Saturday 9 July 2011

I Feel Like Chicken Tonight! (Hunter Style Chicken-Pollo alla Cacciatora)


The rosemary I used didn't come from some exotic location

(In beautiful Campania, Italy. I stopped the car to take this photo!)

 ...but from my garden.
I wish I could have picked it from the side of a mountain, like I do in Italy, right outside our house, but...the "foreign" rosemary I have is green,  fragrant and I love it! It so reminds me of the smell of our kitchen, when Pollo alla Cacciatora (Hunter Style Chicken) was on the menu. I'm sure that when it came to cooking, my mother had the culinary equivalent of "green fingers"... or maybe it was the fact that what she cooked was prepared with love for her family and her home. Her chicken was amazing! I miss my mother.
Anyway! My Pollo alla Cacciatora is really very good! And the secret is... in the "burning" of the skin. Please don't use breast. Any other cut will do, skin on. The skin has to burn, to give the sauce that natural brown colour and almost smoky flavour (this was my mum's excuse, anyway! But she was right. I once made this dish and my daughter Gabriella said:" mummy, this doesn't taste right. You didn't burn the skin!" ) Well... she was right!
The one and only chicken cacciatora
(Hunter Style Chicken)
Ingredients:
Serves 4 people
8 chicken portions
4 cloves garlic (chopped)
3-4 rosemary sprigs
5-6 cherry tomatoes tomatoes
(fresh or tinned)
a couple generous glugs olive oil
salt
black pepper
1 glass white wine
A generous handful mushrooms, quartered
This is the easiest of dishes, as, all you do is: put all the ingredients in a largish frying pan (I have a stainless steel one I use for my Tarte Tatin) place onto a ring, full heat and cook. Stir occasionally and add a tiny drop of water if it all appears to be slightly dry.
I only cooked four portions, as you can see!
At this point I went otsude to sample the white wine I knew would be my next ingredient... beautiful, chilled white Frascati from the hills of Rome. Cin Cin!
Back to the chicken...
When the skin of your chicken has browned (like I said, don't worry if it looks slightly burnt and dark) you add your wine, stir a little bit. Let the wine reduce, so you get a quite thick dark, truly amazingly delicious sauce. Check the meat... this should be thoroughly cooked and tender. You can now add your mushrooms and cook for about ten minutes. Add salt and pepper and serve. It's delicious with crusty bread! Buon Appetito!
I served my chicken with Swiss chard, dandelion and cavolo nero, from my garden.
 Fresh and organic! and very, very green!


 I boiled the clean vegetables and drained them. In a frying pan I heated some oil and when really hot, I added some chopped garlic, some fresh chilli pepper and finally, my vegetables! Really, really good!


I think it looks pretty good!

10 comments:

  1. Anna, I can almost smell your delicious chicken and the wild mountain rosemary - and what a presentation, truly artistic, I would not know whether to paint a still life or dine on it, such choices.

    Beautiful post and I shall look forward to making this dish
    Helenxx

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  2. Helen, a still life would be fantastic, thank you. after all Picasso did do a collage of someone "Making themselves a salame sandwich" My daughters words, age 7!

    ANNA

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  3. That chicken looks so delicious Anna. Many thanks for your comments. I think you feel quite strongly about wood! Have a lovely weekend, love Linda x

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  4. Well... I don't really feel strongly about wood, but I like it and I now I would never paint over a nice piece od old furniture to make it look fashionable!

    Nice seeing you here!

    Enjoy your Sunday!

    ANNA

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  5. Hello Anna,
    A lovely post as usual. It made me remember my Father in his garden, I miss him.
    We eat a lot of chicken and this recipe will be given a try for sure. I do hope you have a happy time whn you visit Italy soon, oh, to think of the hot sunshine, bright colours and herby scents! Jane x

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  6. Hi Jane! I always love your comments! Yes, Italy will be so good! I just hope that I can upload pictures from my laptop in Italy, as last time it took so long, I gave up. You see, I'm ok when I'm in the city, in the area where I was born, but at our house in Campania, on top of a mountain, the internet is slower. But we'll see... I will have lots of time, when I'm there, and I would like do some "on location" posts, as they say. Anyway... I'll be taking lots of photos to share when I get back!

    Grazie!

    ANNA

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  7. It certainly does look good. There is a restaurant in Viterbo that offers this as a local speciality.

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  8. Yes, Lindy... it looks good and it tastes delicious! You can use lamb chops instead of chicken. Oh, my God! I just saw Berlusconi on TV! What a sight! What a waste of space! Why do we have a Lego man with a face lift and hair transplant for a Prime Minister? I'd rather look at my chicken than him!

    Sorry for any mistakes... can't find my glasses... again!

    CIAO!

    ANNA

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  9. Ha ha, I'm laughing at reading your reply to Lindy...you must really hate him!
    First of all, big huge apoligies, I'm quite new on your blog and I think I said a sillyness in one of my previous comments, I'm really sorry about it.
    My nan uses to make chicken with tomatoes, carrots and celery, instead of mushrooms, perhaps we could call it "farmer style"?!
    You have great taste, Colin Firth could be a good alternative to Mr LeBon, we don't need to fight for then! ;D
    Ciao from very hot Italy!
    xxx

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  10. Michela, I don't think you ever said anything silly... I am usually the one who says weird things!
    And yes... I DO NOT like the dwarf. He goes against everything I brought myself up to believe. But he has one credit: he invented the BUNGA BUNGA! What a twat! Doesn't money buy everything, eh?

    Ciao, Michela. Will be home in Italy on Monday and I am excited!

    Buona Notte...

    ANNA

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