Cacciatora means hunter-style. The idea is that a hunter returning home with a chicken would braise it with whatever was in the garden: onion, carrot, celery, tomato, wine. It is a practical dish that became a beloved one because practical dishes, cooked long enough, usually are.
The key is the soffritto. Onion, carrot, and celery cooked low and slow before anything else goes in: this is not a step you can rush. The soffritto is the base of the sauce. Skip it or hurry it and the sauce tastes flat even after an hour of simmering.
Brown the chicken properly before the braise begins. Color on the skin means depth in the sauce. A pale chicken going into a braise stays pale all the way through.
Set servings and units first. You can change them anytime.
Pat the chicken pieces dry with paper towel. Season generously with salt and pepper.
Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a wide, heavy-bottomed pot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Brown the chicken skin-side down in batches, about 5 minutes per side, until deeply golden. Do not crowd the pan. Set browned pieces aside.
Reduce heat to medium. Add the remaining tablespoon of oil, then the diced onion, carrot, and celery. Add the rosemary sprig. Cook 8-10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are soft and lightly golden.
Add the whole garlic clove. Stir 1 minute.
Increase heat to high. Pour in the red wine. Let it boil and reduce for 2-3 minutes, scraping the brown bits from the bottom of the pot.
Crush the tomatoes by hand as you add them to the pot. Stir to combine with the soffritto.
Return the chicken to the pot, skin side up. Nestle pieces into the sauce. Bring to a gentle simmer.
Cover and cook on the lowest heat for 30 minutes. Turn the chicken pieces over halfway through.
Remove the garlic clove and rosemary sprig. Taste the sauce and adjust salt.
Scatter the chopped parsley over the top and serve directly from the pot with bread.
You made Pollo alla Cacciatora. Time to eat.
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The sauce should coat a spoon by the end, not pool thin at the bottom of the pot. If it looks thin at the 25-minute mark, remove the lid for the final 5 minutes to reduce. If it looks dry, add a splash of water or broth, not more wine.
Six Italian regions. Nothing reformulated. Imported direct.
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