March 9: Chicken Cacciatore Stoup

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (1 to 1 1/3 pounds), diced
2 teaspoons grill seasoning or coarse salt and black pepper
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
2 large white potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes
8 cremini mushrooms, chopped
4 celery ribs from the heart, chopped
1 medium onion, peeled and quartered lengthwise, then thinly sliced
1 red bell pepper, cored, seeded, and quartered lengthwise, then thinly sliced
4 garlic cloves, chopped
1/2 cup dry Italian red wine
1 15-ounce can diced tomatoes
1 28-ounce can crushed tomatoes
2 cups chicken stock or broth
3 tablespoons fresh rosemary, finely chopped
1 cup fresh basil, arugula, or baby spinach leaves-your choice, shredded or torn
   Grated Parmesan or Romano cheese, to pass at the table
   Crusty bread, to pass at the table

Heat a deep skillet or a medium soup pot over medium-high heat. Add 2 tablespoons of the EVOO then add the chicken. Season with the grill seasoning and cook until evenly and lightly browned all over, 3 or 4 minutes.

While the chicken cooks, chop up the veggies.

Remove the cooked chicken to a plate and reserve. Add the remaining tablespoon of EVOO to the pan. Add the crushed red pepper flakes and potatoes.

Cook for a couple of minutes, then add the mushrooms, celery, and onions and cook for another couple of minutes. Add the bell peppers and garlic and cook for another minute or two.

Add the chicken back to the pan and toss it with the vegetables.

Add the red wine to deglaze the pan, picking up any drippings. Add the tomatoes and stock to the stoup and stir to combine. Stir in the rosemary and reduce the heat to low. Cover and cook for 8 to 10 minutes.

Turn off the stoup and ladle it into shallow bowls. Top with basil for a sweet finish and to balance the spice in the stoup; top with arugula for a peppery finish; or add spinach for a woodsy finish. At the table, pass grated cheese for sprinkling on top of the stoup and bread for mopping up the bowl.

6 SERVINGS

This soup is nice for a wintry day like we had today.

It snowed all day - probably about 10 inches! I, however, did not have the appetite for this soup today. I just haven't been all that hungry. I especially have an aversion to chicken lately, and the soup was quite tomatoey. Leah is sick, so she didn't eat any. Mark thought it was ok. Susanna loved it and ate it all up. We have a lot of leftovers, so I'm thinking about taking a break from cooking for a few days. I'll still blog the recipes, just maybe not make a few. Tomorrow is Mark's birthday, so we might have something fun to eat.

Rachael Ray says, "Stoup is what I call a meal that serves up thicker than a soup yet thinner than a stew. This hearty hunter's chicken stoup is a family favorite of ours, especially on chilly nights." I didn't change much about the recipe, I just used dried rosemary instead of fresh. I used basil and topped it with Parmesan cheese.