Pollo alla Cacciatora

The addition of peas to this dish is a family traditional.  My grandmother always added them.  So, we honor her tradition.  She was a gardener… not a hunter.  Growing up, I probably ate this dish 2-3 times a month.  Fresh peas in the summer… frozen or canned the rest of the time.  (Canned… only in the most dire of circumstances)  Needless to say, the dish was always better in the summer.

I’m usually frugal with fat.  But, it really does add flavor.  I’ve chosen to use skinless chicken breasts.  Without a generous dose of olive oil, this dish would be horribly bland and boring.  The spicy red tinted olive oil is divine sopped up with a piece of crisp, rustic bread.  I think it’s my favorite part of the whole dish.

Pollo alla Cacciatora

4 skinless bone-in chicken breasts (or one whole chicken)
1/4 cup olive oil (more or less)
2 onions, diced
1-2 cloves garlic, finely diced
3 roasted red peppers, diced with seeds and skin removed
1 20 oz can Sclafani tomatoes (crushed or whole)
1 wine glass of white wine
1 teaspoon black pepper, freshly ground
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper
salt, to taste
2 cups baby peas (fresh or frozen)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

In a large dutch oven, saute onions to a light golden.  Add garlic. Saute for an additional minute or two.  Add all of the remaining ingredients, except the chicken and peas.  Bring sauce to a vigorous simmer.  Set chicken breast on top of the sauce, spacing them evenly in the pot.  Place in preheated oven and bake for 35 minutes.

Remove 1 cup of sauce.  Place it in a small baking dish, with 2 cups of peas.  Add salt and pepper, to taste.  Place in the oven to bake as the chicken finishes.  (Approximately 10-15 minutes)

Mangia!  Mangia!