Chicken Cacciatore

Summer went out cold and fall came in hot again around here. So we still have fresh tomatoes from our garden.

Our house smells so good! I love spaghetti sauce made from fresh tomatoes and fresh herbs. There’s been a pot of it simmering on my stove today. The aroma fills the air.

So just in case you still have fresh tomatoes I want to share my fresh tomato spaghetti sauce with you today. And as an extra bonus, we’ll tweak the recipe a bit and make chicken cacciatore.

Spaghetti Sauce with Fresh Tomatoes and Herbs

Spaghetti Sauce with Fresh Tomatoes and Herbs

Wash tomatoes

Place batches of tomatoes in boiling water long enough to make skins slip off

Cool tomatoes until they are easy to handle

Core and slip skins off over the food processor bowl

Puree in food processor

Process enough tomatoes to make 8 cups of tomato puree

Mix all of these ingredients in a large pan:

8 cups of tomato puree

1 ½ teaspoons *chopped fresh basil leaves

1 Tablespoon *chopped fresh parsley leaves

½ teaspoon dried, crumbled oregano (I used Greek oregano)

¾ teaspoon Celtic salt

Simmer to desired consistency, usually a couple of hours until volume is reduced by half.

Freeze for later use. Freezing seems to intensify the sweetness.

Here’s a variation on the spaghetti sauce recipe:

1/3 cup virgin olive oil

1 medium onion, chopped fine

3 large garlic cloves

1 teaspoon fresh oregano, *chopped fine

2 teaspoons fresh sweet basil, *chopped fine

2 quarts pureed fresh tomatoes

1 can tomato paste, 6 ounces (leave out if you prefer not to over power the fresh tomato taste. Add another 2-3 cups of fresh pureed tomatoes.

Salt to taste (I used 1 teaspoon).

In a large pan, sauté the onion and garlic for about 10 minutes at a low heat.

Mix the tomato puree with the herbs, then pour into the pan with the garlic and onion. Add the salt.

Simmer for 2-4 hours until desired thickness is reached. The garlic cloves will become so soft that you can crush them against the side of the pan and stir evenly into the sauce.

*To speed up the time it takes to mince fresh herbs, roll the leaves together and then chop them.

Chicken Cacciatore in a Crock-pot

Wash tomatoes

Place batches of tomatoes in boiling water long enough to make skins slip off

Cool tomatoes until they are easy to handle

Core and slip skins off over the food processor bowl

Puree in food processor

Process enough tomatoes to make 8 cups of tomato puree

Mix all of these ingredients in a large pan:

8 cups of tomato puree

3 cloves garlic, pressed

4 teaspoons chopped fresh basil leaves

1 Tablespoon chopped fresh parsley leaves

1 Tablespoon chopped fresh oregano (I used Greek oregano)

1 bay leaf

1 teaspoon Celtic salt

¼ teaspoon pepper

Simmer to desired consistency, usually a couple of hours until volume is reduced by half.

When you’re ready to put your chicken cacciatore in the crock-pot:

2 medium onions, thinly sliced

3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts cut in ½ inch pieces

4 boneless, skinless chicken thighs cut in ½ inch pieces

1 8-oz can of tomato sauce (Optional if your sauce is already thick enough, just put in an extra cup of your sauce.)

¼ cup dry white wine (optional)

Place sliced onions in the bottom of the crock-pot

Add chicken pieces.

Stir the white wine into the sauce.

Pour the sauce over the chicken.

Cover and cook on low for 6 to 8 hours or on high for 2 ½ to 4 hours.

Serve over hot buttered spaghetti or vermicelli noodles.

Admittedly it takes some time to make fresh tomato chicken cacciatore. It’s a labor of love for your family and your taste buds.

For those days that you don’t have much time, make chicken cacciatore quickly before you leave for your day’s activities by using a jar of canned spaghetti sauce. You will love the smell coming from your crock-pot when you arrive home.

Just be sure the canned spaghetti sauce does not contain sugar in the ingredients list. Right now I like Classico’s Tomato Basil Spaghetti Sauce. But I always check the ingredients list because you never know when they will change their ingredients list.

Yummy. Enjoy your meal.

Blessings,

Dr. Jo

Added note for men: these sauces are great for your prostate health, full of lots of lycopene.