Today Jen called me before I could call her and said, “this pregant woman is craving pasta!” So tonight was a Chicken Cacciatore night with a bit of heat just the way Jen likes it. If you are not a fan of a little spice, just remove the jalapeno from this recipe.

Let’s cook!

Chicken Cacciatore

 

4 pounds chicken pieces

1 pound sliced baby portabello mushrooms

1/2 red onion, thinly sliced

1 large yellow or orange bell pepper, thinly sliced

1 jalapeno, diced

3 cloves garlic, sliced

1 teaspoon red pepper flakes

3 tablespoons olive oil

1/2 cup of red wine

1 cup chicken stock

1 can diced tomatoes

3 springs fresh rosemary

2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil

Freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano

1 box spaghetti

Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a Dutch oven over high heat. Place chicken skin side down and cook for 4 minutes.

Turn the chicken and cook for another 4 minutes then remove and place on a large plate.

Add the 1 tablespoon of oil to the pan and heat until smoking. Add the mushrooms and cook.

Once they are golden brown remove from the pan and into a bowl.

Add the onion and bell pepper to the pan and cook for 5 minutes.

Add the jalapeno, garlic and red pepper flakes to the pan and cook for 2 minutes.

Stir in the wine and cook until almost completely reduced.

Add the chicken stock and tomatoes. Bring to a simmer.

Add rosemary.

Return the chicken and mushrooms to the pan.

Reduce the heat to low and cover. Cook for 30 minutes.

This is a good time to start your pasta. Remove the chicken from the pan and let rest on a plate.

Increase the heat to high and add vinegar plus the basil.

Be sure to stir occasionally. Cook the sauce for 10 minutes or until it has slightly thickened.

Here is how I plated this meal:

Here is the close-up:

For those of you that like chicken cacciatore this is a bit of a twist but I think you will enjoy it. Also, total time to cook was 50 minutes but it was nice enjoying a glass of wine while cooking dinner.

Happy Cooking!