Wednesday menu

Hunter’s Chicken   (= Cacciatore Ital. = Chasseur Fr.)

Orzo pasta ( rice-shaped, store-bought)

Roasted new potatoes with garlic and serrano pepper

Salad

 

Today I went with this very simple, low-fat dish using skinless, boneless breasts, and served it on a bed of rice-shaped orzo pasta.

 

Prep work:

1 ½ lbs boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 2-inch pieces, seasoned with salt and pepper

one large onion sliced vertically and cut into thin half-rings

1-2 cloves garlic, diced

one cup sliced mushrooms (optional)

2 15-oz cans of diced tomatoes

¼ cup white wine

½ cup chicken stock

fresh or dried herbs (I used oregano, thyme, and rosemary.  Dice finely, tie them in a bundle, or put them in a tea ball (see photo)

parsley, chopped roughly

Cooking:

1. Sear chicken in 2 T. olive oil in a Dutch Oven at medium-high heat, just enough to give them some color and texture. Be careful not to overcook.  The chicken in your pot still has a long way to go before it reaches your plate, so don’t worry if it is still pretty pink at this point.  I like to get a good sear on one side of the pieces and just cook the others for a minute or so.  Remove the cooked pieces to a plate
2. Lower heat to medium.  In the same pot add onions and cook, scraping up anything that is left from the chicken and stirring occasionally until the onions begin to brown.  Add garlic about half way through. 
3. Add wine and stock, stirring to get everything in the bottom of the pot incorporated.  Let that liquid reduce by half.
4. Add tomatoes.  Add herbs.  Return chicken to pot.  Cook uncovered on medium to reduce liquid, maybe 15 minutes.  If the sauce is too thin it will run all over the plate so you may want to remove the chicken after it is done, crank up the stove, and boil until you get the consistency you want.  Note:  don’t use the same plate for the chicken that you used earlier for your semi-cooked breasts to avoid picking up bacteria.
5. Serve over noodles, rice, potatoes.