Accidental Chicken Cacciatore Diablo

Sometimes I make mistakes. Sometimes I have accidents. When I do, just like all of you, I have to bear the consequences. Every once in a while, those consequences are not so bad - in fact, they work out really well. This dish is one of those mistakes gone good.

My intention was to make a rather traditional chicken cacciatore. To augment the minced rosemary, I intended to add a small amount of the Cento Italian seasoning. The lid fell off in the pan, spilling a large amount of the seasoning into the mix. I used a spoon to remove all I could, but the crushed red pepper and  seeds in the seasoning stayed. In one moment my cacciatore became Diablo! And served over flat noodles, it was really good! The following recipe is a common sense way to recreate my end result without having a spill.

Ingredients

2 chicken leg quarters

1 small onion, chopped

1/2 cup sweet bell pepper, chopped

1 cup chopped mushroom

1 can diced tomatoes

1/4 cup dry red wine

1/2 cup chicken stock

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 Tablespoon sun dried tomato paste

1 rounded Tablespoon flour

1 Tablespoon minced rosemary leaves

1/4 teaspoon Italian seasoning without crushed red pepper

1 large pinch crushed red pepper.

salt and pepper

olive oil

Method

Pat the leg quarters dry and salt and pepper them. Heat about 2 teaspoons of olive oil in a saute pan over high heat until smoking. Add the leg quarters and brown them on both sides.

Remove the chicken to a plate and pour the fat from the pan, but do not wipe it out. Lower the heat to medium and add the onion, bell pepper, and mushrooms.

Saute the vegetables until soft and beginning to brown. Add the garlic, a pinch of salt, the tomato paste, and the flour. Stir and mix until the vegetables are rust colored.

Add the red wine, rosemary, seasoning, and crushed red pepper. Stir and cook the mixture until the liquid evaporates. Add the tomatoes with juice and the chicken stock. Stir and add the chicken quarters with juices back to the pan. Reduce the heat to medium low and cover the pan. Simmer for 25 minutes.

Remove the lid form the pan and continue to simmer until the sauce thickens a bit. 

Serve over egg noodles with a dry red wine such as Goats Do Roam.