"Top Chef's" Tom Colicchio shares a recipe for chicken cacciatore that gets its trademark flavor from bacon, oil-cured olives and rosemary.
- ¼ cup olive oil
- 6 chicken thighs and legs
- Salt
- 3 strips thick-cut bacon, sliced
- 1 rib celery, sliced
- 3 cloves garlic, sliced
- 1 small red onion, sliced lengthwise
- 1 red bell pepper, stemmed, seeded and sliced
- 1 fennel bulb, fronds removed, cored and sliced
- 1 quart chicken stock (32 ounces)
- ½ cup red wine vinegar
- One 24-ounce jar marinara basil sauce
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 tablespoon fresh rosemary
- ½ cup oil-cured black olives, pitted
- Roasted potatoes, for serving
Preheat oven to 350˚F.
In a large heavy sauté pan, heat 2 tablespoons olive oil over medium-high. Season chicken with salt. Working in batches if needed, add chicken to the pan and sauté just until brown, about 5 minutes per side.
Heat remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil in a large dutch oven or oven-proof heavy-bottom pot over medium to medium-high heat. Add sliced bacon, celery, onion, garlic, red pepper and fennel, and cook until softened without adding any color. Add chicken stock, vinegar, marinara sauce, bay leaf and rosemary, and bring to a boil. Arrange chicken in the pot so that the crisped chicken skin is not submerged in the sauce, then lower to a simmer and add olives. Transfer to the oven and braise, uncovered, for 45 minutes.
Serve with roasted potatoes.
