… i thought i’d hit the ground running this weekend and kill a couple of birds whilst I’m at it… all metaphorically obviously… well, the birds were killed by someone in Morrisons supermarket… just not me… but you get my drift?
… I had bought my weekly chicken thighs last week but didn’t get around to using them and they needed using before they actually stand up and barge out of my fridge… and as I was searching for a recipe I remembered that March’s Forever Nigella challenge from Maison Cupcake is ‘Ciao Italia’… so out came the Nigella library… and this is what I found to suit my ingredients…
…’cacciatora’ translates as ‘hunter’ or in this recipe ‘in the hunters way’… which I guess really means; fast, easy… using ingredients one has hunted and earth vegetables one has found… (I refer you here to my previous paragraph about it being not me but Morrisons doing the hunting/killing…)
… now i’ve taken my usual liberties with this dish and kind of deconstructed the way HRH Nigella has prepared it… i’ve transferred it to one oven dish as I think it’s so much easier to cope with and you get a browner, crispier chicken… and this is the recipe shown below… you can find the original in Nigella Express…
Pollo alla Cacciatora
6 chicken thighs (with bone and skin)
75g Pancetta cubes
1 onion – medium chopped
3 garlic cloves
1 teaspoon chopped rosemary
1/2 teaspoon celery salt
glass of white wine
1 x 400g tin of chopped tomatoes
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1 x 400g cannellini beans
– place the onion, whole garlic cloves pancetta and rosemary into your oven proof dish and then lay the chicken thighs on top
– drizzle with olive oil and season, add the glass of wine and place in a very hot oven for 15 minutes
– after 15mins, turn the chicken thighs over and place back in the oven for another 10 minutes
– after this time pour over and stir in the tinned tomatoes and drained cannellini beans and sprinkle with the celery salt and sugar
– place back in the oven for a further 20 minutes until golden and unctuous
eat and of course, enjoy!
Oh yum Dom, that looks really delicious. I love chicken cooked like that so it's really tender and has had chance to take on all the flavours of the other ingredients.
now this sounds good. gonna have to give that a go. Quite versitile are chicken thighs, I've found recently and also quite cheap.
Dom this looks mouth wateringly delicious! love it.
My you are on top of things!
Another yummy dish Dom – love that you made them even easier than Nigella's version, good on ye!
Yummy! I must buy one of Nigella's cookbook. I have seen and read so many delicious recipes. I always use chicken thighs.
Hahaha! Oh dear! Yes, some chickens were killed (not by you) for this dish.
This dish looks incredible. I love the beans in it too
Simple and delicious. Genius!
Love chicken thighs and love Chicken alla cacciatora! This looks rustic and full of flavours.
Nigella is Queen! I bowed when I met her last year. 🙂
love caccatore yum and great to have the beans in it, hope you cook the beet root recipe 🙂
Rebecca
Yum! I never knew that was what cacciatora meant – it makes it sound so manly.
Yum! I have an Italian gravy going on the stove, as we speak, but alas, no chicken thighs thawed … yours look delectable, as usual! That Nigella really has wonderful cookbooks! I'd never seen one until this week when I went to the bookstore and browsed the cook book aisles … hers are stand-outs! Love what you've done with her cacciatora recipe!
One of my favorites. I have a feeling that when I try your recipe, my kids will find their way home from college.
Plan B
That looks delish Dom. I don't know why I have never tried it as I always have chicken thighs. Tomorrow night's supper sorted. Thank you x
God Lord man you are steaming ahead with these blog challenges! Looks fantastic too, puts my cheese on toast for dinner tonight to shame!
thanks all for the kind comments… just had the last bit of it cold with a salad… was very yummy!
Yummy! I was hoping we'd get lots of savoury dishes for Forever Nigella 3 and you've kicked things off nicely. Looks like a super dinner.
I'm all for browner, crispier chicken. Worth going hunting for.