated by people the world over. But with all the prevalence of Italian food being cooked here in American house holds, I personally don’t see enough of my favorite… Chicken Cacciatore.
Cacciatore translates to “hunter” in Italian, and if you’re on the hunt for a terrific and simple meal, than this is what you’ve been looking for. This recipe was passed down to me from my Old Man, who used to cook this up for his fellow hungry firefighters down at Engine 15 in Manhattan and I’m sure you’ll enjoy it just as much as they did. With this recipe, you can make it sunday dinner every night in your home. So savor the flavor and enjoy it. I know you will.
Ingredients
-Olive oil to lightly coat non stick or cast iron pan
-7 Chicken Breast. Filleted and trimmed
-3 Large onions, sliced and halved
-3 Peppers (color optional- I use 2 green and 1 red), julienned and cut in half
-4 Garlic cloves (minced)
-2 Cans of whole tomatoes, lightly pureed in a blender
-1 Package of fresh mushrooms, stems partly removed and quartered
-4 Tablespoons of fresh parsley (or 2 tablespoons dried)
-2 Teaspoons of dried basil
-1 Teaspoon of oregano
-1/2 Cup of burgundy
-1 Cup of tomato paste
-Salt and pepper to taste
-1 Package of Rigatoni, or pasta of your choice
Instructions
1. Clean, prepare, chop and arrange ingredients.
2. Heat oil and begin browning chicken in frying pan.
3. In large sauce pot, place tomatoes, paste, spices and wine. Bring to simmer, stirring sporadically.
4. When chicken is done (browned lightly) add directly to sauce pot.
5. Add mushrooms to sauce.
6. Remove all but 6-8 tablespoons of oil from frying pan.
7. In same pan, fry peppers and onions in remaining oil for 5-10 minutes or until limp.
8. Add minced garlic to peppers and onions, stirring until garlic is browned (about 5 minutes).
9. Add vegetables to sauce.
10. Simmer Sauce, stirring for 2-3 hours.
11. Serve over pasta with parmesan cheese, buttered Italian bread on the side and red wine of your choice.
Captain of Cuisine 
There is nothing more pleasurable and honourable than to pass down traditions from a past of authentic and nutritious recipes! I as well remember and duplicate dishes from my upbringing and the smell takes me back and comforts me in a way nothing else does! Good for you to pass it on and let others enjoy a little bit of you had!
Merry Christmas! 🙂
Thank you very much. Truer words were never written. I’m always happy to share any authentic, old world recipes with people whenever I can. Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to you and yours as well.
Thank you for this family recipe. We’re trying it for our meal tonight. Just going to confess in advance that we’re too hungry to go for the proper 2-3 hours cooking time! Next time we ‘ll do it right.
Enjoy. Let me know how it turns out..
this is a beautiful recipe , i got to try it soon!
Thank you. Enjoy.
This sounds so delicious! I am wanting to learn to cook more Italian dishes so thank you for the recipe. Also, thank you for stopping by my blog. Yours looks great!
Thanks for taking a peak at my blog!
Love your recipes. This Chicken one is a great tasty dish for grey winter days. Have shared it on my Facebook page. Please have a look and maybe LIKE the page.
http://www.facebook.com/NotJustAPaintingHoliday
Reblogged this on MANual Living.
I made this last night!…it was delicious! (with enough leftovers for tonight too!)
That’s fantastic! I’m really happy you enjoyed it.
In Italian the name is POLLO ALLA CACCIATORA that is strange because “cacciatora” actually is like feminine but is a word that doesn’t exist in Italian current language 😉