When I used to think “date night”, I didn’t think “chicken”. Medium-rare steaks, juicy pork tenderloin, butter-drenched lobster; sure. But chicken? Nah. It’s just too boring. Too bland. Not sexy enough.
However, after 3 years of James begging me to make Chicken Cacciatore, I finally caved. I had eaten it before– a simple meal of tomatoes, peppers, and chicken– and while I thought it was alright, it was nothing I’d bother making myself if not for the push. I’ve got to say, I was shocked when it wound up being tender, satisfying, and oh-so-deeply flavorful this time around.
Fresh tomatoes, peppers, pearl onions, and herbs made the dish, half of which were whizzed in the blender with a bit of chicken stock and a splash of balsamic vinegar to make the broth. The remaining veggies were placed in underneath the chicken, both to absorb the juices and to prop the chicken up slightly so that it didn’t get soggy.
While Chicken Cacciatore usually calls for braising the chicken, I prefer to leave my pan lidless and not fully immerse the chicken so that the skin stays ultra crisp and lends some extra texture. Who doesn’t swoon over crispy chicken skin surrounding ultra tender thighs?
And swoon is exactly what James did when I made this, by the way. He has been talking about it ever since. Constantly. I guess I’ve got to make it again soon, not that I’m complaining of course. Maybe I’ll even make it for Valentine’s Day!
Make sure you serve your Chicken Cacciatore with bread and noodles to soak up all of that broth. You will be licking your plate when all is said and done. It is that good.
Chicken Cacciatore
- Prep Time: 20 mins
- Cook Time: 1 hour 10 mins
- Total Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
- Yield: 2 1x
Ingredients
- 4 chicken thighs, bone-in and skin intact
- Salt and pepper, to taste
- 1/3 cup all purpose flour
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1.5 lbs tomatoes (I like using various sizes and colors of tomato)
- 1 small red bell pepper, sliced
- 1 small orange bell pepper, sliced
- 2/3 cup chicken stock
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- 1 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
- 1/2 teaspoon dried parsley
- 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1/4 teaspoon dried basil
- 10 pearl onions, peeled
- 3 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
- Crushed red pepper, to taste
- 1/2 teaspoon sugar
- 1 tablespoon brined capers, drained
- 1/4 cup fresh basil
- Pasta and bread, to serve
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- Season the chicken thighs with salt and pepper. Dredge in the flour and shake off the excess. Set aside.
- Heat the butter and olive oil in an oven-safe skillet or dutch oven over medium-high heat. Brown the chicken all over and then remove to a plate.
- In a blender, combine half of the tomatoes, half of the peppers, the chicken stock, the tomato paste, the balsamic vinegar, and the dried herbs. Pulse until smooth.
- Add the garlic and the pearl onions to the pan. Saute for a minute. Add in the remaining peppers and tomatoes. Saute for an additional minute. Pour in the tomato broth mixture and stir in the sugar and capers. Season with salt, pepper, and crushed red pepper, to taste. Bring to a boil.
- Reduce to a simmer and add the chicken back to the pan, placing it on top of the tomatoes, peppers, and onions so that it is only partially submerged in the broth. Cook for an additional minute and then transfer to the oven, uncovered, until chicken is cooked through and sauce has reduced, about 45 minutes-1 hour.
- Mix in fresh basil and serve with pasta and bread.
Maybe I’ve eaten a lot of chicken so I’ve gotten used it, but I still think chicken can be jazzed up, especially in ways like this! Chicken Provençal is another good example.
And you’re right that chicken thighs may be the way to go because they have a higher fat content. Those may be a good thing to try if people are hesitant about chicken being a date night meal.
The colors of the tomatoes are beautiful by the way.
That looks way to good to eat. Really, I would probably make everyone stare at it for five minutes before we dug in.
Stunning!
Good LAWD that looks good! I just made a variation of your chocolate chip cookies tonight and fell in love so I came to check you out and I’m pretty sure I’m going to be sitting here for the next 15 minutes drooling on my keyboard at your recipes. You didn’t disappoint honey!
Mmmmm! delicioso!!
I just discovered your blog this morning & have spent an hour looking through your recipes, pinning almost every one for future use. I have to tell you that as yummy as the recipes seem to be, if they come any where close to the quality of your photos, I’ll be a happy cook. Your photos are stop-in-my-tracks-lovely, I can’t wait to try them, especially this chicken cacciatore. I am almost drooling as I imagine the depth of flavor , conveyed by the photos.
Aw thanks Jeannette! I hope you enjoy the recipes!
Great recipe – the whole family loved it and it will quickly become a staple. Thanks!!!
Hi Morgan,
did this a few times now, always comes out stunning. Have replaced the pearl onions with shallots, even more aromatic. Great recipe!
Dirk
This has become my favorite go-to chicken dish since I first saw it on Reddit, the wife loves it. We are not big pasta eaters so I serve it with roasted potatoes, but that sauce is crazy good. Thanks so much!
Really great recipe, total winner. The prep time is low and the whole family now asks for this dish for Sunday night dinners.
Only things I would add are 1) garlic, garlic, and more garlic and 2) using organic ingredients, especially the tomatoes, peppers and chicken makes a huge difference in the taste. Conventional ingredients can taste bland and the dish really suffers and you wonder why you made the effort. This is one of those recipes that the extra cost is totally worth it.
★★★★★