Chicken Cacciatora

This recipe is tightly based on two versions by Marcella Hazan. If you don't know who she is, march out and get any one of her cookbooks, her recipes are full of flavor and simplicity, and have none of the trappings that come with fad/rage cookery.

Easy enough to be prepared quickly, round in flavor, and gorgeous to the eye, this is one that will make you look like a champ every time.

1 3-4# chicken, cut into 8 pcs.

flour to coat

2 T extra virgin olive oil

salt and pepper

1 med. onion, sliced thinly

3 cloves garlic, sliced very thinly

2/3 c dry white wine

1 red bell pepper, cored, and sliced

into 1/4 in. strips

1 carrot, sliced into 1/8 in. disks

1 sm. stalk celery, sliced 1/8 in. thick

1 c canned tomatoes, chopped, with their juice

Wash and pat the chicken dry. Spread enough flour on a plate to liberally dust the pieces, and do so. Heat a pan, large enough to accommodate all the pieces. When hot, add oil, and put the chicken in skin side down; brown that side well, turn, and salt and pepper the browned side. Brown the second side well, remove to a plate, and salt and pepper that side as well.

Pour off all but 2 T of oil, reheat pan, add onions, saute for 5 minutes; add the garlic, and saute another few minutes. When all is limp, add the wine, let simmer briskly, and scrape the browned bits from the bottom. Add the browned chicken pieces (except the breasts, which cook faster, and will go in later). Put in the bell pepper, carrot, celery, and tomatoes with juice. Arrange pan to spread ingredients evenly, and cover tightly. Reduce heat to a simmer, and cook for 40 minutes, basting the pieces from time to time. Add the breasts to the pan and cook an additional 10 minutes. At the end of that time, check the thigh with a fork for doneness (lack of pink color).

When done, transfer the chicken to a plate and place in a warm oven. Now, check the sauce; if it is too thin, increase the heat and let it reduce to the desired consistancy; if too thick, thin with a bit of wine and boil a minute or two, to release the alcohol, and mellow the flavor. Pour contents of the pan over the chicken, and serve with buttered, wide egg-noodles.