By Martha Rose Shulman
- Total Time
- 1 hour 45 minutes
- Rating
- 5(2,308)
- Notes
- Read community notes
This classic Italian dish must have hundreds of versions, all resulting in a rustic braise of chicken, aromatic vegetables and tomatoes. My version includes lots of mushrooms, both dried and fresh. You can add kale to the dish if you want to work in some leafy greens (see variation below). You can increase or decrease the number of chicken pieces according to your needs. This stew freezes well; thaw it overnight in the refrigerator for the next night’s dinner. If the stew doesn’t thaw completely, heat gently in a casserole or use your microwave’s defrost function.
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Ingredients
Yield:4 to 5 servings.
- ½ounce dried mushrooms, like porcini (½ cup)
- 2tablespoons olive oil
- Salt and freshly ground pepper
- 6 to 8skinless chicken legs and/or thighs (thighs can be boneless)
- 1small onion, minced
- 1small carrot, minced
- 3ribs celery, minced
- 2large garlic cloves, minced
- 2tablespoons fresh minced Italian parsley
- 1heaped teaspoon minced fresh rosemary, or ½ teaspoon crumbled dried rosemary
- ¼teaspoon red pepper flakes
- ½pound mushrooms, trimmed and sliced
- ½cup red wine
- 128-ounce can chopped tomatoes in juice, pulsed in a food processor
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (5 servings)
766 calories; 51 grams fat; 13 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 23 grams monounsaturated fat; 10 grams polyunsaturated fat; 24 grams carbohydrates; 7 grams dietary fiber; 7 grams sugars; 49 grams protein; 1329 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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Preparation
Step
1
Place the dried mushrooms in a bowl or heat-proof glass measuring cup and pour on 2 cups boiling water. Let sit 15 to 30 minutes, until mushrooms are softened. Drain through a strainer lined with cheesecloth or a paper towel and set over a bowl. Rinse the mushrooms in several changes of water, squeeze out excess water and chop coarsely. Set aside. Measure out 1 cup of the soaking liquid and set aside.
Step
2
Heat 1 tablespoon of the olive oil over medium-high heat in a large, heavy nonstick skillet or Dutch oven. Season the chicken with salt and pepper and brown, in batches, for 5 minutes on each side. Transfer the chicken pieces to a bowl as they are done. Pour the fat off from the pan and discard.
Step
3
Turn the heat down to medium, add the remaining oil and the onion, carrot and celery, as well as a pinch of salt. Cook, stirring, until the vegetables begin to soften, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic, parsley, rosemary, red pepper flakes and salt to taste. Cover, turn the heat to low and cook, stirring often, for 5 minutes, until the mixture is soft and aromatic. Stir in the fresh and dried mushrooms, turn the heat back up to medium, and cook, stirring, until the mushrooms are just tender, about 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Stir in the wine and bring to a boil. Cook, stirring, for a few minutes, until the wine has reduced by about half. Add the tomatoes and salt and pepper to taste. Cook over medium heat for 5 to 10 minutes, stirring often, until the tomatoes have cooked down a little and smell fragrant. Stir in the mushroom soaking liquid that you set aside.
Step
4
Return the chicken pieces to the pan and stir so that they are well submerged in the tomato mixture. Cover and simmer over medium heat for 30 minutes, until the chicken is tender. Taste, adjust seasoning and serve with pasta or rice.
Ratings
5
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2,308
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Cooking Notes
Me
Amped up the mushroom, carrot & celery 50% and it was still delicious. (With the additional veg we needed to add a tablespoon of tomato paste, just to keep the consistency correct.)
Katherine
If you use both fresh and dried mushrooms, you get multiple layers of flavor and texture. And if you saute your fresh mushrooms well, until brown and almost crispy, before you add them, then your layers of flavor and texture will be even deeper and more interesting.
Karen M
Delicious, with great depth of flavor! The recipe is time-consuming but well worth the effort. I used skin-on and bone-in chicken thighs, which cooked nicely in the aromatic sauce. Preparation of ingredients always takes longer than I anticipate; total time spent was 2 hrs. 15 min. but I'm not a fast or expert cook. I added a bit more garlic and parsley but just a tiny amount of salt.
Charron
I used Chianti, but we had the remainder of the bottle with dinner. That being said, any dry red wine without too much tannin (like Australian Shiraz) will do. Many people say that you should always use a wine you'd be willing to drink in cooking, but unless it's a wine focused dish such as Coq au Vin I don't really think it matters that much. The wine is adding a bit of fruity acidity. An inexpensive Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot or Pinot Noir should do just fine.
Fatima N
This is a fantastic and forgiving recipe for those of us who are not "gourmet" cooks but like to dabble. Sort of "clean the fridge" day. No thighs? I used breasts. A leftover red pepper? Why not? Matchstick carrots? In. No rosemary? How about some thyme? Not sure if what I made was chicken cacciatore but it turned out really good!
Stu in Raleigh
We really liked it. Cooked it in a dutch oven in a 275 oven rather than stove top. As others, I added tomato paste. For added depth I mashed 3 anchovies and mixed them into the veggies as they sauteed. It's even better the next day.
Laurie
I add green bell pepper to mine and a dash of sugar to the sauce. I also lightly coat the chicken with a little flour, this thickens the sauce a bit. If using chicken breast only, doesn't take as long to cook. I serve this on top of cooked angel hair pasta or rice. Nom!
Penni Gladstone
Delicious. Use less salt ! A squeeze of tomato paste kicked it up.Used more onion & carrot. Didn't use porcini as we don't like the flavor. Used extra brown mushrooms, and it was just fine. Found that 1/4 tsp of red pepper flakes was too much. Used way more garlic. Used 7 boneless, skinless chicken thighs for 5 people and we had left overs.
NBMaggie
Mushrooms roasted with a bit of oil and the herbs used in the rest of the recipe (rosemary) really amp up the taste and the texture.
I use this technique with homemade pizza as well and roast sweet onion slices, red pepper, and mushrooms in oil, dried basil and dried oregano...cuts down on the excess moisture that can sog up a pizza crust.
Ryan Forristel
I have made this recipe a few times with a few variations. I double the vegetables and the meat. I use a very bold red and shallots. Bone in thighs are the way to go.
When cooking I reduce the heat by half and cook for double to triple the time. This gives me ample time to get anything else done that is needed
Phil
Some recommendations:
more celery, onions and carrots
used crushed tomatoes rather than blend
add anchovies
sauté mushrooms before adding to dish
cook in Dutch oven rather than on stove top
Alex Di Iorio
I recently made this dish with a few variations:1) I skipped the dried mushrooms for simplicity's sake, so I wouldn't have to soak them and deal with that. Instead, I used a full pound of fresh cremini mushrooms, chopped roughly.2) I used marjoram instead of rosemary.It turned out fantastic! Make sure it's reduced enough before you cover it and let it simmer for the half hour. Amazing smells to fill your home. And plenty of leftovers.
Katherine
This is delectable! It also works well if you make the sauce, simmering it through Step 3, and then gently heat up the leftovers from last night's roast chicken in it. (In my case, the two breasts, fairly coarsely shredded.)
Other ideas: sauteing the fresh mushrooms before adding them gives them more flavor and better texture; a handful of olives adds even more flavor; and a crusty baguette complemented the dish charmingly.
Staci Palma-Collins
Oh my. A new family favorite.A couple of small changes I made to the recipe. First, sauté everything as you go, especially the fresh mushroom. No need to sauté the dried ones; I splurged on dried Morels for a lovely earthy mushroom flavor. I also added a tablespoon of tomato paste and a surprising extra bit of salt to taste. I used boneless, skinless organic chicken breasts and thighs to suit my family. Served over boiled and buttered potato wedges for the gluten free gang.
Gary
I made the recipe as described and the dish was terrific, but a bit lacking in taste overall. It would be helpful if recipes like this were more exact when listing adding salt and pepper. I get that salt is a personal choice, but this recipe says four times to add salt to taste but never lists / suggests amounts. If I knew how to prepare and season the dish, I wouldn't need a recipe.
Helena
I started this recipe but found the suggestion to add tomato paste absolutely essential. To my taste I couldn’t reconcile rosemary with tomatoes, so added Basil, oregano and thyme. The mushrooms and wine were gorgeous. And of course butter.
Erin
Per comments, I doubled all the veggies, and I'm not sorry about it. The sauce was reminiscent of a Bolognese, but with the added depth of the mushrooms which was quite nice. I served it over polenta, which I highly recommend as the smooth polenta was a great compliment to the chunky sauce. I did add a small can of tomato sauce to compensate for the additional veggies.
Ron
This was excellent! Made exactly as written, but with pitted kalamata olives added late. The key is the procedure, with stages that unfold organically, e.g. cooking the soffrito (onions, carrots, celery) until just STARTING to soften then adding garlic etc. These stages allow all ingredients to cook well while layering flavors. I suspect those who found the recipe deficient were impatiently merging stages. For me stage timings were just right. Lots of oily splatter to clean up, though. Sigh.
susan
I omitted the dried mushrooms (so added water instead) and the rosemary (don’t care for the flavor.). The key to this recipe is letting the sauce cook down. Patience is rewarded. I left cover off and left on high (after adding all ingredients.) for about 20 minutes. If you do this, sauce is rich and flavorful so no need for tomato paste. I think next time I will purée mixture (before adding mushrooms) for a creamier base.
Lance
Addition to my prior comment. As another poster said, this dish does really develop with a night or two in fridge. Always better next day. Flavors develop. Great dish for dinner with friends when you prefer enjoying company rather than being sequestered in ghe kitchen. Cook it a day or two earlier. Relax. Add linguine. Done.
Cate
I used a whole cut-up chicken and served over pasta. Delicious. What makes this dish is the sauce. It would be good, to borrow a term, on a flip-flop. Will add the sauce recipe to my family cookbook. As a lasagne base or pasta night with shaved parm and garlic bread. That good!
Lance
Only comment is use the schmaltz!I skin the chicken thighs. Put the skin the big skillet at medium heat. Let the chicken fat render till skins are crisps. Remove crisps. Cut boned thigh meat in large pieces. Sauté. Remove. Cook the other things in that flavorful schmaltz. Easy. I use my homemade marinara— frozen at end of summer. Dried porcini mushrooms. Dried Chinese mushrooms. All rehydrated of course. Spice as you like. Good. This is an easy dish.
Marissa
Make this in advance if you’re serving it to guests. It was good when it was ready but absolutely amazing after two days in the fridge. Like most of my favorite recipes this one is highly adaptable if you know your way around a kitchen. Delicious!
sdfiek
We don't like the texture of reconstituted dried mushrooms so I ground them to a powder in a coffee grinder - added with the fresh mushrooms and added wine a bit early. Used a cup of chicken stock to sub for soaking liquid. Still get depth of flavor without weird texture...
cathy
Used boneless, skinless chicken thighs. Added maybe a tsp anchovy paste, otherwise followed recipe. Very good.
Chantel
Use Balsamic glaze
LaniP
Outstanding. I used three sh*take dried mushrooms instead of the porcinis. Hey, it's an Asian household. Also used zucchini instead of the fresh mushrooms. Followed the recipe otherwise and it was terrific!
Barbara
Does anyone know how much chicken (pounds) to use in this recipe if using boneless, skinless chicken breasts?
Mike
Only 5-stars if made and served the next day. The difference in flavor is unbelievable.
DanielW
I used to make this with rabbit with a bit more carrot,celery,onion and white wine. Great over noodles
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