Chicken Cacciatore

Method

1. 1

   Season chicken

   Pat the thighs dry and season with the salt.

2. 2

   Brown chicken

   Heat the oil in a wide, heavy pan over medium-high heat. Brown the thighs skin side down for 6 to 8 minutes until deep golden, then turn for 2 minutes.

3. 3

   Set aside

   Move the thighs to a plate.

4. 4

   Soften vegetables

   Pour off all but 2 tablespoons of fat. Cook the onion and peppers over medium heat for 8 minutes until soft.

5. 5

   Add garlic

   Add the garlic and tomato purée and stir for 1 minute.

6. 6

   Reduce wine

   Pour in the wine, scrape up the browned bits and let it bubble for 3 minutes until it has reduced by half.

7. 7

   Start the braise

   Add the tomatoes, rosemary and 100 ml of water. Nestle the thighs back in, skin side up.

8. 8

   Braise

   Cover and simmer gently for 35 minutes, until the chicken reaches 74°C (165°F) at the thickest part and the meat is tender.

9. 9

   Add olives

   Stir in the olives.

10. 10

    Finish sauce

    Uncover and simmer for 10 minutes until the sauce coats a spoon.

11. 11

    Serve

    Taste for salt and serve with polenta or rice.

Tips

• Leave space between the thighs as they brown so the skin gets good colour.
• Keep the chicken skin-side up during the braise, and check the thickest part without touching the bone.
• If the sauce is still thin after 10 minutes, simmer it a little longer until it coats a spoon.

Swaps

• Use yellow or orange peppers instead of red peppers.
• Swap the rosemary for thyme.
• Use green olives instead of black olives.

Storing

Refrigerate leftovers in a covered container for up to 3 days and reheat gently in a pan until piping hot.