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Italian hunter’s chicken

February 22, 2010

Pollo alla cacciatora
The traditional Italian hunters chicken dish comes in a great number of varieties, but I prefer the one with olives, capers and anchovies.

I guess everybody interested in Italian cooking has got their own recipe for pollo alla cacciatore, and from what I have see and tasted this traditional dish comes in a great number of varieties. Some add pancetta and beans, others include carrots and celery sticks, and some substitute white wine for red Chianti.

My version is based on capers and anchovies, and I honestly thought those two ingredients were the common denominator for all “alla cacciatora” preparations, though this seems to be a huge mistake. Italian hunters through the ages have apparently been just as independent and self-possessed as other professionals, and they prepare their chicken or rabbit as they see fit. I am just glad that one of them decided to give their chicken a touch of flower buds and preserved fish for the intensive salt and umami taste works wonders with an otherwise bland chicken.

Ingredients
1 chicken cut up in 6 pieces
1 stick of fresh rosemary
2 cloves garlic
1 organic lemon (juice and peel)
6 tbsp olive oil
200 ml white wine (or chicken broth)
2 tbsp tomato paste
2 anchovies
2 tbsp capers
10 halved black olives
parsley

Preparation
Chop garlic and rosemary finely and mix with grated lemon skin, salt and pepper.
Stir in half the olive oil and marinade the chicken pieces for an hour.
Heat the remaining olive oil in a pan and fry the chicken pieces till they are crisp and golden.
Mix tomato paste, white wine and lemon juice, and pour it over the chicken in the pan.
Leave the dish to cook for 30 minutes
Add olives, capers and anchovies, and cook for another 15-30 minutes, until the chicken is fully done.
Sprinkle the hunter’s chicken with parsley before serving.

If you like Italian hunters chicken you might also want to try

Easy chicken dishes: Chicken in chili and tomato sauce from Potenza

Chicken in white wine recipe

Chicken with chickpeas and oranges

Saltimbocca veal scallops

January 29, 2010

Saltimbocca alla Romana
Saltimbocca veal alla Romana are scallops stuffed with ham and mozzarella and one of the best dishes ever invented.

Saltimbocca ‘jumps into the mouth’ as one of the most simple and loved Italian meat dishes. It is also a dish with numerous variations. Some claims authentic Saltimbocca alla Romana should be made with boiled ham and no cheese. Others prefer cheese and dried ham. Some fry the scallops in butter, while others choose olive oil. And then there are those who braise the meat in white wine to ensure extra sauce.

I prefer this recipe, though I am not quite sure who to credit for the invention. Probably it is coined from several different cookbooks, but it is really good and incredibly fast cooked. And it always reminds me of my Italian sage bush, which flowers with purple-bluish bells over dusted soft green leaves every early in the spring.

Ingredients
Serves 4
4 veal scallops
4 slices of prosciutto crudo
1 mozzarella in four pieces
Sage leaves, salt and pepper

Preparation
Spice one side of the meat with salt, pepper and sage.

Wrap a piece of mozzarella in prosciutto. Place the cheese/ham filling on the veal and fasten with a toothpick (or three). Prepare the other scallops the same way.

Heat olive oil in a frying pan and fry both sides of the veal over moderately high heat until they are done and golden brown. Hopefully, the mozzarella will stay inside.

If you wish more sauce than a scarpette dipping, you can boil off the frying pan with dry white wine.

Serve with bread.