There are certain dishes from my childhood that I always hated when my mom made. Nothing against my mother, she is an amazing cook, I was just an outrageously picky eater, especially when it came to the textures of food. As a toddler, I didn’t eat anything smooth or mushy (think of a child not liking mashed potatoes), and as I got older, I despised any chicken that wasn’t boneless skinless chicken breast, especially chicken thigh.
Now, as an adult, there is nothing I love more than a well cooked chicken thigh. The flavor and juiciness of thigh is unmatched by any other piece of chicken. I adore a braised chicken thigh, and I think this dish perfectly captures that. This also is a perfect example of why braising is easily my favorite cooking technique for winter.
When you want a big bowl of warm, comforting goodness, this is the dish you want to make. It is coziness in a bowl that is perfect for a Sunday dinner. Some traditional Cacciatore recipes include mushrooms, olives and any number of other vegetables. I keep things simple with ingredients I regularly have on hand, but you can get away with adding any vegetables you like.
Ingredients
1lb boneless skinless chicken thigh
14 oz can crushed or whole tomato
14 oz water
2 bell peppers
½ yellow onion
4 garlic cloves
1 tbsp tomato paste
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp dried herbs (basil, oregano, thyme, rosemary)
½ tsp chicken powder or bouillon
Chili flake to taste
1 lb dried pasta
Slice your 2 bell peppers into strips. Cut off the top of the pepper, lay that cut side down so you have a flat base, and then cut off the side of the pepper. After, slice each side into bite sized strips. Finely mince 4 cloves of garlic. Cut your yellow onion in half, and then cut it into thin strips so it can break down slightly during the cook.
Season your chicken with salt and pepper on both sides. Preheat a 5QT Dutch oven over medium heat and add olive oil to coat the bottom of the pan. Once hot, add your chicken and brown it deeply; there's no need to cook this all the way through now, we're just looking for some color. Remove the chicken and add your bell peppers/ onions to the pan. Season those with salt and pepper, and sweat over medium heat for about 5 minutes (until translucent). Add your garlic, and let it cook for a minute.
From there, add your tomato paste directly to the pan to cook down. Let that cook until dark brick red and add your crushed tomato along with 14oz of water. Scrape the bottom of the pan, then add your chicken along with all the seasonings. Give the mixture a stir then turn the heat down to medium low. This will cook uncovered for about 45 minutes, or until the chicken is tender. You'll know it's ready when the sauce is slightly reduced, and you can break the chicken apart with a spoon. Use a wooden spoon to shred the chicken and give the sauce a seasoning check.
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and cook your pasta according to package direction. I tend to use a penne or rigatoni for this, but use what you like. Once the pasta is cooked, you can add it directly to the Dutch oven with the sauce. Mix everything to combine and taste for final seasoning (in our house, shredded parmesan is a requirement).
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