Name: Pollo alla cacciatora (Chicken as Prepared by the Hunter’s Wife)
Yield: Serves 4
Cuisine: Italy
Ingredients: Salt and freshly ground black pepper; 1 chicken, 3 to 4 pounds, cut into serving pieces; 1 lemon, halved; ½ cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley or basil, or a combination; 1 pound fresh mushrooms, wiped clean and quartered (optional); ½ cup oil-cured black olives, pitted; ½ cup dry white wine; 6 large tomatoes, peeled, seeded, and chopped, or 1 can (28 ounces) tomatoes, seeded and chopped, with juice; 1 teaspoon chopped fresh sage; 2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme; 4 cloves garlic, minced; 4 yellow onions, sliced; ½ cup chopped pancetta or lardo; ½ cup olive oil

Preparation info

Serves
4

Difficulty
Easy

Appears in

Italian Slow and Savory

By Joyce Goldstein

Published 2004

About

Hunting is a major sporting activity throughout Italy, so you can imagine how many versions of this dish exist. Not that anyone has to hunt for chicken, of course. Cacciatora is used to describe a style of cooking chicken, rabbit, or lamb. In northern Italy, its preparation most likely includes onion, tomato, pancetta or lardo, and mushrooms. In central Italy, garlic, rosemary, and some vinegar are used. Roast potatoes are the ideal accompaniment.