Don’t know about you, but I’ve had enough of Old Man Winter.  I’m tired of shoveling, snow blowing,  lacing up boots, wearing boots,  trying to exercise in temperatures that are way to cold and always wearing more than one layer of clothing.  I could go on and on and on, but what’s the point! Old Man Winter still has a tight grip on my vitamin D deprived body and it looks like he ain’t gonna let go for another 6 weeks.  So…..in times of adversity….there’s only one thing to do……..LET’S EAT!

I guess the best thing about Winter is comfort food and there’s no better comfort food for this City Boy than chicken & homemade sausage cacciatore.  Cacciatore means “hunter” in Italian. Traditionally, this was a “rustic” meal which included braised chicken or rabbit and the flavors of bell peppers, tomatoes, onions and wine.  Growing up, chicken cacciatore was always  one of my favorite meals to eat.  The aroma of homemade wine cooking in the sauce and the addition of rich egg noodles always made this dish unique.

I continued the “cacciatore” tradition when I began cooking and never deviated from the family recipe until I started making sausage a few years back.  Now…. no cacciatore in my house is complete without the addition of homemade sausage. If you’d like to learn how to make Italian sausage, CLICK HERE.

I hope that you will try this recipe.  I know it will be a hit.

Ingredients

6 pcs. of chicken(thighs or breast preferred with  skin removed

6 links of homemade sausage

3 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil

1 large red bell pepper chopped

1 onion chopped

3 garlic cloves finely chopped

2 carrots cut into large pieces

1/2 cup red wine

2 24oz jars of pasatta (strained tomatoes)

1 teaspoon oregano

1 teaspoon basil

1/2 cup sliced mushrooms (optional)

Step 1

In a large pot, heat the olive oil over medium heat and saute the chicken until it begins to brown (about 5 min. per side).  Remove the chicken from the pot and set it aside.  Repeat this process for the sausage and set it aside as well.

Step 2

Add the bell pepper, onion, carrots and garlic to the same pan and saute over medium heat until the onion is tender (about 5 minutes). Add basil, oregano, salt, pepper and red wine.  Simmer for about 5 minutes.

Step 3

Add the pasatta to the pot and bring this to a simmer.  Once this is done, add the chicken and sausage to the pot and continue to gently simmer for at least 2 hours.  Slow and steady makes great sauce!

Step 4

With about 20 minutes remaining until meal time, add the mushrooms.  Too early and they will all break down in the sauce.

Step 5

As far as I’m concerned, broad egg noodles are a must with cacciatore.  Fresh is best, but packaged work fine as well.  Once done, lay the noodles on a large platter and add chicken and sausage.  Follow up with a generous coating of sauce and …..serve.    Bon appetit!