Sprigs of fresh thyme
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
2 tablespoons each freshly chopped parsley and basil , plus more to garnish
DIRECTIONS
1. Rinse chicken and pat dry. Season on all sides with salt and pepper. Heat oil in a heavy cast iron pot or dutch oven, drizzled with olive oil. Cook chicken on all sides until nicely browned, about 10-12 minutes. Remove chicken and transfer to a shallow plate, set aside.
2. In the same pot, add the sliced onions and mushrooms to the pot. Increase heat to medium-high. Cook until the onions are translucent, and the mushrooms have given up most of their moisture, turning and stirring frequently for about 10 minutes. Add the garlic and cook a minute more.
3. Add the wine to deglaze the Dutch oven and scrape up any browned bits at the bottom. Simmer until the wine has reduced by half. Add tomatoes, crushed tomatoes, chicken stock and stir in Italian seasoning, basil, parsley, thyme, and crushed chili pepper. Adjust seasoning with salt and pepper. Simmer uncovered for another 5 minutes.
4. Add the chicken back to the Dutch oven on top of the tomatoes and onions. Lower the heat and cover the dutch oven with the lid slightly ajar. Cook on a low simmer, turning and basting from time to time, until chicken is tender, about 40 to 50 minutes, until the meat is falling off the bone. Garnish with basil, parsley and fresh thyme and serve immediately over pasta.
This chicken cacciatore can be made up to 1 day ahead and reheated at the last minutes. It’s delicious!
You can add chopped green or Kalamata olives as well as red peppers for even more flavor.
You can adapt this recipe for the slow cooker. Brown chicken first, then add all ingredients in the slow cooker and cook on HIGH for 4-6 hours or LOW for 6-8 hours.