This past week I was craving a good “Sunday Dinner” caliper meal that I could throw together after work. I decided a chicken cacciatore sounded amazing and something I hadn’t cooked in quite some time. I did a quick google search for a recipe. After a mental inventory of the ingredients, I determined I could adapt the recipe and avoid a trip to the grocery store (bonus!). We try to load up on protein when it goes on sale. I am thankful that night that I had a freezer full of options. When I got home I pulled 6 boneless, skinless thighs out of the freezer and got them defrosting.
Boneless chicken cooks faster than it’s bone-in counterpart. Being able to cook the chicken in less time gave me more time to let the dish simmer and flavors meld. This dish works great with thighs and can be made with breasts if you prefer.
I ended up starting with a foodnetwork recipe by Giada De Laurentiis. I didn’t feel like opening a bottle of wine just for the little bit the recipe calls for so I skipped it. I also didn’t flour the chicken. I try to avoid added carbs and gluten when possible. I substituted the capers for castelvetrano whole green olives
While the chicken was defrosting I diced one white onion and set it aside. I chopped a whole red bell pepper and set it aside. I pulled a good amount of leaves off my basil plant and julienned them. I was approximately ¼ cup of basil I believe. I keep a large container of minced garlic in my fridge at all times so the garlic was ready to go. By this time the chicken was thawed. I put our trusty ‘one pot’ skillet on medium high and added olive oil. While the oil was heating I out a heavy coat of adobo
In goes the chicken. I put the chicken in what would have been skin side down, however these thighs were skinless. I let the chicken get nice and brown before flipping. Once the chicken was done I set it aside. I left the juices and any browned residue in the pan for flavor. Now it’s time to make the sauce.
I turned down the heat to medium – medium low. The onions and garlic were added next. I added a little salt to help the onions sweat. Adjust your heat as needed for a quiet sizzle on the onions. You want the to sweat and not fry. Once the onions started to sweat I added the red bell pepper. I sauteed the vegetables and allowed the juices to deglaze the pan. I then added a 28 ounce can of diced tomatoes. I then added about ½ – ¾ tablespoons of dried oregano, ¾ cup of chicken broth, and ¾ of the basil. I added a small amount of salt keeping in mind the chicken is salted and I always salt my rice.
Transfer the chicken to the sauce and push it down to nearly cover. I had approximately ¼ cup of whole green olives (not pitted) and added these in between the pieces of chicken. I also added about 1-1.5 tablespoons of the olive juice. I figured since I wasn’t adding any wine this would help kick the flavor up. You can find pitted castelvetrano olives
I sprinkled the dish with the remaining basil, covered the dish, and turned the temperature to low. While the dish was simmering I got the rice cooker
This turned out to be the best chicken cacciatore I have made. It only took 30-40 minutes and tasted amazing. Luckily we had enough left over for a delicious lunch as well.
