Chicken Cacciatore a la Norman

My chicken cacciatore recipe differs rather dramatically from the traditional recipe. Generally, the tomato has the starring role in the sauce, but here it plays only a minor part. Cacciatore means hunter style and that often indicates mushrooms and herbs. Therefore, I give the mushroom the lead, and particularly the dried porcini. enhanced with a generous smattering of fresh herbs. I also include sautéd fresh mushrooms, more for texture than taste. Tomato does perform a supporting role and because my version uses fresh tomatoes, I make this dish only in August or September when tomatoes are at their prime. I want the small amount that I use to be the very best quality.

The traditional cacciatore calls for bone-in chicken pieces with the skins intact. Because I prefer an easier-to-eat dish that can be served over pasta, I have substituted chunks of boneless, skinless chicken breasts. I have nothing against the usual version, but I already have so many tomato-laden recipes that I find this not only a refreshing change but also a very toothsome alternative. If you prefer a more tomatoey taste, simply double the amount of fresh tomatoes.

When I make the sauce, I always use a deeply flavored homemade chicken stock, but the store-bought variety will give you a perfectly good result. What gives the sauce its particularly earthy flavor is the soaking liquid from the dried porcini mushrooms.

I find this dish works particularly well over fresh linguine noodles (I do cheat here and buy them from my homemade pasta store). I also make more sauce than is usually done because I want enough to coat the pasta. Fresh pasta, especially, soaks up a lot of sauce. However, any dried pasta will work as well. The recipe will feed six to eight. It does take a bit of time to make, but what I like about it is that reheated very gently it can last for several meals

To print or download the recipe, click here.