Hello All! Soooooo, once again, I've fallen off of blogging here. My apologies. Not sure why that happens but I am really gonna try to be better about it. Kicking things back off with a delish dinner from last night. Here is Rachael Ray's "Cacciatore-Style Boneless Chicken One-Pot with Green Beans".
This dinner is a quick and easy version of an Italian food classic. Traditional chicken cacciatore, translated as hunter's chicken, is a slow poached, bone-in chicken braised with vegetables, herbs and wine. In this version, boneless chicken is used which lessens the time. The ingredients call for a mix of both white and dark meat. I chose to use all dark meat with boneless, skinless chicken thighs. If you prefer all white meat, buy boneless skinless breasts and cut them across as the recipe instructs and if you like the mix, by all means, go for that! First thing to do is to brown the chicken. I seasoned the chicken with salt and pepper and when the EVOO was hot I added the chicken and browned on both sides. Once the chicken was browned I added in the pancetta. For those that don't know, pancetta is a rolled cured meat and is basically the Italian equivalent of bacon, except that it isn't smoked. If your store doesn't have any pancetta, substitute bacon. The dish with just have a bit of a smoky flavor in the background. Once the pancetta was rendered I added in the mushrooms and the thyme. Rachael Tip: When cleaning your mushrooms, DO NOT run them under water. This can make for a rubbery mushroom. Use a damp paper towel or dishtowel and wipe them clean. Rachael Tip: DO NOT salt the mushrooms before they are browned! Salting them ahead will draw out the liquids which will slow down the browning process, and lead to a longer cooking time. Wait till the mushrooms are deeply browned and golden and then season with salt and pepper. Browning the mushrooms should take around 7-8 minutes, just as the recipe states. Once the mushrooms were browned, I added in the onion, garlic and chili pepper and seasoned the dish with salt and pepper. At this point i let the veggies sweat out for 4-5 minutes until the onions start to turn translucent. This is when I added in the tomato paste. Rachael Tip: When using tomato paste from a tube, you need to wake the tomato paste up. It's been sitting in a tube for a long time and without letting it cook out, the tomato paste will have metallic taste from sitting in the tube. Stir it until it is fragrant. Once you can smell it, it's good to go. Once the tomato paste is cooked out you can add in the wine and deglaze the pan. The recipe calls for a dry white or red either one. I actually prefer a red wine in cacciatore, but all I had on hand was white and the wine store was closed, so, white wine is perfectly fine. I let the wine cook out for a minute or so then added in the chicken stock and the tomatoes. At this point, I let the sauce reduce and then added back the chicken and pancetta. Let it cook out, covered, for 5-7 more minutes to make sure the chicken is cooked through and it's good to go!! I topped it just as Rachael suggested, with fresh shaved Parmigiano-Reggiano!!
This was a really tasty dinner and one that will definitely be in my recipe arsenal again at some point. Hope you guys enjoy it! As always, the link to the recipe is posted below. Until next time, Buon Appetito!
Recipe:
http://www.rachaelrayshow.com/food/recipes/20078_cacciatore_style_boneless_chicken_one_pot_with_green_beans/
This dinner is a quick and easy version of an Italian food classic. Traditional chicken cacciatore, translated as hunter's chicken, is a slow poached, bone-in chicken braised with vegetables, herbs and wine. In this version, boneless chicken is used which lessens the time. The ingredients call for a mix of both white and dark meat. I chose to use all dark meat with boneless, skinless chicken thighs. If you prefer all white meat, buy boneless skinless breasts and cut them across as the recipe instructs and if you like the mix, by all means, go for that! First thing to do is to brown the chicken. I seasoned the chicken with salt and pepper and when the EVOO was hot I added the chicken and browned on both sides. Once the chicken was browned I added in the pancetta. For those that don't know, pancetta is a rolled cured meat and is basically the Italian equivalent of bacon, except that it isn't smoked. If your store doesn't have any pancetta, substitute bacon. The dish with just have a bit of a smoky flavor in the background. Once the pancetta was rendered I added in the mushrooms and the thyme. Rachael Tip: When cleaning your mushrooms, DO NOT run them under water. This can make for a rubbery mushroom. Use a damp paper towel or dishtowel and wipe them clean. Rachael Tip: DO NOT salt the mushrooms before they are browned! Salting them ahead will draw out the liquids which will slow down the browning process, and lead to a longer cooking time. Wait till the mushrooms are deeply browned and golden and then season with salt and pepper. Browning the mushrooms should take around 7-8 minutes, just as the recipe states. Once the mushrooms were browned, I added in the onion, garlic and chili pepper and seasoned the dish with salt and pepper. At this point i let the veggies sweat out for 4-5 minutes until the onions start to turn translucent. This is when I added in the tomato paste. Rachael Tip: When using tomato paste from a tube, you need to wake the tomato paste up. It's been sitting in a tube for a long time and without letting it cook out, the tomato paste will have metallic taste from sitting in the tube. Stir it until it is fragrant. Once you can smell it, it's good to go. Once the tomato paste is cooked out you can add in the wine and deglaze the pan. The recipe calls for a dry white or red either one. I actually prefer a red wine in cacciatore, but all I had on hand was white and the wine store was closed, so, white wine is perfectly fine. I let the wine cook out for a minute or so then added in the chicken stock and the tomatoes. At this point, I let the sauce reduce and then added back the chicken and pancetta. Let it cook out, covered, for 5-7 more minutes to make sure the chicken is cooked through and it's good to go!! I topped it just as Rachael suggested, with fresh shaved Parmigiano-Reggiano!!
This was a really tasty dinner and one that will definitely be in my recipe arsenal again at some point. Hope you guys enjoy it! As always, the link to the recipe is posted below. Until next time, Buon Appetito!Recipe:
http://www.rachaelrayshow.com/food/recipes/20078_cacciatore_style_boneless_chicken_one_pot_with_green_beans/
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