- 13. 2020
NO RECIPE CHICKEN CACCIATORE
Gluten and Lactose-Free
Make it with gluten and lactose if you wish
Serves: 2 to 3
By adding a starch, salad or vegetable and desert this can be for 4 or 5.
Today is a beautiful day. I made eggs benedict for brunch. Homemade gluten-free english muffins. Poached eggs. Canadian bacon. “Blender” hollandaise. Shoestring fries in the air fryer. Steamed asparagus.
This was the first time in forever we had eggs benedict. The gluten in the english muffins, the butter in the hollandaise, until I solved those problems eggs benedict was a dream. Now that I have solved them eggs benedict are a dream that’s come true.
Now it is time to make dinner and I didn't feel like fussing. I had light brown rice already made in the refrigerator, and wanted something fast, easy and stewie.
I had a package of chicken drumsticks in the freezer, Newman’s Marinara in the pantry, onions in the cupboard, mushrooms and yellow bell pepper in the crisper. Herbs out on the patio.
I poured about ½ c of sauce into the Dutch Oven, placed the frozen drumsticks on top, poured the rest of the jar of sauce on top of the chicken, covered the pot, set the heat to medium and let the chicken defrost and simmer for about an hour. If you don’t have a Dutch Oven, a saute pan, a large saucepan, a deep sided skillet will all work.
Meanwhile, I diced onion, mushroom and bell pepper salted lightly and sauteed in olive oil in a skillet along with a teaspoon each of dry basil, dry thyme, dry rosemary, granulated garlic, a pinch of crushed red pepper and set it aside.
When the drumsticks were done, I fished them out with tongs to drain in a sieve set on a bowl. I will use what drains off in the chicken cacciatore. While they were hot I lightly salted them. I poured the sauce left in the Dutch Oven back into the jar it came in and set aside to cool. I will use some of this sauce a;ong with what drained off for the chicken, the rest, once cooled I will refrigerate. Some of this enhanced tomato sauce will be the base of a tomato soup, the rest will be used in another dish in the next few days.
I spooned a ladle of the tomato sauce into the pan I had simmered the drumsticks in and placed the drumsticks on top, scrapped the vegetables with a rubber spatula from the skillet i cooked them on to the drumsticks and sort of tossed them with the sauteed vegetables. Then I poured 8 to 10 oz. of the reserved sauce on the chicken, coved the pot and let the sauce come to a mild boil. Checked and adjusted the seasonings, lowered the heat all the way low and let the chicken simmer further 45 to 60 minutes.
While the chicken was doing its thing, I made a salad, and heated up some of the rice that was in the refrigerator. I also clipped about a tablespoon each of parsley, rosemary and thyme to mince and add as a garnish and flavor enhancer to my chicken.
As I was heating the skillet I used to saute the vegetables in to heat the rice, I decided to saute a thinly sliced scallion in a couple of teaspoons of olive oil to which I added about 1 ½ c of cooked rice then stirred in two teaspoons of the finely minced herbs, covered the skillet, turned the heat to low and let the rice heat up.
Dinner was ready with little effort.
This could have been even less effort.
I could have used the chicken after the initial thawing and simmering in the sauce. The chicken was cooked through and ready to eat at this point.
I could have added only one vegetable. I could have added only one herb. I would always saute the vegetables and herbs which add a depth of flavor.
You can add as much or as little of the vegetables, spices, herbs as you want. Serve with rice, pasta, potato, bread or just a salad. It's your dinner, do as you wish depending on the time you have or how much of a fuss you want to make.
Tomorrow I will make tomato soup with part of the sauce.
If there is more sauce left in the jar. I will use that in the Calzones I might make for dinner tomorrow.
Enjoy!