Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking - Marcella Hazan [156]
1 garlic clove, peeled and chopped very fine
⅔ cup canned imported Italian plum tomatoes, chopped coarse, with their juice
1. Wash the chicken in cold water and pat thoroughly dry with cloth or paper towels.
2. Choose a saute pan that can subsequently accommodate all the chicken pieces without crowding them. Put in the oil and turn the heat on to medium high. When the oil is hot, turn the chicken in the flour, coat the pieces on all sides, shake off excess flour, and slip them into the pan, skin side down. Brown that side well, then turn them and brown the other side. Transfer them to a warm plate, and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
3. Turn the heat back on to medium high, put in the sliced onion, and cook the onion until it has become colored a deep gold. Add the wine. Let it simmer briskly for about 30 seconds while using a wooden spoon to scrape loose the browning residues on the bottom and sides of the pan. Return the browned chicken pieces to the pan, except for the breasts, which cook faster and will go in later. Add the bell pepper, carrot, celery, garlic, and the chopped tomatoes with their juice. Adjust heat to cook at a slow simmer, and put a lid on the pan to cover tightly. After 40 minutes add the breast and continue cooking at least 10 minutes more until the chicken thighs feel very tender when prodded with a fork, and the meat comes easily off the bone. Turn and baste the chicken pieces from time to time while they are cooking.
4. When the chicken is done, transfer it to a warm serving platter, using a slotted spoon or spatula. If the contents of the pan are on the thin, watery side, turn the heat up to high under the uncovered pan, and reduce them to an appealing density. Pour the contents of the pan over the chicken and serve at once.
Ahead-of-time note The dish can be cooked through to the end up to a day in advance. Let the chicken cool completely in the pan juices before refrigerating. Reheat in a covered pan at a slow simmer, turning the chicken pieces until they are warmed all the way through.
Chicken Cacciatora, New Version
THIS APPROACH to the cacciatora style is even simpler than the preceding one. There is less wine, no flour, and there are no other vegetables except for tomatoes and onion, which in this version are present in more prominent proportions, bestowing on the chicken a sweeter, fruitier flavor, somewhat like that of a very fresh pasta sauce. Also note that here olive oil replaces vegetable oil.
For 4 to 6 servings
A 3- to 4-pound chicken, cut into 6 to 8 pieces
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 cup onion sliced very thin
2 garlic cloves, peeled and sliced very thin
Salt
Black pepper, ground fresh from the mill
⅓ cup dry white wine
1½ cups fresh, very ripe, firm meaty tomatoes, skinned raw with a peeler and chopped, OR canned imported Italian plum tomatoes, cut up, with their juice
1. Wash the chicken in cold water and pat thoroughly dry with cloth or paper towels.
2. Choose a saute pan that can subsequently contain all the chicken pieces without crowding them. Put in the olive oil and the sliced onion, and turn on the heat to medium. Cook the onion, turning it occasionally, until it becomes translucent.
3. Add the sliced garlic and the chicken pieces, putting them in skin side facing down. Cook until the skin forms a golden crust, then turn the pieces and do the other side.
4. Add salt and several grindings of pepper, and turn the chicken pieces over 2 or 3 times. Add the wine, and let it simmer away until about half of it has evaporated.
5. Add the cut-up tomatoes, turn down the heat to cook at an intermittent simmer, and cover the pan, putting the lid on slightly askew. Turn and baste the chicken pieces from time to time while they are cooking. Whenever you find that the liquid in the pan becomes insufficient, add 2 tablespoons of water. Cook until the chicken thighs feel very tender when prodded with a fork, and the meat comes easily off the bone, about 40 minutes.
Ahead-of-time note The recommendations in the preceding cacciatora recipe