On the Hunt for a Good Chicken Cacciatore

by Kelly on August 30, 2010   

This hunter found olives -- in Italy our cooking teacher said they had to be from the Lucca area

Pollo alla Cacciatora, chicken in the hunter’s style, is such a classic Italian stew that it has a thousand variations — by region, by tradition, and by grandma. Sonia, our cooking teacher in Lucca, was a passionate advocate of including the local olives from Lucca, which we hunted down with almost as much panting as a beagle after a fox. At last we found what we were looking for in a tiny wine shop, and grabbed some of the local olive oil as well, just to make sure we’d fully bagged our prey.

The origin of pollo alla cacciatora is in spirit meant to be a preparation of what the hunter might have brought home: a pheasant, a grouse, perhaps a rabbit, cooked in broth and wild mushrooms which presumably the hunter also thoughtfully chucked into his or her rucksack. Over time the wild critter has been replaced by the domestic chicken, and the recipe morphed and adapted to what’s at hand. The “hunter” is more likely the person who’s hunting up whatever the larder has to offer.

I’ll go so far as to give another interpretation, inspired by the adamant inclusion of Lucca olives. Chicken cacciatore can be the celebration of something local, be it mushrooms, olives, garden rosemary, homegrown tomatoes. To honor our beautiful teacher, I’ve included olives, but I also used locally grown vegetables and my own herbs. What makes it good is the freshness of the ingredients combined with slow and patient cooking.

Here is Sonia browning the chicken and breaking up the rosemary into the pan

She also brought in fresh local red onions and garlic for the dish

Here is everything needed for the Stateside cacciatore

Chicken Cacciatore | serves 4 to 6

1 whole chicken, cut into 8 pieces
3 tablespoons olive oil
8 small tomatoes, peeled, seeded and chopped (or 1 large can tomatoes)
1 onion, chopped
1 carrot, peeled and chopped
1 celery stalk, chopped
2 garlic cloves, peeled and smashed
1 cup dry white wine
4-inch sprig rosemary, leaves chopped
4-inch sprig fresh oregano, chopped
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 cup good quality olives
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
4 Italian parsley sprigs, leaves minced

Heat the olive oil over medium heat in a large pot and brown the chicken well on both sides. Cook in batches if necessary.

Mine cooked in two batches so as not to overcrowd the pan

Total browning time for both batches was about 25 minutes -- a good caramel color on the skin gives the stew good flavor

While the chicken is browning, prepare the tomatoes. Drop the tomatoes into boiling water and blanch for 1 minute. Rinse under cold water and peel off the skin. Slice the tomatoes in half, scrape out the seeds and discard, and chop the flesh.

Blanching makes the skin easy to remove

Cold water stops the cooking

The skin on some of the tomatoes has already "cracked" and peels right off

If it hasn't cracked, slice into it lightly and then pull the peel away

I use my thumb to push out the seeds and then chop the flesh of the tomato

When the chicken is browned, remove it to a plate. Put the chopped onion, carrot, celery and garlic in the pot and wilt for 5 minutes. Add 2/3 cup of the white wine and reduce it for 3 minutes.

Sauteing the vegetables will loosen most of the browned chicken bits from the pot

But any bits left on the pot will come up while reducing the wine

When the wine has mostly boiled off, add the chopped tomatoes, rosemary, oregano, red pepper flakes, the remaining 1/3 cup white wine and combine. Season with salt and pepper. Add the browned chicken and the olives to the pot and toss to coat the chicken.

Stir the vegetables together and then add the chicken back to the pot

Turn the chicken from time to time as it cooks

Cover tightly and simmer over very low heat for 45 minutes, turning the chicken occasionally while it cooks.

Adjust the seasoning when the chicken is done, and spoon onto a serving platter with all the juices. Sprinkle with minced parsley and serve — over polenta, with a hunk of great bread, over pasta, or just the way your hunters like it.

Kelly McCune © 2010
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Arista? Arrosto? Let’s Agree This Pork Loin is Delizioso

by Kelly on August 3, 2010   

Tender, succulent, easy, savory, inexpensive...what else?

On our recent visit to Italy I couldn’t help noticing how often pork was on the menu. Italians have really championed pork, and since coming home I’ve found myself craving a really good…arista? Or excuse me, is that an arrosto? And should I braise, or do I roast? I tried to clear this up in Lucca with our cooking-teacher-for-the-day, Sonia, but she avoided my question. And then I got sidetracked by cinghiale, another pork-related meat. Cinghiale is wild boar, and the preparations of it are just as spectacular.

Now that I’m free of the distractions of prosciutto, Aperol spritzes, wild boar salame and truffles, I have compiled the answers I got in Italy with a little research stateside and  have teased out the difference between arista and arrosto. Arista is two things at once: it is the Tuscan name for pork roast, particularly a style roasted with hot milk, and also the loin cut for roast pork, which has the ribs attached. Arrosto is more generically Italian for roasted meat. Arrosto di maiale is roast pork loin, while arista is roast pork, with the rib attached. Still, this didn’t solve my braise/roast question.

My research led me to my favorite Italian cookbook, a recent translation of the Italian tome, The Silver Spoon. This is the cookbook every bride gets a copy of, and occupies the same to-hand spot as that of the Joy of Cooking (or in my case The Fannie Farmer Cookbook) in the American kitchen. First published in 1950, it had never been fully translated into English, but in 2005 all 2,000+ recipes were not only translated but adapted for the American kitchen. Needless to say, I recommend it!

Weighty, with some slightly kooky translations, but well worth it as a basic Italian cookbook for just about everything

I’ve concluded that braising and roasting, though fundamentally different, come close together in this preparation of pork. The pork loin is thoroughly browned, and then cooked in its own juices — with a cover over it. Covering the roast takes it a side-step away from a straightforward roast, but it really isn’t moist-cooked, either. That will explain why my title for this recipe is:

Roasted & Braised Pork Loin with Rosemary and Mustard Jus | 6 servings

2 1/4 to 2 1/2 pound pork loin roast, boneless
3 5-inch fresh rosemary sprigs
2 tablespoons butter
4 tablespoons olive oil
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 small onion, minced
3/4 cup dry white wine
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste

Break 2 of the rosemary sprigs into smaller pieces. Chop the leaves of the other rosemary sprig and set aside until needed. Tie up the pork roast, catching up the small sprigs in the string. You can also have the butcher tie the roast, and then tuck the rosemary under the string.

This was an organic roast from Whole Foods and still reasonable compared to beef

Cut 5 or six strings, depending on the length of the roast, and tie knots at 1-inch intervals -- triple the first loop before knotting it to get a good grab, and the string will hold tightly

Trim the string to about 1/2 inch

Easy enough to do at home

Heat the butter and olive oil in a large pot and brown the pork on all sides until deeply colored, about 15 minutes.

Take the time to get it nicely browned on all sides

The deep color adds a caramel flavor to the cooking juices

Remove the pork to a plate and set aside until needed. Add the minced onion, garlic and chopped rosemary to the pot and wilt the onions for 3 minutes.

Mince the onions finer if you want less of an onion texture in the final sauce

Rosemary pairs so well with pork

Add the white wine and cook it down until mostly evaporated, about 5 minutes.

Evaporate some of the wine before adding the pork back to avoid "boiling" the meat

The wine becomes flavor rather than liquid

Return the pork to the pan, cover, and simmer over low heat for 1 1/2 hours, turning the roast from time to time while it cooks.

When the pork is done, remove it from the pot to a plate and cover loosely with foil to “rest.” Stir in the white wine vinegar and mustard and reduce the cooking juices another 10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper and serve this delicious jus with the pork.

Cooking juices, or "jus," can be reduced, which heightens the flavor and thickens the texture, and makes just about the best sauce this pork can ask for

I forgot to say — this pork is even better the next day.

(I’ll alert The Husband, and he can make himself an SLL, or “Sad Little Lunch” out of it!)

Kelly McCune © 2010


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