Chicken Cacciatore

This was one of my signature dishes before I went Caveman.  Only I used to make it with about a pound of pasta.  I still eat pasta (as a major cheat, or organic pasta as a mini-cheat), but I'm about to go into a holiday weekend where I'll be eating everything and anything put in front of me, plus, my brother-in-law's in town so we'll be eating out tonight, and then there's a plan to meet a friend for pizza this week as well.  So I thought I'd make this dish, one of the tastiest and healthiest dishes I make, without the pasta, using those fresh ingredients from the farmers market I told you about yesterday, in order to squeeze at least one fully caveman meal into my week.  Besides, this happens to me every Monday, after a weekend of cheating and eating crap, I CRAVE caveman food again come Monday evening.

So since we're eliminating pasta, we're going to cook this very rustic style (by rustic I mean a tastier way of saying chunky, unless you're talking about a chocolate bar from the 1970's), with big chunks of everything so each bite will be hearty, and the pasta won't be missed (I'm lying, I miss pasta every day, but everything worth working for comes with a sacrifice).   First I browned the rest of my boneless skinless chicken breasts (I usually make this dish with thigh meat, but this is what I had in the freezer) in olive oil, and then removed them from the pan.  I cut up large pieces of brown onion, green and red bell peppers, and sauteed them in the same pan as the chicken, with all the juices and olive oil still in the pan, along with some minced garlic.

As that sweated, I boiled some water, made a couple of slits on each end of the roma tomatoes, and boiled them for a minute, transferring them to an ice bath afterwards to stop the cooking.  This helps the skin peel right off.  I then took my little old hands (clean of course, please use soap and water, not Purell, you filthy bastards), and crushed the tomatoes right into the pan with the veggies.  I threw in some organic baby bella mushrooms (all ingredients, all organic, all the time), and left them whole to stay with the chunky motif.  Then I added my spices.  I'm not sure when is the right time to add spices, but my usual rule is whenever I remember.  Sometimes I remember after I taste the finished dish, only to realize, it's not finished.  The spices I used were black pepper, crushed red pepper, fresh basil, thyme, and oregano (if I had parsley I'd add some, but I forgot to buy it, and I'm too much of a lazy bastard to go back to the store).  Be liberal, there is no salt in this recipe and you will miss it if you don't spice it up properly.

I added the chicken back in, along with any juices that ran clear while it cooled, and let it simmer for a while.  It was looking pretty soupy, so I added some tomato paste to thicken it up.  I let it cook for as long as I can before the smell becomes so irresistible I have to taste it!  My goal is 1-3 hours, but I rarely get past 40 minutes.  I love chicken when it is so tender it falls apart.  I love all meat when it's like that actually, pulled pork (a favorite among Jews), brisket, osso bucco, etc.  I served up a bowl, and enjoyed my dinner immensely.  Then I put the leftovers away, salivating at how it would taste the next day.  I don't know what magical equation happens to soups, stews, casseroles, etc, that makes them taste better the day after, but I'm all for it.  Plus, one of my favorite breakfasts are cold leftovers (cold Chinese food being a top choice), and let me tell you people, this Chicken Cacciatore didn't stand a chance of making it past noon today.  Gone by 9am!  Take a look for yourself.  My photography isn't as good as Eva's, but my tummy is full and happy nonetheless.

Mmmm, Caveman like Chicken Cacciatore!  Caveman like Italian food!  Il Cavernicolo comé mangia!  (How do you say "Ugga-Bugga" in Italian?)

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