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Pollo alla Cacciatora Toscana
Created by Chef Graziella
Hunter's chicken as the Tuscan hills have always known it: bronzed chicken simmered with red wine, tomatoes, olives, and the herbs that grow wild along the roadsides. There is no cream. There never was.
Alla cacciatora means 'hunter's style,' and this is how hunters in the Tuscan countryside have cooked game birds and chicken for generations. They carried what they needed: a flask of wine, a few tomatoes, olives for sustenance on the trail, herbs picked from the roadside. The sauce built itself from what was at hand.
Americans have corrupted this dish beyond recognition. Cream sauces, bell peppers in three colors, enough garlic to ward off vampires. None of this belongs. The unbalanced use of garlic is the single greatest cause of failure in would-be Italian cooking. Here you use three cloves, sliced thin, cooked gently. They contribute perfume, not assault.
The wine must be good enough to drink. Chianti is traditional because Chianti is what grows in Tuscany. The olives should be small and briny, the kind that taste of the Mediterranean. What you keep out is as significant as what you put in. Simple does not mean easy. It means every ingredient earns its place.
Ingredients
whole chicken
Quantity
1 (3 1/2 to 4 pounds)
cut into 8 pieces
kosher salt
Quantity
to taste
black pepper
Quantity
to taste
freshly ground
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| whole chickencut into 8 pieces | 1 (3 1/2 to 4 pounds) |
| kosher salt | to taste |
| black pepperfreshly ground | to taste |
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