Chicken Cacciatore Madre
Submitted by lunarlady
Mama’s chicken cacciatore: paprika-dusted chicken browned in olive oil, then braised in dry Marsala with crushed plum tomatoes, carrots, celery, and peppers. Italian comfort food the way Madre made it.
YIELD
6 servingsPREP
20 minCOOK
40 minREADY
60 minMadre means mother in Italian, and this cacciatore has that handed-down, made-with-love feel that only family recipes carry.
Chicken legs, thighs, and breast halves get a paprika-seasoned flour coating and a deep golden sear in olive oil, then braise in dry Marsala wine with crushed Italian plum tomatoes, julienned green peppers, sliced carrots, and celery.
The Marsala is what sets this version apart. It adds a warm, slightly sweet depth you won’t get from regular red or white wine.
After 30 minutes of covered simmering, the chicken is fall-off-the-bone tender, the sauce is thick and fragrant with basil, thyme, and oregano, and the whole kitchen smells like Sunday at Nonna’s.
Chef Tips
- Don’t crowd the skillet when browning. Work in batches so each piece gets proper contact with the hot oil and develops a real crust.
- Deglaze with the Marsala over high heat, scraping up every bit of fond from the bottom. That’s concentrated flavour you don’t want to leave behind.
- Use bone-in, skin-on chicken pieces. The bones add body to the sauce and the skin renders fat that enriches everything.
- Add the herbs at the end of cooking so they stay bright and aromatic instead of going muddy.
Ingredients
Directions
Heat oil in heavy large skillet.
Coat chicken with flour seasoned with paprika, salt and pepper, shaking off excess.
Brown chicken on all sides over moderate heat, being careful not to crowd skillet.
Remove and set aside.
In the same skillet sauté onion and garlic 3 minutes.
Turn heat to high and add wine, scraping up browned bits from bottom of skillet.
Add chicken, vegetables and herbs.
Cook 5 to 7 minutes.
Cover and simmer until tender, about 30 minutes.
Add herbs.
Adjust seasoning to taste.
Comments
I've looked at this recipe on a hundred different sites.
They are all pre4tty much dead ringers just ct and pasted from each other and not one -
NOT ONE - tells you what to do with the tomatoes.
I just read the recipe, one of the paragraph says "add chicken, vegetables and herbs", tomato can be considered as one of the vegetables, so just add tomatoes with all the other veggies into the skillet. Hopefully this helps!