Grape tomatoes are incredible for building a sweet sauce coupled with on-the-vine tomatoes. Red onions, mushrooms and black olives feed off of this great Ontario red wine from Black Cellar
So what’s the difference between this dish and my Chicken Cacciatore?
Well this one cooks a little faster, uses fresh ripe tomatoes instead of sauce and boneless skinless chicken thighs instead of the thigh and leg cut.
The sauce is a little sweeter from the grape tomatoes and a little brighter in colour. It’s a touch spicy from the black pepper, but you can omit that if desired.
I finish cooking the dish in my cast-iron Dutch oven, which if you follow my blog you’ll notice I use a lot. The even heat distribution along with the thighs being boneless allows this dish to cook faster.
I love the combination of flavours here. The richness from the red wine, red onions and herbs is tempered by the black olives and mushrooms. The grape tomatoes add a sweetness to the sauce and the ripe on-the-vine tomatoes give a great sauce when cooked down.
Sweet, strong red onion is an incredible combination with earthy mushrooms
A little bit of heat from the black pepper is really nice. It’s not overwhelming and can be omitted if you avoid heat at all cost. Otherwise, give it a try!
Whatever sauce you have left over will be ideal to pair with potato gnocchi. Its divine!!
This dish has a few steps to it, but challenge yourself. I think you’ll be impressed with how great you can cook. Put on your favourite tunes, pour yourself your favourite drink and after a deep breath…..begin.
Rustic Chicken Carriatore
Ingredients
- 2 Tbsp Grape seed oil Or olive oil
- 12 Chicken Thighs, boneless and skinless
- 1 Red onion, roughly chopped
- 2 Garlic clove, minced
- 1 Cup Sliced cremini or button mushroom
- 1 Cup Sliced Black olives
- 1 Tbsp Dried Rosemary
- 1 Cup Dry red wine I used Black Cellar Cabernet Sauvignon Tempranillo
- 2 Tsp Dried Thyme
- 20 Grape tomatoes, ripe & sliced in half
- 3 Large tomato, chopped I prefer to use ripened-in-the-vine
- 1 Cup Beef broth
- 450 Grams Dried Tagliatelle or another large long noodle I used La Molisana Spaghetti but the ideal pasta to use is fresh or dried Tagliatelle
- salt
- Freshly cracked black pepper
- Chopped fresh parsley Optional
- 1 Tbsp unsalted butter
Instructions
- Wash and clean chicken thighs. Pat dry and salt and pepper both sides. In large frying pan, ideally one with a lid, brown both sides of chicken. To avoid overcrowding, which prevents browning, brown in stages. When all chicken is browned, remove from pan and set aside in a bowl.
- Add 1 Tbsp grape seed oil to pan and sautée onions till soft, about 3 minutes. Then add garlic and cook another 2 minutes.
- Add dried rosemary to onions, rubbing well in between hands to awaken herb. Cook 3 minutes.
- Add sliced mushrooms and cook an additional 3 minutes or until brown, stirring periodically.
- Add sliced onions olives and stir well. Cook 2 minutes then add 1 tsp sea salt. Stir well.
- Raise heat and then add 1 cup red wine, stir well then reduce liquid, aprox 5 minutes.
- Add sliced tomatoes and beef broth and 1 tsp salt. After 5 minutes or when tomatoes are softened transfer to large pot with lid, add chicken to pot with liquid. Cover with lid and let cook 25 minutes.
- In a large heavily salted pot cook pasta according to manufacturer instructions. Drain and gently mix in 1 Tbsp unsalted butter.
- Paddle in liquid from chicken to coat pasta. Portion out pasta and top with chicken and sauce.
- Serve immediately.