Chicken Cacciatore with Peppers and Mushrooms

Ingredients

• Chicken and vegetables

  800 g boneless skinless chicken thighs

  eight small whole thigh fillets, about 100 g each; raw edible weight without bones or skin

• 4 g fine salt

  2 g on chicken, 2 g in sauce

• 1 g ground black pepper

  0.5 g on chicken, 0.5 g in sauce

• 30 g extra-virgin olive oil

  15 g for each of two chicken batches; all retained

• 150 g yellow onion

  peeled, thinly sliced

• 250 g white button mushrooms

  cleaned, trimmed edible weight, sliced 5 mm thick

• 250 g red bell pepper

  stems and seeds removed, edible weight, cut into 1 cm strips

• 12 g garlic

  peeled and finely minced

• Tomato sauce and finish

  25 g tomato paste

  plain, without added salt

• 2 g dried oregano

  rubbed between fingers

• 400 g canned diced tomatoes

  no added salt, include all juice

• 200 g prepared vegetable broth

  ready to use, not concentrate; check allergen label

• 60 g pitted canned black olives

  drained edible weight, halved; not stuffed

• 10 g flat-leaf parsley

  washed, dried, chopped; all for the finished dish

Directions

1. Prepare the vegetables and season the chicken

   Wash hands and clean the produce under running water. Prepare all vegetables first: slice 150 g peeled onion, slice 250 g cleaned mushrooms about 5 mm thick, cut 250 g trimmed red pepper into 1 cm strips, and mince 12 g garlic. Drain, halve and weigh 60 g pitted black olives. Chop 10 g washed and dried parsley. On a separate raw-poultry board, pat eight boneless, skinless thigh fillets totaling 800 g dry with paper towels; do not wash raw chicken. Season both sides with 2 g salt and 0.5 g pepper. Wash hands, sanitize the poultry board and keep raw utensils separate from clean serving tools.

2. Brown the chicken in two batches

   Heat a 30 cm deep sauté pan over medium-high heat. Add 15 g olive oil and four seasoned thigh fillets in one layer. Brown for about 4 minutes on the first side and 2 minutes on the second; the chicken is not cooked through yet. Transfer to a holding plate. Repeat with the other 15 g oil and remaining four fillets. Keep all eight pieces and their juices for the braise, and do not serve the partially cooked chicken. Retain the oil and browned fond in the pan. Lower the heat if the fond becomes very dark; it should be brown, not black.

3. Soften onion, mushrooms and pepper

   Reduce heat to medium. Add all the sliced onion to the same pan and stir for about 4 minutes. Add all the mushrooms and cook for about 6 minutes, stirring, until they release their moisture and most of it evaporates. Add the red pepper strips and cook for about 3 minutes, then add the minced garlic and stir for 30 seconds. Keep the chicken on its holding plate during this stage. No extra oil, butter, celery, carrot or bacon is added.

4. Build the tomato and oregano sauce

   Stir all 25 g tomato paste into the vegetables and cook for 1 minute. Add 2 g dried oregano and stir for 20 seconds. Add all 400 g canned diced tomatoes with their juice, followed by 200 g prepared vegetable broth. Scrape the pan with a wooden spoon to loosen the brown fond. Stir in the remaining 2 g salt and 0.5 g pepper, then bring the sauce to a gentle simmer. Use ready-to-use broth rather than concentrate; there is no wine, flour, sugar or dairy in this sauce.

5. Braise gently and check the chicken temperature

   Nestle all eight browned thigh fillets and their collected juices into the sauce. Cover and simmer gently over low to medium-low heat for about 15 minutes, then uncover, turn the pieces and simmer for a further 5–10 minutes. The thickest part of each thigh must reach at least 74°C/165°F on a clean instant-read thermometer; check several pieces and continue cooking if any is below that temperature. The sauce should bubble gently, not boil hard. If it becomes too thick before the chicken is safe, add a small splash of plain water. Stir in all 60 g halved olives for the final 3 minutes. Wash the holding plate and raw-chicken utensils before reuse.

6. Finish with parsley and portion the full sauce

   Once all chicken pieces are safely cooked, turn off the heat and scatter all 10 g chopped parsley over the pan. Serve two small thigh fillets per person, dividing the full vegetable sauce and olives evenly between four portions. No extra oil, cheese, bread or food garnish is included. For leftovers, divide chicken and sauce into small shallow containers promptly. Refrigerate within 2 hours, or 1 hour above 32°C/90°F, at 4°C/40°F or below. Use within 3–4 days, or freeze for up to 2–3 months for quality. Thaw in the refrigerator; reheat while stirring and turning the chicken until every part reaches at least 74°C/165°F.