Chicken Cacciatore

Make Chicken Cacciatore tonight: braise golden chicken in a rich tomato-wine sauce for cozy, flavorful comfort.

Ingredients

• 4 bone in chicken thighs large (1 kg / 2 lb)
• 4 chicken drumsticks
• 1/2 tsp cooking salt / kosher salt
• 1/4 tsp black pepper
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 onion (, halved, finely sliced)
• 2 rosemary sprigs ((about 15 cm/6" long), or 1 tsp dried rosemary)
• 2 bay leaves (, preferably fresh else dried)
• 3 garlic cloves (, finely minced)
• 3 anchovy fillets (or 1 tsp anchovy paste), optional (Note 2)
• 250g / 8 oz mushrooms (, sliced)
• 2 red capsicum (, sliced 8 mm thick (medium, not giant))
• 1/3 cup tomato paste
• 3/4 cup pinot noir (or other dry red wine (Note 3))
• 2 cups chicken stock/broth (, low sodium)
• 400g/14 oz canned crushed tomato
• 16 whole kalamata olives (, pitted, drained)
• 1/4 tsp cooking/kosher salt
• 1/4 tsp black pepper
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• Mashed potato ( or polenta)
• Finely chopped parsley (, for sprinkling (optional))

Instructions

Step 1: Season the chicken

Spread the bone-in chicken thighs and drumsticks out on a tray and season both sides with the cooking salt and black pepper. Press the seasoning gently into the skin so it clings, and let the pieces rest briefly while you heat the pan. This is a simple but essential moment: properly seasoned skin is the foundation for golden, crisped color later on.

Step 2: Brown the chicken skin

Heat olive oil in a heavy, deep pan until hot. Working in batches, place the thighs skin-side down and hold them long enough for the skin to turn a rich golden-brown, roughly six minutes; flip briefly to colour the flesh side and transfer to the tray. Repeat with the drumsticks, browning each side. The result should be pieces with taut, lustrous, bronzed skin and some fond left in the pan—reserve any juices from the tray to add back later.

Step 3: Sweat the onion and aromatics

Pour off all but about two tablespoons of the fat from the pan, reduce the heat to medium, and add the halved-and-sliced onion with rosemary leaves, bay leaves and the dried oregano. Let the onion soften and become translucent, three minutes or so, so it releases sweetness and the herbs bloom into the fat.

Step 4: Add garlic and anchovies, build depth

Clear a small well in the softened onion, add the minced garlic and anchovy fillets (or paste) and cook briefly, mashing the anchovies into the garlic until fragrant and the garlic is a pale gold. Stir this deeply savory paste through the onions so it dissolves into the base—this quiet step creates savory backbone without overt fishiness.

Step 5: Soften vegetables and cook the tomato paste

Turn the heat back up and add the sliced mushrooms and red capsicum. Toss and cook until the mushrooms release their moisture and it evaporates, about five minutes, then stir in the tomato paste and keep cooking for a full two minutes so the paste darkens, loses raw sourness, and caramelizes slightly on contact with the hot pan.

Step 6: Deglaze and build the sauce

Pour in the red wine, stir to lift any caramelized fond from the pan, bring to a simmer and reduce until concentrated by roughly three-quarters. Add the chicken stock and canned crushed tomato, then season with the small finishing pinch of salt, black pepper and the dried oregano. Stir everything together and bring the mixture back to a gentle simmer.

Step 7: Simmer the chicken in the sauce

Carefully nestle the browned chicken pieces skin-side up into the hot tomato-and-wine sauce, pouring any collected tray juices into the pan. When the liquid returns to a simmer, cover briefly and simmer energetically for twenty minutes, then remove the lid, stir in the pitted kalamata olives and continue simmering uncovered for a further ten minutes so the sauce reduces and thickens, coating the chicken. The finished state should be glossy, thick tomato sauce clinging to the golden chicken, with mushrooms, peppers and olives visible throughout.

Step 8: Serve with mashed potato and parsley

Spoon the chicken and plentiful sauce over a bed of creamy mashed potato (or polenta) so the sauce pools around the starch. Scatter finely chopped parsley for a fresh green fleck if desired. The final plate should feel rustic and generous: crisp-edged, sauce-glazed chicken resting against pale, buttery mash, steam rising and aromas of rosemary and garlic evident.

Notes

• Brown the chicken in batches to get crisp skin and avoid steaming.
• Caramelize the tomato paste for deeper, less acidic flavor.
• Taste and adjust salt only near the end because olives and stock add saltiness.
• Store leftovers in an airtight container for up to 3 days; flavors improve overnight.