Chicken cacciatore, sometimes called hunter-style chicken, is always a favorite Italian dish. We've tracked down the best of the best variations to round out your recipe box.
Giada De Laurentiis shares how to make chicken cacciatore. She starts by seasoning four chicken breasts and four thighs with the bones in and skin on for a more rustic look and flavor. She adds regular olive oil to a pan, heats it up, coats the chicken in some flour to keep it moist, then adds it to the pan to brown. She then explains the differences between how the dish is prepared in Northern Italy vs. Southern Italy. To start the sauce, Giada roughly chops an onion, adds more oil to the pan, raises the heat and adds the onions. She smashes and chops up three garlic cloves, adding them to the pan on top of the onions before adding salt. Next she chops up one large red bell pepper, adds them to the pan, and adds more salt and some fresh ground black pepper, before stirring and letting cook for a couple of minutes. Giada opens a large can of chopped tomatoes because they have a lot more juice than fresh tomatoes. White wine, chicken broth, some dried oregano and capers are added to the sauce, which is then brought up to a boil. The chicken is added back to the sauce, where the flour from the coating will help thicken the sauce. She lets it simmer for about 20 more minutes to make sure the chicken is cooked through.