{"id":42207,"date":"2019-02-19T08:06:54","date_gmt":"2019-02-19T13:06:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/?p=42207"},"modified":"2019-02-19T08:06:57","modified_gmt":"2019-02-19T13:06:57","slug":"on-your-table-going-for-more-flavor-not-just-more-food","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/?p=42207","title":{"rendered":"On Your Table: Going for more flavor, not just more food"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Cathy Branciaroli<\/strong>, Food Correspondent, The Times<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Call it by any name, Chicken Cacciatore makes for a great winter dish.<\/p><\/div>\n

At this time of year, many folks are focused on how to eat less. For myself I\u2019m focused on consuming more flavorful, more comforting and more satisfying food.\u00a0 This doesn\u2019t necessarily mean more food, just better. I suppose this is counterintuitive thinking, but it\u2019s comfort food season. And you can satisfy both the need for healthfulness and the need for flavor in many a comforting dish. Take chicken cacciatore.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Whatever you call it, pollo alla cacciatora, chicken cacciatore or hunter\u2019s stew, this classic Italian dish suits perfectly for a wintry Sunday\u2019s main meal. Essentially this is pan-seared chicken slowly braised in an intense wine sauce flavored with garlic and fragrant herbs.<\/p>\n

Straightforward yes? But maybe not so much.<\/p>\n

Opinions differ on which ingredients are essential in this simple rustic dish and all are fiercely held. Like many traditional Italian foods, preparations of this dish are regionally driven and in addition each household proudly serves its own slight variation. The result?\u00a0 Hundreds of versions, not counting the Italian-American twists.<\/p>\n

For instance, to be truly authentic in Abruzzo, my family\u2019s home region, mushrooms are a must along with a regional favorite, hot peppers, and red wine. Some tomato sauce or paste is allowed. But in Rome, one would never prepare the dish with tomatoes and white wine is used. Across the regions, anchovies, capers, olives or juniper berries can be included for flavor but use of these vary across renditions.\u00a0 Even chicken is not a given, since rabbit or other game can be the primary ingredient. In the US, recipes universally feature a stew-like tomato-based sauce and rosemary usually isn\u2019t included as it is in Italy. There seems to be no correct recipe \u2013 only tasty ones.<\/p>\n

What we apparently can all agree on is that the dish most likely originated in mountainous areas of Central Italy as peasant food, the celebrated cucina povera. \u00a0It would have been assembled based on the outcome of the hunt, hence Hunter\u2019s Chicken, and what was easily available. Ingredients like quail, pheasant or rabbit were hunted. Mushrooms were foraged in the forest. Tomatoes, garlic and vegetables were grown on the family\u2019s ground. Wine was homemade or easily available.<\/p>\n

My take in preparing it is Abruzzese at heart with a few elements borrowed from other renditions such as a hearty tomato sauce and vegetables.<\/p>\n

Is it \u201cauthentic\u201d? Well, pretty much. And the result satisfied my quest for tastiness in comfort food. To me, this is a must-have winter dish.\u00a0 Hope you\u2019ll agree.<\/p>\n

Chicken Cacciatore (Pollo alla Cacciatora)<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n

Ingredients:
\n<\/u>One 3-lb cut up chicken or 8 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs
\n\u00bc cup olive oil
\n1 medium onion cut into slices
\n\u00bd pound assorted mushrooms, sliced
\n1 large carrot cut into 1-in pieces
\n1 rib celery cut into 1-in pieces
\n1 whole dried Italian hot pepper (diavoletto)
\n3 cloves garlic, peeled and sliced into batons
\n1 sprig fresh rosemary
\n1 \u00bd cups dry red wine
\n1 tbs tomato paste
\n1 14.5-oz can diced tomatoes drained
\nSalt (may need ~1 tsp in total) and ground pepper to taste
\nOptional \u2013 \u00bd cup chicken broth if the dish seems too dry<\/p>\n

1 tbs chopped fresh parsley for garnish<\/p>\n

Preparation:
\n<\/u>Heat the oil in a Dutch oven or large skillet over medium-high heat.\u00a0 Pat chicken dry with paper towels and season with salt & pepper.\u00a0 Add chicken pieces skin side down, making sure not to crowd them in the pan.\u00a0 This may require browning in batches.\u00a0 Brown for 5-6 minutes per side.\u00a0 Transfer to a plate and discard skins.<\/p>\n

Drain off most of the oil, leaving enough to coat the bottom of the pan.\u00a0 Add onions, carrots, celery and whole pepper.\u00a0\u00a0 Sprinkle with \u00bd tsp salt.\u00a0 Cook under medium heat, stirring occasionally till vegetables are softened, ~ 5 minutes.\u00a0 Add garlic and rosemary and cook for additional 1 minute.<\/p>\n

Deglaze the pan with the red wine.\u00a0 Add mushrooms and cook down till softened.\u00a0\u00a0 Stir in tomato paste then add diced tomatoes. Add chicken pieces and their pan juices on top of the vegetables, nestling them on top.\u00a0 There should be just enough liquid to just cover the chicken parts.\u00a0 If needed add the broth.<\/p>\n

Cook covered for 30 to 40 minutes, stirring occasionally for doneness.\u00a0 Test seasoning.\u00a0 Serve hot, garnishing with the parsley.\u00a0 Serve over polenta.<\/p>\n

Polenta
\n<\/u><\/strong>Bring 4 cups water to a boil, whisk in 1 cup cornmeal to insure no lumps form.\u00a0 Add \u00bd tsp salt and cook for 2 minutes.\u00a0 Reduce heat and cook on low-medium heat for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Additional water or broth may need to be added to keep a creamy consistency.\u00a0 Add 1-2 tbs butter at the end for finishing.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Cathy Branciaroli, Food Correspondent, The Times At this time of year, many folks are focused on how to eat less. For myself I\u2019m focused on consuming more flavorful, more comforting and more satisfying food.\u00a0 This doesn\u2019t necessarily mean more food, just better. I suppose this is counterintuitive thinking, but it\u2019s comfort food season. And […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":42209,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[245],"tags":[11952,7007,7426,11953,785],"class_list":["post-42207","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-lifestyle","tag-chicken-cacciatore","tag-cooking","tag-featured","tag-flavorful-foods","tag-winter"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42207","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=42207"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42207\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":42208,"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42207\/revisions\/42208"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/42209"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=42207"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=42207"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=42207"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}