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Braden Family Cookbook Chuck Braden
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CHICKEN CACCIATORA Rao’s Restaurant
Serves 6 – 8 people
“Cacciatora” is Italian for “in the style of the hunter.” Rao’s is a famous Italian restaurant in New York City that serves Italian food. Rob Young has the cookbook and I am going to go through it and add a bunch of recipes as I try them. The recipe is listed exactly as noted in the book with my minor changes (in brackets). The changes will help you make the recipe taste great for a group of people, not to change the ingredients to make a different dish. 2 2 ½ - 3-pound chickens (5# chicken breasts, bone in and skin on cut into 3rds, or halves if small) ½ cup vegetable oil 2 green bell peppers 1 red bell pepper (red and green peppers cored, seeded and cut lengthwise, into ½ inch strips 1 ½ cups sliced white mushrooms (8 oz. Sliced) 1 cup diced onions (1 medium onion, ¼” diced) 1 cup dry white wine 2 cups chicken broth (1 14 oz. Can chicken broth) 4 cups hand-crushed, imported San Marzano Italian plum tomatoes and the liquid they are canned in Salt and pepper to taste……add often as cooking to get best taste ½ TSP dried oregano (2 TSP chopped fresh oregano) Pinch of dried red pepper flakes (1/4 – 1/3 cup Mochiko, sweet rice flour, mixed with water to form a slurry, for thickening) Cut chickens into small serving pieces (cut breasts into halves or thirds), pat chicken dry with paper towels. Heat ½ of the oil over medium high heat in a big, deep casserole. Add chicken and thoroughly brown for about 10 minutes, in batches. Add more oil as needed. Remove chicken to a big container. Add peppers, mushrooms, and onion to the oil in the casserole and sauté for about 5 minutes or until they are soft but not brown. If there is excess oil, blot it out of the casserole with a paper towel and tongs. Add the wine and cook for 1 minute. Stir in broth, then tomatoes. Season with salt and pepper, oregano, and red pepper and bring to a boil. Lower heat and simmer, uncovered, for about 30 minutes or until chicken is tender. (Gently stir in Mochiko and water slurry to thicken mixture. Serve hot over big pasta such as penne or fat noodles) |