RECIPE FOR CHICKEN PIECES RECIPES

Steps:

• 1. Chicken cacciatora seems to be reasonably well known in Britain because it’s the classic pre-packed dish you find in Italian food ranges in supermarkets (which, to be honest, never taste of much). When you get the real deal cooked at home with love and passion it’s a totally different experience. It’s a simple combination of flavours that just works really well. Cacciatore means ‘hunter’, so this is obviously the type of food that a hunter’s wife cooks for her fella when he gets home from a hard morning spent in the countryside. This is also a great dish for big parties, as it looks after itself in the oven. In the picture I’ve made it for about 12 people.
  2. Season the chicken pieces with salt and freshly ground black pepper and put them into a bowl. Add the bay leaves and rosemary sprigs and the crushed clove of garlic and cover with the wine. Leave to marinate for at least an hour, but preferably overnight in the fridge.
  3. Preheat your oven to 180ºC/350ºF/gas 4. Drain the chicken, reserving the marinade, and pat dry with kitchen paper. Dust the chicken pieces with flour and shake off any excess. Heat an ovenproof pan, add a splash of olive oil, fry the chicken pieces until browned lightly all over and put to one side.
  4. Place the pan back on the heat and add the sliced garlic. Fry gently until golden brown, then add the anchovies, olives, tomatoes (broken up with a wooden spoon) and the chicken pieces with their reserved marinade. Bring to the boil, cover with a lid or a double thickness layer of foil and bake in the preheated oven for 1½ hours.
  5. Skim off any oil that’s collected on top of the sauce, then stir, taste and add a little salt and pepper if necessary. Remove the bay leaves and rosemary sprigs, and serve with a salad, or some cannellini beans, and plenty of Chianti.

Steps:

• 1. Put a griddle pan on a high heat.
  2. Halve, deseed and slice the pepper into thin strips, then peel, halve, and finely slice the onion. Slice the chicken lengthways into long strips, roughly the same size as the pepper strips.
  3. Put the peppers, onion, and chicken into a bowl with the paprika and cumin. Squeeze over the juice of half a lime, drizzle over 1 tablespoon of oil, season with a good pinch of black pepper and mix well. Put aside to marinate for 5 minutes or so while you make your salsa.
  4. For the salsa, finely chop the chilli, roughly chop the tomatoes and the coriander (stalks and all), then place in a clean bowl with a pinch of sea salt and black pepper. Squeeze over the juice of 1 lime, and stir in the coriander.
  5. Using tongs, place the pepper, onion, and chicken onto the griddle and cook for 6 to 8 minutes, or until the chicken is golden and cooked through. As the pan will be really hot, keep turning the pieces of chicken and vegetables over so they don’t burn – you just want them to lightly chargrill to give you a lovely flavour.
  6. To make the guacamole, squeeze the cherry tomatoes onto a board, then finely chop with ½ -1 red chilli and a handful of coriander leaves, including the top part of the stalks.
  7. Halve and destone the avocado, then squeeze it over a board so the flesh comes out of the skin. Discard the skin. Squeeze over the lime juice and chop everything together until fine. Taste and adjust the flavours, if needed.
  8. Warm the tortillas in a microwave or warm, dry frying pan, then divide between serving plates. Squeeze the remaining lime juice over the sizzling pan.
  9. At the table, carefully help yourselves to the chicken and vegetables straight from the hot grill pan. Just be sure to put it down on top of something that won’t burn, like a chopping board.
  10. Serve with bowls of natural yoghurt and guacamole, alongside the Cheddar, a grater, and the lovely fresh salsa.