Chicken Cacciatore with Easy Creamy Polenta #SundaySupper

This is one of those recipes that’s a cinch to throw together, yet admittedly, I don’t make this as often as I should. Chicken Cacciatore’s rich aroma and flavors are borne in its simplicity. Some may remember Pollo alla Cacciatora as a relic from the 1950s’ Italian-American food scene–just add drippy candles and a bottle of chianti wrapped in a straw basket, and you’re all set. But it’s still a staple in Italian homes and probably considered a timeless classic.

This week for #SundaySupper we’re featuring dishes that keep you warm, and to me, nothing fits the bill better than Chicken Cacciatore. While the ingredients vary from region to region, our Ligurian family braises the chicken in a blend of tomatoes, white wine, a little fresh rosemary, and adds pitted black olives at the end. I was hoping that my trusty Oxford Companion to Food would have some details about the history of this dish, but alas, no such luck. The interwebs offers little except to point out that “cacciatore” is Italian for “hunter,” and it may have at one time been a dish made on the trail by hunters. That would have been with rabbit and no tomatoes. Some say it’s really “alla cacciatora” meaning “hunter’s wife’s” stew, perhaps prepared to feed hungry men on their return from the hunt. There’s even some suggestion that it’s related to the French dish “coq au vin” — but regardless of its origins, it’s a dish worthy of adding to your regular dinner rotation.

In our family, we serve it over a warm bed of creamy polenta, so as a bonus, I’m including that recipe here as well. It’s so easy, it hardly seems to be a recipe at all–just a few ingredients stirred into a dish, then baked until golden and bubbly. To Italians here in Northern California, Teleme cheese is the proper cheese to blend in–this is a semi-soft cheese native to this area, created by Serafino Iacono in Tomales Bay. It’s mild and buttery in flavor and is hard to resist on its own.  There are a number of suitable substitutes, but it’s most similar to brie, maybe not as heavy. I think you’ll find it’s a fine side to serve with many other stew type recipes, and this baked version means you won’t be spending hours stirring over a hot stove.

Shall we begin?

First, let’s start organizing the cacciatore ingredients.

Chop the onions and garlic, then sauté in a large pan with the olive oil.

Salt and pepper the chicken, and once the onions are translucent, add the chicken to the pan and brown for about 4 minutes on each side. Don’t squish it all together like I did.

Add the remaining ingredients (except for the olives), give it a stir, then cover and simmer for 45 minutes.

While the chicken is simmering, gather up the polenta ingredients.

Add all the ingredients (except the cheese) to an oven-proof dish, give it a good stir, put a lid on it, and bake for 45 minutes.

Cut up the cheese into cubes, then at the 45 minute mark, remove the polenta from the oven, stir in the cheese until melted–then put back in the oven uncovered for another 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, stir the olives into the cacciatore, and let simmer for a few more minutes until the olives are heated through.

This polenta is great when topped with sausage, stews, and especially good with chicken cacciatore.

So serve yourself a generous helping.

Then top with an equally generous portion of chicken cacciatore. Be sure to get some of that juice in there too–that’s the best part. You may need a crusty loaf of bread to help you sop that up!

5.0 from 2 reviews

Chicken Cacciatore (Hunter's Style Stew)

 

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Prep time

15 mins

Cook time

50 mins

Total time

1 hour 5 mins

 

This aromatic chicken dish, braised in white wine, tomatoes and a little rosemary, is easy to prepare and is perfect when nestled on a bed of creamy polenta.

Author: Anne Papina

Recipe type: Main

Cuisine: Italian

Serves: 6

Ingredients

• 3 tbsp. olive oil
• 2 medium onions, chopped
• 2-3 cloves garlic, minced
• 3 lbs chicken pieces
• ¾ cup white wine (I use Rossi Chablis)
• ¾ cup chicken broth
• 1 28-oz. can peeled whole San Marzano tomatoes, chopped, with juice reserved
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 tsp minced fresh rosemary
• ¼ cup minced flat-leaf parsley
• 1 15-oz can pitted black olives, drained
• Salt and Pepper to taste

Instructions

1. Heat oil in a large pan over medium-high heat. Add onions and garlic, and sauté until onions are translucent.
2. Salt and pepper the chicken. Pushing the onions to the sides, add the chicken and brown for about 4 minutes on each side.
3. To the chicken, add the wine, broth, and tomatoes with the reserved juice along with the bay leaf, rosemary, and parsley (reserving 1 tbsp. or so for garnish), stir.
4. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer for 45 minutes.
5. Remove cover, stir in olives, and simmer uncovered for a few additional minutes, until the olives are heated through.
6. Garnish with reserved parsley, and serve over easy creamy polenta.

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3.2.2124

5.0 from 2 reviews

Easy Creamy Polenta

 

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Prep time

5 mins

Cook time

1 hour

Total time

1 hour 5 mins

 

This easy creamy polenta is a snap to make, and the buttery Teleme cheese inside makes it irresistible.

Author: Anne Papina

Recipe type: Side

Cuisine: Italian

Serves: 6

Ingredients

• 3 cups chicken broth
• 1 cup polenta
• ½ tsp Kosher salt
• ¼ lb Teleme cheese

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350F.
2. In a large, covered baking dish, mix together broth, polenta, and salt. Cover, and bake for 45 minutes.
3. After 45 minutes, remove polenta from the oven.
4. Cut cheese into cubes and stir into polenta until completely melted.
5. Return polenta to oven for an additional 15 minutes, uncovered, until slightly browned and bubbly.

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3.2.2124

We have over 50 contributors this week, bringing you their best warm you up dishes.  We have everything from stews, soups, main entrees and even some hot drinks and desserts.

Just look at the list below that is coming to the #SundaySupper table this week!

Main Entrees: 

• Carrot, Parsnip and Lentil Casserole  - Happy Baking Days
• Chicken with Herbed Dumplings – Bobbi’s Kozy Kitchen
• Chicken pot pie – Gotta Get Baked
• Cholula Chicken Enchiladas – Kwistin’s Favorites
• Eggplant Parmesan – The Hand That Rocks The Ladle
• Roasted Roots and Fruits with Sausage – Shockingly Delicious

Chili/Stews:

• Beer-Braised Beef – Sustainable Dad
• Bigos {Authentic Polish Hunter’s Stew} – From Fast Food to Fresh Food
• Brunswick Stew and Rice – Big Bear’s Wife
• Calico Beans – Home Cooking Memories
• Carbonnade Flamande – The Girl In The Little Red Kitchen
• Chicken Cacciatore {Hunter Style Stew} with Easy Creamy Polenta –Webicurean
• Chicken & Mushroom Stew On Egg Noodles –  Galactosemia in PDX
• Cowboy Beef Stew - Comfy Cuisine 
• Ham and String Beans –  Cindy’s Recipes and Writings
• Hearty Moose Meatball Stew – Mrs. Mama Hen
• Jalapeno Popper Chicken Chili - Hezzi-D’s Books and Cooks
• Lentil and Chorizo Stew – Vintage Kitchen Notes
• Seafood Gumbo and Soul Warming #SundaySupper Wine Pairings - ENOFYLZ Wine Blog
• Soul Warming Hearty Beef Stew - In The Kitchen With KP

Soups:

• 30 Minute Black Bean Soup – Supper for a Steal
• Black Bean Soup – Basic and Delicious 
• Black Bean Soup with Hot Roast Pepper Cream - The Lovely Pantry
• Canadian Beer Cheese Soup – Juanita’s Cocina
• Chicken Soup with Dumplings – The Messy Baker
• Chicken Tortilla Soup – Dinners, Dishes and Desserts
• Coconut Curry Chicken Soup – Damn Delicious
• Easy Chicken and Dumplings – My Catholic Kitchen
• Easy Italian Wedding Soup – Family Foodie
• Easy Wonton Soup – Soni’s Food
• French Onion Soup – Momma’s Meals
• Homestyle Chicken and Dumplings – I Run For Wine
• Lasagna Soup – Cravings of a Lunatic
• Lemon Chicken Noodle Soup – Mangiamo
• Lentil and Bacon Soup – Small Wallet, Big Appetite
• Lentil Soup with Spinach – Mama’s Blissful Bites
• Peppery Mulligatawny Soup with Cherry Tomatoes & Cilantro – Sue’s Nutrition Buzz
• Pozolillo Verde {Green Chicken & Corn Pozole} – La Cocina de Leslie
• Red Lentil Soup with Crispy Aromatic Coriander – Chattering Kitchen
• Roasted Jalapeno Soup – Chocolate Moosey
• Rule of Thirds Soup - What Smells So Good?
• Seafood Chowder – Noshing with the Nolands
• Spanish Garlic Soup – Pippi’s In The Kitchen Again
• Spicy Gumbo Z’herbes – Pescetarian Journal
• Spicy Korean Brisket Soup {Yukgaejang} - Crispy Bits & Burnt Ends
• Spicy Seafood Noodle Soup {Jjamppong} – Kimchi Mom
• Spicy Udon Noodle Soup – My Trials In The Kitchen
• Turkey Noodle Soup – Magnolia Days
• Tuscan Bean Soup  - The Wimpy Vegetarian
• Twisted Chicken Noodle Soup – The Meltaways
• Warm You Up Spicy Bacon Cheeseburger Soup – Daily Dish Recipes

Desserts/Beverages:

• Hot Fudge Pudding Cake – That Skinny Chick Can Bake
• White Hot Chocolate with Orange – GirliChef

Join on us on Twitter throughout the day during #SundaySupper.  In the evening we will meet at 7pm EST for our weekly #SundaySupper live chat.

All you have to do is follow the #SundaySupper hashtag or you can follow us through TweetChat.

We’d also love to feature your Sunday Supper Soul Warming Recipes on our #SundaySupper Pinterest board and share them with all of our followers, too.

Tagged as: cacciatora, cacciatore, Chicken, corn meal, olives, polenta, rosemary, teleme cheese, tomatoes