For the last two weeks I have been looking at a friend’s photos of her recent tour of Italy. Apart from totally wishing that I was there with her, her photos made me incredibly wanting to create an amazing Italian dish. As always, my criteria for creating a new recipe is 1) it must be healthy 2) it must be low glycemic 3) it must be easy to make and 4) it must be crave worthy & delicious. So, with this criterion in mind, here is my latest recipe creation- Easy Baked Chicken Cacciatore.
Many recipes for Baked Chicken Cacciatore use a lot of oil and flour, which raised the glycemic index of the entire dish. I have found that you do not need to coat the chicken in flour to make the skin brown & crispy. Browning the chicken in a Dutch oven in a small amount of Olive oil is all that is needed.
If you don’t have a can of pizza sauce handy, you can substitute it with a can of tomato paste and add ½ tsp each of dried oregano & thyme.
Your can serve this delicious dish over some gluten free spaghetti, cauliflower rice or just as it is with a nice side salad, like this kale pomegranate salad in my picture. Just know that the spaghetti will add to the glycemic index so if you are following Phase 1 of my Ageless Body Program, choosing the Cauliflower Rice is a better choice.
Oh, & a note about the wine. Most recipes for Chicken Cacciatore call for white wine but I find that red wine adds a much more earthy Italian flavor to this dish. Alright Iniziamo!!
Easy Baked Chicken Cacciatore
- 3 pounds bone-in, skin-on, chicken thighs/drumsticks (about 8)
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- Black pepper
- 1 large onion finely chopped
- 3 green onions chopped
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- ½ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- 1 cup dry red wine
- 796 ml. canned diced tomatoes do not drain
- 4 tablespoons pizza sauce
- 1 teaspoon dried Greek Spice
- 1-2 tablespoons dried parmesan
- 1 -2 sprigs of fresh rosemary , to serve
Method
- Heat a large Dutch oven or skillet over medium heat. Add the olive oil. Season the chicken pieces with pepper. Add half the chicken and cook, skin side down, until crisp and browned. Turn the pieces over and cook another 5 minutes. Remove to a plate and continue browning in small batches until all chicken is browned. Place chicken in an oven proof baking dish, reserving 1 tablespoon of the drippings.
- Cover chicken with both types of onions.
- In the same Dutch oven, add the garlic and red pepper flakes to the pan and sauté until fragrant. Add the wine, canned tomatoes, pizza sauce, & Greek spice. Heat until the mixture is warm but not boiling.
- Pour the sauce over the chicken.
- Bake in a 350 degree oven for 1 hour. Cover the chicken cacciatore with foil for 30 minutes. At this point take the foil off and sprinkle with dried (or fresh) parmesan cheese. Continue cooking for an additional 30 minutes.
Serve this Chicken Cacciatore over gluten free pasta or cauliflower rice with lots of sauce to cover. Garnish with a sprig or two of rosemary.
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