I love Chicken Cacciatore, but I wanted to create a version that included peppers rather than the more traditional carrots and celery.
In my version of the dish, I've also included earthy and aromatic oregano as well as fresh rosemary, which both go so well with the rich tomato sauce.
Although you can use tomato puree and wine or stock, I've used a tin of finely chopped tomatoes, along with 170ml of robust red wine.
Bone in chicken breasts work really well with the sauce, but you could use any bone in chicken pieces. (Note cooking time will vary depending on the size of the chicken pieces).
I like to serve it with Parmentier potatoes, but pasta also works well.
Serves 4
1 bone in chicken breast per person
4 tablespoons of olive oil
1 white onion
3 stems of fresh rosemary.
3 peppers - mix of red and green
2 cloves of garlic
170ml red wine
1 x 400g tin of finely chopped tomatoes
1 heaped tablespoon of sun-dried tomato paste
1 tablespoon of dried oregano
Pinch of brown sugar
Seasoning
- Remove the chicken breasts from the fridge and season.
- Top and tail, peel and dice the onion.
- Deseed the peppers and cut into 1-2cm dice.
- Remove the rosemary leaves from the stems and finely dice.
- Peel and finely grate or crush the garlic.
- Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a lidded sauté pan or large saucepan.
- Add the onion, peppers and rosemary and sauté, over a low to medium heat, until translucent.
- Add the crushed garlic and stir for a further 1-2 minutes, being careful not to let the garlic burn.
- Pour in the red wine and let it bubble away for a few minutes.
- Add the finely chopped tomatoes, sun-dried tomato paste, dried oregano and and sugar. Season well.
- Bring the tomato sauce to the boil then cover, lower the heat and simmer for 15 minutes.
- Whilst the sauce is cooking, heat the remaining olive oil, over a medium/high heat, in a frying or sauté pan.
- Once the oil is hot, add the chicken breasts and cook for 10-15 minutes, turning regularly.
- Remove the lid from the sauce and add the chicken breasts, and cook for a further 10-15 minutes, depending on the size of the chicken breasts.
