20101102 Chicken Cacciatora

(SOURCE: Delia's Complete How to Cook by Delia Smith)

The sauce tastes even better the day after!

INGREDIENTS
4 chicken legs, chopped into two (about 1kg in total) and seasoned
1 tbsp olive oil
2 onions, thickly sliced
700g ripe red tomatoes, skinned * and finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 tbsp tomato puree
1 tbsp fresh rosemary leaves, finely chopped
1 bay leaf
275ml dry white wine
1 tbsp white wine vinegar
salt and pepper

METHOD
1. Heat the oil in the heavy based pan over a high heat, brown the chicken in batches. Remove the chicken to a plate. Add the onions to the pan, turn the heat down to medium and brown for 8 to 10 minutes.
2. Add garlic and cook for another minute. Stir in the tomatoes, tomato puree, rosemary, bay leaf, white wine, and white wine vinegar. Add some seasoning and bring it up to the boil, then let it bubble and reduce (without covering) to about half its original volume, which will take about 20 minutes.
3. Add the chicken pieces, stir them around a bit, then put the lid on and allow to simmer gently for 40 minutes, until the chicken are cooked through.

* How to skin tomatoes - pour boiling water over the tomates and leave them for 1 minute before draining and slipping off their skins.