Mitzi’s Chicken Cacciatore

It was my dad Hank who really knew his way around the kitchen. That said, this is the one dish my mom Mitzi had in her repertoire and was served weekly in my house while growing up. Although her version calls for onions, mushrooms, and peppers you could substitute or skip any of the vegetables depending on what you have in the fridge.

Serves 4 to 6.

Ingredients

  • 4-4 1/2 pounds bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs, trimmed of excess fat

  • salt and black pepper

  • 4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

  • 1 medium yellow onion, cut in half and sliced into 1/8” strips

  • 6 garlic cloves, peeled and rough chopped

  • 8 ounces sliced mushrooms

  • 2 medium bell peppers, cored, seeded and sliced into ¼” strips

  • 1/2 cup dry red wine

  • 2 tablespoons capers

  • 2 teaspoons dried oregano

  • 2 teaspoons dried rosemary

  • 28 ounces canned diced tomatoes with liquid

  • 1 cup chicken broth

  • 2 bay leaves

Cooking Instructions

  1. Pat chicken pieces dry with paper towel and liberally season with salt and pepper.

  2. Heat a Dutch oven or large braising pan over medium to medium high heat. Once hot, add the olive oil and heat until rippling.

  3. Working in batches, brown chicken pieces about 3 minutes each side. Remove chicken from pan; set aside.

  4. Add onion and garlic to the pan, cooking until onions are translucent and beginning to brown-about 5 minutes. Add in sliced peppers and mushrooms, continuing to cook until mixture is dry-about 4 minutes.

  5. Add the red wine and cook for 3 minutes, scraping up any browned bits from bottom of pan. Toss in capers, oregano, and rosemary and stir to incorporate.

  6. Add the diced tomatoes with liquid, chicken broth, and bay leaves. Stir and bring mixture to a low boil.

  7. Nestle chicken pieces into sauce, cover and reduce heat to low.

  8. Continue cooking until chicken is done and starting to fall off the bone- about an hour.