Broiled chicken cacciatore with cauliflower mash

chicken cacciatore is one of those Italian descended classics that has a million definitions to me it's chicken braised with tomatoes and bell peppers here's my attempt to give it a significant flavor boost by using a pretty unconventional process this is cooked entirely under the broiler thus it has a deep smoky roasted flavor in color first thing you need is a big roasting tray your biggest tray might be an aluminum baking sheet but I would not use that we're cooking a tomato sauce in this and the acid could dissolve a noticeable amount of metal out of the aluminum pan any other super-wide pan will be fine now we need a couple of pounds or a kilo of tomatoes these are from my garden and sauce is usually how I use homegrown tomatoes that have significant defects I can just cut off that yucky part and I've got a beautiful half of a tomato all these I'm just gonna cut out the stem end and then cut them in half no smaller that's important half tomatoes in those go to the roasting tray next the bell peppers three of them any color gonna cut them all in half and then just reach in there and tear out the stem the seeds any big white hunks of rib that I can easily extract into the tray with those pepper halves like three big shallots or one onion again cut them each in half and then peel off the skin I'll cut off the tips and then very carefully shave off the roots I don't want to cut too deeply into the root end because then nothing would hold the layers together I want to keep them together into the tray oh now would be a good time to get your broiler heating that's the element at the very top of the oven often called a grill outside the United States I've got a few garlic cloves here I'll just cut off the root ends and then smash them with the side of the knife just to open them up a bit and to loosen the skin I want whole lightly crushed garlic cloves for this in they go I'll turn that around so you can see everything here's like a pound and a half of boneless skinless chicken thighs five or six of them such a convenient product it's just chicken stew waiting to happen don't be tempted to use breasts this recipe would turn them into chalk I'll give everything a good drizzle of olive oil that's pretty then grind on enough pepper to season every surface in here not just the surfaces that are currently facing up same deal with the salt enough to cover everything and it's time to get in there and toss everything around just get every surface coated in oil and seasoning and as you go turn all the vegetables cut side down skins should be facing up that's important it's also important that you get everything is spaced out as possible nothing should be sitting on top of anything else with the exception of the garlic which I'm tucking under the chicken to protect it it would burn under the broiler and burnt garlic is repulsive there we go if some stuff is overlapping don't stress about it everything in here will start shrinking rapidly as it cooks if things don't fit now they will soon right under a glowing hot boiler this goes on a rack near the top that will take about an hour in there but we'll need to check it frequently just as we can check ourselves with the sponsor of this video let's get checked I'm gonna be honest I have been treating my body like a dumpster since kovat quarantine began been drinking way too much alcohol and eating way too much sugar I'm curious if this is really hurting me so I've decided to do a diabetes and heart test let's get checked as a way to do all kinds of basic medical diagnostics at home yourself everything from kovat tests to sexual health tests the pricing is totally transparent and reasonable which is the opposite of how it normally works here in the States we often have no idea how much a test our doctor orders is gonna cost us until it's too late the tests are easy to do at home even this blood test the spring-loaded lancets are foolproof and hardly hurt then you just package up your sample and throw it in the mail you get your results via their app really fast and yep my cholesterol and everything is fine so far but my triglycerides are pretty high that's fat in the bloodstream generally happens when you drink too much booze and/or eat too many calories guilty on both counts I can schedule a free call with a nurse to help me understand these results this is all legit real doctors and nurses are running this show and you can get 20% off anything that you need to get checked by hitting my link in the description and using my code Adam 20 at checkout 20% off any tests with my linked end code in the description thank you let's get checked because I don't want to get a thorough sclerosis and die I'm gonna have this chicken with mashed cauliflower instead of a starch which would be traditional we always had chicken cacciatore with rice growing up but this is honestly gonna be better you just hack the cauliflower into random small chunks and cram them into a pot I'll just fill that like halfway up with water anything that isn't submerged is gonna steam just fine put that on high heat and cover it let's check on our chicken you might think oh no we burned it yes we did and that is good I'm trying to burn everything in here except for the chicken and the garlic in the end we're just gonna do this lift the burnt skin a ride off and underneath will have a smoky deep roasted vegetable that's why everything needs to be skin side up back under that goes while I'm waiting I'll just peel and chop a ton of garlic for the cauliflower it doesn't have to be perfect because we're gonna puree it eventually I'll check the cauliflower with a fork and not quite soft yet it needs to be really soft check the chicken again when the peppers feel just barely cooked to me I'm gonna take them out if you want to get them really soft and kind of melt them into a sauce like the tomatoes then leave them in but I want them to maintain structural integrity so they're done I'll flip the chicken around to get some color on the opposite side while the first side can start stewing and the accumulated liquid at the bottom of the pan don't stress any more about covering up the garlic it can start getting a little color now I also throw in some capers the pickled unopened flower bud of a Mediterranean bush I don't want too much of that salty brine so I'm lifting them out with a fork which kind of functions like a strainer olives would be more traditional and chicken cacciatore they'd be great instead and I could use some more liquid in the pan so I'm gonna give a big shot of balsamic vinegar white or red doesn't really matter tomatoes they get a lot of long intense heat generally need some additional acid to brighten them back up back under that goes cauliflower is soft and uncharacteristically for me I'm gonna strain that into an actual strainer I need the pot empty and reasonably clean for the next step which is to brown a big knob of butter melt it until the water boils out and it goes Brown and nutty that'll really help the flavor of the cauliflower in goes the garlic and then the heat goes all the way down I don't want to burn the garlic just cook it until it's softened back in the cauliflower goes stir it around and if you're gonna put in any milk or buttermilk at all just do a tiny splash this doesn't need nearly as much moisture as mashed potatoes do if anything I put in too much check the chicken again and if it gets too much dry heat it'll go leathery at some point you might want to add some water to the pan or maybe just put the tomatoes on top of the chicken to get them wet I like when dark meat goes kind of crispy but I overshot the mark here make sure they get some wet heat time to puree the cauliflower an immersion blender is the most convenient way nice and smooth give it a taste that needs salt obviously but let's grate in a bunch of pecorino or Parmesan cheese always do this before you taste for seasoning because it's very salty okay now we just need a bunch of pepper and a little salt that is delicious it can sit covered on warm until we need it all right chicken feels soft like I could pull it apart that means it's done now time to simply lift the burnt skins off the tomatoes this is oddly satisfying you'll find it hard to pull the skins off the smaller chunks that's fine just leave those a little burnt skin will give the sauce a delicious smoky flavor we're just trying to manage the smokiness so pull off whatever you can easily pull off and leave the rest same deal with the shallots just live off the burnt layer and discard now I'm gonna push my chicken away to safety and with my tomatoes and shallots and garlic all at this end I'm just gonna mash everything with a wooden spoon time to turn this into sauce I'm scraping any delicious Fond off the bottom and sides of the tray as I go back in the chicken goes cover each piece with some sauce and then I'll turn on the burner that's under this side of the tray I want to get this simmering so that chicken can have some time actually stewing inside the sauce low heat that sauce could burn easily while I'm waiting I'll peel as much black and skin off of the peppers as possible again a little is fine so only take off which you can easily take off I'll stack those up and just cut them into big strips love roasted peppers and they go to reheat in the pan and I'm very gently stirring things around I don't want the chicken or the peppers to break apart time to tear in some last minute fresh herb and I'm doing sage you could use almost anything and that is done some mashed cauliflower on the plate carefully lift over a chicken thigh don't let it break apart and then spoon on some more peppers and sauce a little fresh thyme at the end just for pretty and wow that chicken just falls apart the sauce is like a jam it's so rich and sweet and intense and the cauliflower beautifully performs the function of a starch which is to soak up any extra sauce it's sweet it's a perfect counterpoint to the smoky chicken and peppers that is a delicious low carb meal I know it's not traditional cacciatore but give this method a chance the only downside is it only makes four or five portions because you need so much surface area but if you're just cooking for a few people that is a really special flavor

Channel: Adam Ragusea

Views: 690,657

Rating: 4.9498835 out of 5

Keywords: mashed cauliflower, chicken cacciatore, cauliflower mashed potatoes, low carb, cauliflower mash, healthy cooking

Id: XqQAUi6b5Yc

Length: 8min 13sec (493 seconds)

Published: Thu Jun 25 2020

Reddit Comments

[u/Ray_Shumar]

ugh i cant believe he's just remaking chicken and mash recipes /s

[u/titanpancake]

never seen a slow dish done in this way, adam is obsessed with his broiler lmao

[u/PiesangSlagter]

This is peak Ragusea, a traditional recipe, done in a radically different and interesting way that looks amazing, and I cannot wait to try!

Not that his more run of the mill recipes are bad, but this particular type are definitely the best. Other examples being his Roast Chicken, Pan Pizza, and bolognaise sauce.

[u/WizardWatson9]

Awesome! I made chicken cacciatore myself once following some rando recipe I found online, and it was easily among the best things I've ever made in my kitchen. Adam's pot roast is right up there, too, so I can't wait to try his version.

[u/lgbtqasfuck]

What should I use to replace the meat in this recipe. Cause I don’t eat meat, but it looks very interesting to make.

[u/Mudcaker]

So I just watched this and it looks great, but let's suppose I don't have access to great fresh tomatoes.

I think the best substitution would be adding some passata near the end when cooking the sauce, and leaving some more skin on for the smokiness. Maybe adding a splash of water mid-cook if the pan is too dry.

Another benefit is this could scale up to a few more portions.

Would there be a better way to go? Maybe tinned tomatoes, but they're usually peeled anyway.

[u/ConeySauce]

This looks delicious, and simple! I'd love to try it, however my oven (and I suspect a lot of other peoples' ovens) just won't work for this. It's a gas oven, and the broiler is a separate compartment in the bottom of the unit, with the heating element above the broiler but below the oven. The pan I have that would be big enough to fit all of these ingredients just *barely* fits in there. The edges of the pan would be literally touching the flames with the broiler on. Doesn't seem like I'd be able to make this without burning everything or destroying a roasting pan.

Anyone have any ideas on how to adapt a recipe like this to an oven like I described?

EDIT: Gave it a shot with what I had to work with. The peppers and shallots went on aluminum pan under the broiler, and the tomatoes/chicken/garlic went in a steel roasting pan in the main oven. Set the broiler to low (since the rack is a lot closer to the flame) and let the whole thing heat up for a good half hour. Got great charring on the peppers (I'll definitely use this method any time i need roasted peppers), but obviously the chicken & tomatoes didn't really get any color. Still came out pretty tasty though!