Friday, April 18, 2014

Chicken Cacciatore.

Chicken is one of my favourite meats and I will always tend to lean more towards a dish than includes it rather than red meat. It contains less fat than red meat and is just simply delicious. I love a good hearty meal that includes meat, vegetables and a sauce, which is why I created Chicken Cacciatore. This dish can simply please anyone as you can add, remove and serve with any ingredients that your heart desires. Firstly, Chicken Cacciatore is a traditional Italian dish that is made from chicken, mushrooms and spices and was typically made with a slow cooker that formed a stew style meal. Now a days the kitchen in your oyster and you can chop and change anything that you please.




CHICKEN CACCIATORE 
Ingredients: 
1TBSP Olive Oil 
4 skinless chicken breasts (can be left whole or evenly cubed) 
1 onion 
250g (9oz) white mushrooms, sliced 
2x400g cans chopped tomatoes 
1tsp dried oregano 
150ml (1/4 pint) chicken stock or water 
a large handful of rocket 
1/4 cup parmesan cheese, plus extra for serving
salt and freshly ground black pepper 
Seasonal vegetables or crusty bread to serve 

Methods: 
1. Heat half the oil in a large deep frying pan. Fry the chicken over a high heat for about 6 minutes on each side, turning once. If your chicken is, place it into a frying pan heated with oil and cook throughly. Remove the chicken and place it on a plate that is lined with a piece of paper towel to drain the excess oil. 

2. If necessary wipe or pour out the remaining chicken fat and pieces with a paper towel. Heat the remaining oil in the same pan to fry the onion and mushrooms for around 8 minutes on medium heat until they begin to soften. Once soft, stir in the tomatoes, oregano and chicken stock or water, then return the cooked chicken to the pan. 

3. Bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce the heat to a simmer for around 15 minutes, making sure to turn the whole chicken breast half way through or stir the cubed chicken in the sauce to throughly coat each piece. Allow the whole chicken breast to cook further in this process whilst the sauce thickens. The cubed chicken is a faster method of not having to wait for a whole breast to cook and it is easier to know how long it takes to cook, because the pieces are smaller, which is beneficial for people who are not confident with cooking. 

4. Once the chicken is nicely cooked and the sauce has thickened, season well, stir in a generous handful of rocket and feel free to stir in a 1/4 cup of parmesan cheese for extra taste. 

5. Serve with steamed vegetables or/and crusty bread with butter and top with extra parmesan cheese. 



I love cooking within my own home, because you can experiment with endless amounts of ingredients, there is no one telling you what to do and you can create so many dishes that yourself and the people around you love. There are no boundaries with cooking, the possibilities are endless and I must say it is a fascinating industry.


I throughly enjoyed making this dish and hope that you all look into making it as well. If you decide to change up the recipe by adding in different ingredients then please send me a picture on my Instagram account @violetanddaisy with #violetanddaisycooking labelling it, so I will be able to see all of your fabulous creations.


Have a wonderful Good Friday and let scrumptious foods fill your belly. (or chocolate will be fine!) 
Molly xo 

2 comments:

  1. This looks soooo yummy! :) I would love to try this x

    splasheswithfabulosity.blogspot.com.au

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    1. I can tell you that it was and you should definitely try making it!
      Molly x

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