Hunter’s Chicken
On Monday we woke up to a major snowstorm here in Toronto. By 2 pm we had received 36 cm of snow! The last time we had more than 30 centimetres of snow in one day was in 2008.
Needless to say, the city was pretty much at a standstill while we cleaned up!
Luckily, I had planned ahead and picked up everything I needed to make a pot of Hunter’s Chicken. A simple, rustic dish that is perfect on a snowy day.
My Hunter’s Chicken is inspired by the classic Italian dish, Pollo alla cacciatora.
The chicken is first browned, then braised in a tomato, white-wine sauce with onion and garlic and seasoned with fresh rosemary and thyme.
I like to add some black olives; their slightly bitter briny flavour provides a nice contrast to the richness of the sauce.
I love mushrooms, so I include mushrooms in my dish along with the more classic bell pepper. The mushrooms really add a nice earthy richness to the sauce, which I enjoy in a hearty braised dish like this.
I’ve used portobella mushrooms, but you can use cremini, or an assortment of different mushrooms. if you have access to some great wild mushrooms all the better!
Serve family style with creamy polenta and rapini sautéed with garlic and lemon alongside.
Enjoy!
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 2 kg whole chicken, cut into pieces or use the equivalent amount of bone-in, skin on chicken pieces
- salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 1 tbsp butter
- 2-3 Portobello mushrooms halved, then sliced
- 1 large onion finely sliced
- 4-5 garlic clove crushed and left whole
- 1 sweet red bell pepper cut into strips
- 1 small red chilli sliced
- 2 sprigs of rosemary
- 2 sprigs of thyme
- 2 sprigs of sage
- 2 bay leaves
- 2 tbsp tomato paste
- 125 ml dry white wine
- 796 ml whole or crushed canned tomatoes
- 12 -15 black olives
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 160°C/325°FRub the chicken pieces all over with salt and pepper. In a large, deep-frying pan, heat the oil over med- high heat. Working in batches, add the chicken to the pan and brown well all over. Transfer to a plate and set aside.
- Remove all but 1 tablespoon of the fat from the saucepan. reduce the heat to medium and add the onions, cook until translucent, about 2-3 minutes. Raise the heat to med-high and add the sliced mushrooms. Cook, stirring frequently, until the mushrooms are browned, about 5 minutes.Add the garlic, bell pepper, chili and tomato paste to the pan and cook for another 2-3 minutes, stirring frequently.
- Add the wine and allow the wine to evaporate slightly. Add the black olives and canned tomatoes along with their liquid, stir well. Note: if using whole tomatoes gently crush them with your hand to break them up a bit before adding.
- Add the chicken pieces to the pan in a single layer. Tuck the thyme, sage and rosemary into the pan along with the bay leaves.
- Allow to come to a boil, then cover with a lid and transfer to the oven to cook for 1¼ hours. For stove top; reduce the heat to low, cover with a lid and cook gently for 1¼ hours.
- Remove the bay leaves and the woody stems from the herbs. Serve with creamy polenta or pasta to soak up the sauce.