Italian Chicken Stew Recipes

SPICY ITALIAN CHICKEN CASSEROLE

Steps:

• Use a small knife to prick 5 or so gashes into the skin of the chicken. Sprinkle each side with salt and pepper.
• Place chicken skin side down in a cold large non stick skillet, then turn stove onto medium high. As it heats up, the fat under the skin will start to melt through the holes in the skin.
• Cook for 4 - 5 minutes or until the skin is golden and crispy. Turn the chicken and cook the other side for 3 minutes.
• Remove chicken onto a plate, discard fat (don't scrape the pan) then return to the stove.
• Add oil, garlic and onion. Cook for 1 minute, then add capsicum. Cook for 2 minutes then add wine. Bring to a simmer and stir, scraping the pan to get those golden bits mixed in.
• Once most of the wine is evaporated and it doesn't smell winey anymore, add the tomato, water and pepper flakes. Stir, bring to a simmer, adjust heat so it's bubbling energetically but not rapidly (and not slowly).
• After 5 minutes (or so), stir through olives and capers. Taste the sauce and add salt and pepper.
• Then place chicken into the sauce, being careful not to submerge the skin. Cook for another 5 minutes.
• Sprinkle over parsley. Serve with crusty bread, or use half the sauce to toss through / pour over pasta and the other half to serve with chicken (see photos in post).

ITALIAN CHICKEN STEW

Steps:

• In a Dutch oven, cook the chicken, potatoes, red pepper and garlic in oil until chicken is no longer pink and vegetables are tender. Stir in the remaining ingredients; cook and stir until heated through.

SLOW-COOKER ITALIAN CHICKEN STEW

Steps:

• In 3 1/2 to 4-quart Crock-Pot® slow cooker, combine chicken, cannellini beans, kidney beans, tomatoes, celery, carrots and garlic; mix well.
• In medium bowl, combine all remaining ingredients; mix well. Pour over chicken and vegetables; mix well.
• Cover; cook on low setting for 8 to 10 hours or on high setting for 5 to 6 hours or until vegetables are tender.

SALINA CHICKEN

Steps:

• Trim the aubergines, chop into random 5cm chunks and wedges, place in a large bowl and season generously from a height with sea salt. Put aside.
• Drizzle all the chicken pieces with oil, place in a large shallow pan on a medium-high heat, skin side down, to get golden on all sides, then remove to a large platter.
• Wipe the salt off the aubergines and add to the pan, turning until lightly golden on all sides. Remove the aubergines to the platter and reduce the heat under the pan to low.
• Peel and slice the garlic, prick the chillies and place both in the pan with the cinnamon, woody herbs and capers.
• Stir and fry for a couple of minutes while you peel and finely slice the onions, then stir them into the pan, too. Cook for 15 minutes, or until starting to caramelize, stirring occasionally.
• Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F/gas 4.
• Squeeze the tomatoes in a bowl of water to remove the seeds - a fine nonna trick to prevent you getting splattered - then tear them into the pan.
• Put the chicken and aubergines back in, drizzle over any resting juices, then pour in 600ml of water.
• Sprinkle over the pine nuts, then squeeze over the lemon juice. Cook at the bottom of the oven for 45 minutes, or until golden.
• Pick over the basil leaves and serve with a nice big bowl of lemony couscous.

CHICKEN STEW

Steps:

• Heat the oil in a heavy 5 1/2-quart saucepan over medium heat. Add the celery, carrot, and onion. Saute the vegetables until the onion is translucent, about 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Stir in the tomatoes with their juices, chicken broth, basil, tomato paste, bay leaf, and thyme. Add the chicken breasts; press to submerge.
• Bring the cooking liquid to a simmer. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer gently uncovered until the chicken is almost cooked through, turning the chicken breasts over and stirring the mixture occasionally, about 25 minutes. Using tongs, transfer the chicken breasts to a work surface and cool for 5 minutes. Discard the bay leaf. Add the kidney beans to the pot and simmer until the liquid has reduced into a stew consistency, about 10 minutes.
• Discard the skin and bones from the chicken breasts. Shred or cut the chicken into bite- size pieces. Return the chicken meat to the stew. Bring the stew just to a simmer. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.
• Ladle the stew into serving bowls and serve with the bread.
• Serving suggestion: crusty bread.

HUNTER'S CHICKEN STEW (POLLO ALLA CACCIATORA)

Steps:

• Chicken cacciatora seems to be reasonably well known in Britain because it's the classic pre-packed dish you find in Italian food ranges in supermarkets (which, to be honest, never taste of much). When you get the real deal cooked at home with love and passion it's a totally different experience. It's a simple combination of flavours that just works really well. Cacciatore means 'hunter', so this is obviously the type of food that a hunter's wife cooks for her fella when he gets home from a hard morning spent in the countryside. This is also a great dish for big parties, as it looks after itself in the oven. In the picture I've made it for about 12 people.
• Season the chicken pieces with salt and freshly ground black pepper and put them into a bowl. Add the bay leaves and rosemary sprigs and the crushed clove of garlic and cover with the wine. Leave to marinate for at least an hour, but preferably overnight in the fridge.
• Preheat your oven to 180ºC/350ºF/gas 4. Drain the chicken, reserving the marinade, and pat dry with kitchen paper. Dust the chicken pieces with flour and shake off any excess. Heat an ovenproof pan, add a splash of olive oil, fry the chicken pieces until browned lightly all over and put to one side.
• Place the pan back on the heat and add the sliced garlic. Fry gently until golden brown, then add the anchovies, olives, tomatoes (broken up with a wooden spoon) and the chicken pieces with their reserved marinade. Bring to the boil, cover with a lid or a double thickness layer of foil and bake in the preheated oven for 1½ hours.
• Skim off any oil that's collected on top of the sauce, then stir, taste and add a little salt and pepper if necessary. Remove the bay leaves and rosemary sprigs, and serve with a salad, or some cannellini beans, and plenty of Chianti.

ITALIAN CHICKEN STEW

Steps:

• Heat the oil in a heavy 5 1/2 quart saucepan over medium heat. Add the celery, carrot, and onion. Saute the vegetables until the onion is translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic, and the salt and pepper to taste. Stir in the tomatoes with their juices, chicken broth, wine, basil, tomato paste, bay leaf, and thyme. Add the chicken breasts; press to submerge.
• Bring the cooking liquid to a simmer. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer gently uncovered until the chicken is almost cooked through, turning the chicken breasts over and stirringthe mixture occasionally, about 30 minutes. Using tongs, transfer the chicken breast to a work surface or large plate and cool for 5 minutes. Discard the bay leaf. Add the cannellini beans to the pot and simmer until the liquid has reduced into a stew consistency, about 10 minutes.
• Discard the skin and bones from the chicken breasts. Shred or cut the chicken into bite size pieces. Return the chicken meat to the stew. Bring the stew just to a simmer. Season with more salt and pepper if desired.
• Ladle into serving bowls.

ITALIAN CHICKEN AND BEAN STEW

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Sprinkle the chicken with salt and pepper. Heat the oil in a large oven-proof skillet over medium-high heat. Add the chicken, skin side down, and cook, until browned on both sides, about 4 minutes per side. Transfer the chicken to a plate.
• Reduce the heat to medium, add the onion, garlic and red pepper flakes and cook until the onions are soft, about 7 minutes. Add the tomato paste and stir until it coats the onions and is a shade darker, about 1 minute. Pour in the wine and scrape up any brown bits on the bottom of the skillet. Add the broth, beans, tomatoes and oregano and bring to a boil. Nestle the chicken in the skillet along with any juices from the plate. Transfer the skillet to the oven and bake until the chicken is cooked through, about 25 minutes.
• Transfer the chicken thighs to a platter. Stir the cheese into the bean mixture and season with salt and pepper and garnish with fresh oregano if using. Serve with the chicken and extra parmesan cheese for topping.