Chicken Cacciatore

I recently bought a nice new dutch oven and have been stewing and braising quite often to justify spending money I didn't have. This recipe looked pretty good to start with but I tweaked it a little. I added the mushrooms and red chili flakes. I got stuck with plain old button mushrooms because the grocery store was strangely out of most of their produce. Must have been all the students coming back to school. I would have liked to use creminis.

I read through the recipe once or twice and then just started throwing things together. I stupidly threw the basil in and stewed it with the chicken, which turned it an unappealing brown color. Remember just to sprinkle it over the top when plated, that will add a nice freshness and keep the colors vibrant. I obviously wasn't thinking clearly that day and used extra virgin olive oil to brown the chicken. This of course led to a nice burnt pan bottom. In the future I will try to remember to use plain olive oil or a blended oil (they have a higher smoke point and won't burn as easily).

Chicken Cacciatore
Adapted from Giada de Laurentiis

8 chicken pieces (I used thighs and legs)
Kosher salt
Pepper
All-purpose flour for dredging
3 Tablespoons olive oil
2 Tablespoons unsalted butter
1 large red bell pepper, chopped
1 onion, chopped
1 pound cremini mushrooms, quartered
3 garlic cloves, minced
A few shakes of red pepper flake
3/4 cup dry white wine
1 (28 oz.) can of diced tomatoes with juice
3/4 cup chicken stock
3 Tablespoons capers, drained
1 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano leaves
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil

Season the chicken liberally with salt and pepper. Lightly dredge the chicken pieces with flour and pat off the excess.

Heat the oil in a heavy bottomed pan or dutch oven over medium-high heat. When the oil is hot (it should be wavy but not smoking) add the chicken pieces skin-side down and saute until brown (5 or 6 minutes). This will render some of the fat out of the skin so it's not so chewy and soggy. After the chicken is browned, remove it to a plate. Add the butter, pepper, onion, garlic and the red pepper flakes, season with salt and pepper and saute until the onion softens (about 5 minutes). Deglaze the pan with the wine and scrape the little brown bits from the bottom of the pan, this will help flavor your sauce. Cook until the wine is reduced by half (about 3 minutes). Next, stir in the capers, stock, oregano and the tomatoes with their juice. Add the chicken pieces back into the pot and simmer, covered until cooked through (approx. 30 minutes).

When the chicken pieces are cooked, remove to a plate. Bring the sauce to a boil and reduce for about 5 minutes until it has thickened a little. Taste your sauce, what does it need? If you seasoned your ingredients throughout it might not need anything. Be careful of adding to much salt because the capers are pretty salty.

Spoon the sauce over the chicken and sprinkle with fresh chopped basil.