chicken

hunter's chicken stew (pollo alla cacciatora)

servings
Serves 4

method

Chicken cacciatora seems to be reasonably well known in Britain because it’s the classic pre-packed dish you find in Italian food ranges in supermarkets (which, to be honest, never taste of much). When you get the real deal cooked at home with love and passion it’s a totally different experience. It’s a simple combination of flavors that just works really well. Cacciatore means ‘hunter’, so this is obviously the type of food that a hunter’s wife cooks for her fella when he gets home from a hard morning spent in the countryside. This is also a great dish for big parties, as it looks after itself in the oven. In the picture I’ve made it for about 12 people.

Season the chicken pieces with salt and freshly ground black pepper and put them into a bowl. Add the bay leaves and rosemary sprigs and the crushed clove of garlic and cover with the wine. Leave to marinate for at least an hour, but preferably overnight in the fridge.

Preheat your oven to 180ºC/350ºF/gas 4. Drain the chicken, reserving the marinade, and pat dry with kitchen paper. Dust the chicken pieces with flour and shake off any excess. Heat an ovenproof pan, add a splash of olive oil, fry the chicken pieces until browned lightly all over and put to one side.

Place the pan back on the heat and add the sliced garlic. Fry gently until golden brown, then add the anchovies, olives, tomatoes (broken up with a wooden spoon) and the chicken pieces with their reserved marinade. Bring to the boil, cover with a lid or a double thickness layer of foil and bake in the preheated oven for 1½ hours.

Skim off any oil that’s collected on top of the sauce, then stir, taste and add a little salt and pepper if necessary. Remove the bay leaves and rosemary sprigs, and serve with a salad, or some cannellini beans, and plenty of Chianti.

• from Jamie's Italy

ingredients

• 1 x 2kg chicken, jointed, or use the equivalent amount of chicken pieces
• sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 8 bay leaves
• 2 sprigs of fresh rosemary
• 3 cloves of garlic, peeled (1 crushed, 2 sliced)
• ½ a bottle of Chianti
• flour, for dusting
• extra virgin olive oil
• 6 anchovy fillets
a handful of green or black olives, stoned
• 2 x 400g tins of good-quality plum tomatoes

share this page

daily recipe rss

new recipe rss

tried this recipe or a similar one? share your tips...

1. by Tess on Wed 25 Jan 2012 @ 16:35

Does anyone know if this freezes well?

2. by Jerry on Sat 10 Dec 2011 @ 09:04

Tried this recipe last night - and it was great - we added cubed squash which adds some nice orange color and some sweetness. WEll done

3. by sammy on Sat 22 Oct 2011 @ 18:51

lovely flavors but mine came out a bit watery and bitter...rescued it with a tsp of sugar and a tbs of cornflour....lovely stuff :) did mine in the slow cooker for the afternoon

4. by Wayne on Tue 18 Oct 2011 @ 15:39

Cracking recipe. I tend to add onions, peppers and hot chillies to give the dish even more of a lift - would definitely recommend this to anyone!

5. by Tigz on Sun 16 Oct 2011 @ 19:57

Have cooked this several times and everybody loves it.

6. by Samo on Sun 09 Oct 2011 @ 12:25

excellent recipe it taste great ....mmmm

7. by Cathy on Fri 09 Sep 2011 @ 22:38

Can't wait to try this recipe, think it would be good with anything, crusty bread, potatoes, pasta, rice etc, but I really think a few gnocchi thrown in just a few minutes before serving would be lovely. BTW for all teetotallers, the alcohol would evaporate during the cooking so you wouldn't actually be having any although I have come across non-alcoholic cooking wine so you could look for that.

8. by Steve Jeffery on Tue 30 Aug 2011 @ 17:46

I am cooking this for the family this evening - all a little "down" that the summer hols are coming to an end (my wife and I are teachers! - we have 3 kids too). This probably is more of an Autumnal dish, but I liked the sound of it as I could just leave it cooking whilst I did some work. I have about 1 hour of cooking time to go and it smells divine in our kitchen - yum! I am serving with come white beans cooked in white wine, cream and rosemary with some garlic and bacon lardons along with a fresh green salad and some sourdough baguette and butter - of course we will crack open a good bottle of Chianti too - the famiglia terraccia chianti riserva in fact! Thanks Jamie - food is family, right?

9. by Claire on Sat 13 Aug 2011 @ 20:58

A tasty way to cook chicken but I reckon it would benefit from the addition of chili or something else as its a bit safe.

10. by PAT FRASER on Sun 19 Jun 2011 @ 19:53

The best ever ,,,,, an easy dish to cook ,,, but looks a la carte

11. by Teresa on Sun 12 Jun 2011 @ 12:21

Great recipe. Cooked it tonight for some friends. Delicious!

12. by Christine Phelan on Mon 02 May 2011 @ 19:31

Just Lovely, and easy. perfect for a dinner party as it can be lfet in the oven to simmer, until you are ready. Thank you Jamie

13. by Donna on Thu 28 Apr 2011 @ 23:34

I'm usually a vegetarian with the exception of one slow-cooked meat meal per month made with the best ingredients I can find. This one is requested every single month and is definitely the kids favorite :)

14. by Vicki on Mon 11 Apr 2011 @ 09:47

Loved this dish, another great recipe! Thanks J. Keep them coming.

15. by mina on Wed 22 Dec 2010 @ 00:04

i believe your recipes taste wonderfull but as nonalcoholic some of your recipes do contain alcohol can you let me know what to useas a subsitude thank you.

16. by lidia on Sat 11 Dec 2010 @ 03:54

Hi Jamie! I LOVE YOUR PROGRAMS, just it wonderful... and you are a great Chef!!!

please, can you help me? I want to prepare a Duck from a special dinner to my family, but Idon´t how to cook it in a special and so delicious form!!! :(
please!!!!! give me a good tip, an idea.

Thanks.
lidia.

17. by Elaine Bellamy on Thu 18 Feb 2010 @ 21:36

Hi
It's my turn for come dine with me in a few weeks with friends and I don't like oloves but would really like to give this a go. Can you really taste them or can I replace them with something else?
Thanks

18. by Dors on Mon 08 Feb 2010 @ 18:13

Made this dish tonight as a trial run for a dinner party - it was delicious, a real 10/10. Well done Jamie for yet another brilliant recipe.

19. by mummycaz0406 on Sun 24 Jan 2010 @ 16:13

made this dish today for my sister and kids. . everyone loved it esp the kids. . so different and so tasty would never of imagined this ddish could be soo good !!!

20. by Lucky Vick on Sat 21 Nov 2009 @ 18:26

Hello, I want to make this for my dinner party in a few week. I have one problem though! My friends don't like olives (but i love them) can you taste them? or can you pick them out?

Thanks x

21. by lilyrose on Fri 02 Oct 2009 @ 15:08

Can the Chianti be replaced with other white wine?

22. by Mrs Mia Wallace on Fri 19 Jun 2009 @ 09:47

I love Jamie's recipes, he always comes top of my list, but i have a bone to pick...pollo alla cacciatora is made by the hunters while they are out hunting, they make a fire and cook the ingredients they carry on them, in a pan and eat with crusty bread. I learned this on Jamie's Italy - this is where it gets it's name. I only post this as I am surprised that Jamie (or his ghost writer) posted it is cooked by the hunters wife. Still it is my favorite version :)

23. by lara on Thu 16 Apr 2009 @ 16:40

fantastic

24. by Markus on Sat 28 Feb 2009 @ 13:12

Hi,
this stew is the BEST!!!!
Served with sliced potatoes (oven made with olive oil and rosemary)
absolutely delicious. Friends and family have been speechless
Thanks a lot, Jamie for your great ideas and recipies!!!
All the best from Hamburg, Germany
Markus

25. by toni_k05 on Sun 15 Feb 2009 @ 08:16

G'day Mimi... Saw your comment and thought I'd just say I dont think you would be drinking the alcohol, any in the recipe would be cooked of in the cooking process.

26. by Anthony on Sat 14 Feb 2009 @ 14:06

Vickie,

Maybe the wine was corked?

27. by Mimi on Fri 13 Feb 2009 @ 07:07

Hai.... I do not drink alcohol and am wondering what can I replace the wine please ?

Thank you.

28. by Joana Silva on Sun 08 Feb 2009 @ 20:22

Hi jamie.. I´m from Portugal and i love to watch your show..
I tried this recipie to my boyfriend and he just loved the dish. It was very, very good.
Keep going with your wonder recipies.
Kiss and thank you. You´re the best.

29. by Alan on Tue 20 Jan 2009 @ 12:17

This dish rocks!

If you dont really have a suitable pan to go inside yur oven, it also slow cooks fantastically on the hob.

This dish signed, sealed and secured my relationship with my partner!

30. by Deestar on Sat 17 Jan 2009 @ 07:26

Served with polenta that has parmesan and lemon rind through it ...mmmm

31. by Deestar on Fri 16 Jan 2009 @ 07:56

Served with polenta( with parmesan ,lemon juice and lemon rind mixed through it) it is divine!

32. by Vickie on Wed 14 Jan 2009 @ 19:54

I made this tonight, followed the recipe exactly but it was quite bitter. Any idea what I did wrong?

33. by Graham on Sat 10 Jan 2009 @ 21:27

Think this one will taste great. G

34. by Nate on Mon 29 Dec 2008 @ 19:43

I was just curious. . how many people does this recipe feed?

35. by potter on Fri 14 Nov 2008 @ 01:48

hi...this is the first time i join you.
all of this really great.