Chicken Cacciatore

Ingredients

• One 4 pound chicken, cut into serving pieces, trimmed of excess fat
• Salt
• 2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1 medium onion, thinly sliced root to tip, about 1 1/2 cups
• 1 red or green bell pepper, seeded, sliced into 1/4-inch wide slices
• 8 ounces cremini mushrooms, thickly sliced
• 2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
• 1/3 cup white or red wine
• 2 1/2 to 3 cups peeled and chopped, firm ripe tomatoes, with their juices, or 1 28 ounce can of plum tomatoes in their juice
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 teaspoon dry thyme
• 1 teaspoon dry oregano

Directions

1. Rinse the chicken, then dry it well and sprinkle salt over every side of each piece. Warm the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the chicken in batches, keeping the pan uncrowded, with the skin facing down. Let it brown well, about 5 minutes, then flip the pieces and give the second side a lighter browning.
2. Transfer the chicken to a bowl and leave it for now. Pour off the fat in the skillet, leaving 2 tablespoons behind. If there is less than 2 Tbsp in the pan, drizzle in enough olive oil to coat the bottom with roughly that amount. Add the onions, bell peppers and mushrooms, then turn the heat up to medium high.
3. Cook the vegetables, stirring often, until the onions look clear and the mushrooms have released most of their liquid, about 10 minutes. Stir in the garlic and cook for another minute. Pour in the wine, scraping the bottom of the skillet to loosen the browned bits, and simmer until the wine has reduced by half. Add the tomatoes.
4. Mix in the pepper, thyme, oregano and about a teaspoon of salt. Taste and adjust as needed. Let the sauce simmer without a lid for another 5 minutes.
5. Set the chicken over the tomato and onion mixture with the skin facing up. Reduce the heat and cover the skillet, leaving the lid slightly open. Cook at a gentle simmer, turning and spooning sauce over the chicken now and then, until the thighs are tender, about 30 to 40 minutes.