Follow Nigel Barden's recipe for how to make Pollo Alla Cacciatora
Here's how to make this week's tasty recipe
Last updated 25th Mar 2022
Every week chef Nigel Barden shares a delicious new recipe on Simon Mayo's Drivetime Show. This week's Kitchen Greatest Hit is Pollo Alla Cacciatora, also known as Hunter's Chicken, as it translates to 'in the style of the hunter' and was probably first made with game birds or rabbit.
This simple rustic meal uses plenty of herbs including rosemary, thyme, parsley, bay leaves, and sage to get its incredible flavour.
How to make Pollo Alla Cacciatora
This classic Italian dish comes from chef Gennaro Contaldo's book Slow Cook Italian (Pavilion/Harper Collins) and includes instructions for how to cook this delicious meal on the hob as well as in a slow cooker.
Serve with toasted sourdough bread, drizzled with extra virgin olive oil, and you can add in some chopped celery and carrots if you're looking for more vegetables in the dish.
Serves: 4
Ingredients for Pollo Alla Cacciatora
750g / 1lb 10oz chicken thighs and drumsticks
salt and freshly ground black pepper
3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 large onion, finely sliced
1 garlic clove, crushed and left whole
1 small red chilli, sliced
2 sprigs of rosemary
2 sprigs of thyme
A handful of parsley, roughly chopped
2 bay leaves
4 sage leaves
125ml/4fl oz/½ cup dry white wine
1½ tbsp tomato purée (paste), dissolved in 3 tbsp lukewarm water
175g/6oz cherry tomatoes, halved
How to cook Pollo Alla Cacciatora
Rub the chicken pieces all over with salt and pepper. Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan, add the chicken, and seal well all over.
Add the onion, garlic, chilli and herbs and cook for a couple of minutes on a medium heat.
Add the wine, increase the heat and allow the wine to evaporate slightly.
Add the diluted tomato purée, then stir in the cherry tomatoes.
Reduce the heat to low, cover with a lid and cook gently for 1¼ hours, until the chicken is cooked through; the flesh should come away from the bone and there should be no sign of pink when you pierce the thickest part.
Serve hot.
For a slow cooker: Heat the oil in a large, deep, frying pan and cook the chicken as above. Continue as above, add the tomatoes, plus 300ml/1¼ cups chicken stock.
Bring to the boil, then transfer to a large slow cooker pot.
Cover and cook on low for seven to eight hours or until there are no pink juices when the chicken is pierced with a small knife.
This recipe makes for a tasty dinner - let us know how you got on making it - you can share your photos with us on social media on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram and tag us @greatesthitsuk in your photos!
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