Chicken alla Cacciatora

In Italian, il cacciatore means the hunter. Alla Cacciatora literally “in the style of the (feminine) hunter” means the chicken is cooked in the style of the hunter’s wife. This recipe implies a domestic division of labor: while the hunter kills the food, he doesn’t eat unless his wife cooks it up.

Putting that aside, what you’re really doing with this recipe is hunting for flavor. There are lots of hunters in Italy, and thus lots of hunters’ wives; hence two recipes are alike. Some use mushrooms, others add chopped celery and carrots. I like the addition of olives, but feel free to omit them.

This recipe is hard to screw up, so even if you have little cooking experience, try on your hunter’s hat and be the hunter’s wife!

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