Cacciatore means hunter’s style in Italian. This dish originally was made with a freshly caught bird and vegetables and mushrooms from the garden. My recipe is a quick, 30-minute version of a dish that usually cooks for hours. ADVERTISING Cacciatore
Cacciatore means hunter’s style in Italian. This dish originally was made with a freshly caught bird and vegetables and mushrooms from the garden. My recipe is a quick, 30-minute version of a dish that usually cooks for hours.
To save preparation time, slice all the vegetables in a food processor. To avoid washing bowl each time, slice mushrooms first and remove. Then slice carrots, celery and onion together, remove and slice green peppers. Or look for diced or sliced vegetables in the produce department.
Fred Tasker’s wine suggestion: I like red wine with this Italian dish — maybe a nice Chianti.
Helpful Hints:
— Two crushed garlic cloves can be used instead of minced garlic.
— To break up whole canned tomatoes, cut them with the edge of a cooking spoon when they are added to the skillet.
— Chicken broth can be used instead of white wine. The flavor will be different, but still good.
Countdown:
— Place water for linguine on to boil.
— Make chicken dish.
— While chicken cooks, make linguine.
Shopping List:
Here are the ingredients you’ll need for tonight’s Dinner in Minutes.
To buy: 2 8-ounce chicken breasts with bones (skin and wings removed), 1 medium-size green bell pepper, 1 package sliced mushrooms, 2 14.5-ounce cans whole tomatoes, 1 small bunch celery, 1 small package carrots, 1/4 pound fresh or dried linguine and 1 bottle white wine.
Staples: olive oil, onion, minced garlic, flour, salt and black peppercorns.
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CHICKEN CACCIATORE (POLLO ALLA CACCIATORA)
Recipe by Linda Gassenheimer
2 8-ounce chicken breasts with bones (skin and wings removed)
1/4 cup flour
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon olive oil
1/2 cup dry white wine
1/2 cup sliced onion
1/2 cup thinly sliced carrot
1/2 cup thinly sliced celery
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1/2 cup sliced green bell pepper
1/2 cup sliced mushrooms
3 cups reduced-sodium canned whole tomatoes (including their juice)
Remove visible fat from the chicken breasts and cut them into 6 pieces right through the bone. Place flour on a plate and season with a little salt and pepper. Dip chicken in the flour making sure chicken is well coated on both sides. Shake off any excess flour. Heat olive oil in a medium-size nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Brown chicken on both sides, about 5 minutes total. Remove chicken and pour white wine into skillet. Scrape up all of the brown bits in the pan. Add the onions, carrots and celery. Simmer covered with a lid for 3 minutes. Add garlic, green pepper, mushrooms and tomatoes. Cut tomatoes into pieces with the edge of a spoon while in the skillet. Return chicken and gently simmer, covered, 10 minutes, or until chicken is cooked through. A meat thermometer should read 165 degrees. Add salt and pepper to taste. Serve over linguine.
Yield 2 servings
Per serving: 425 calories (17 percent from fat), 8 g fat (1.5 g saturated, 2.4 g monounsaturated), 126 mg cholesterol, 44.5 g protein, 34.7 g carbohydrates, 9.7 g fiber, 161 mg sodium.
LINGUINE WITH OLIVE OIL
Recipe by Linda Gassenheimer
1/4 pound fresh or dried linguine
1 teaspoon olive oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Bring a large pot with 3 to 4 quarts of water to a boil. Add linguine and boil 2 minutes for fresh or 9 minutes for dried. Remove 1/4 cup water from the pot and drain linguine. Return linguine to empty pot. Mix olive oil with reserved water and pour over linguine. Toss well. Add salt and pepper to taste. Spoon linguine onto individual plates and serve chicken and sauce over the top.
Yield 2 servings
Per serving: 231 calories (12 percent from fat), 3.1 g fat (0.5 g saturated, 1.2 g monounsaturated), no cholesterol, 7.4 g protein, 42.6 g carbohydrates, 1.8 g fiber, 3 mg sodium.
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(Linda Gassenheimer is the author, most recently, of “Delicious One-Pot Dishes,” featuring 60 recipes designed to be stewed, braised, slow-cooked or steamed, each in a single pot. Additional titles by Gassenheimer include “Quick and Easy Chicken,” “Simply Smoothies: Fresh & Fast Diabetes-Friendly Snacks & Complete Meals,” “Fast and Flavorful: Great Diabetes Meals from Market to Table” and “The Flavors of the Florida Keys.” Her website is dinnerinminutes.com. Follow her on Twitter lgassenheimer. Email: lindadinnerinminutes.com
