Chicken Cacciatore

Heat the olive oil and butter in a large Dutch oven over medium high heat. While it heats up whisk the flour, garlic powder, dried onion and dried basil together in a bowl to make the dredge for the chicken. Take 5 of the chicken thighs and coat them lightly in the flour, shaking off the excess. Get them into the hot pot to brown for about 5 minutes on each side. When they are done, remove them to a plate and repeat with the last 5 pieces of chicken.

When all of the chicken is cooked and removed, add the red bell pepper, onion and garlic into the pot. Let them get soft and fragrant for a couple of minutes. Then pour in the wine and let it cook off for another couple of minutes. Lastly, get the diced tomatoes, crushed tomatoes and pecorino romano into the pot. Season the sauce with salt and pepper generously, then give it a good stir. Add the chicken back in and bring the sauce to a low boil. Reduce it to a simmer and let it cook for 30 minutes.

While the chicken cooks, get a large pot of water on to boil. This is best done when there is about 10–15 minutes left for the chicken to cook so that it is done at the same time. Salt the water generously when it is boiling and cook the pasta just until tender for about 8 minutes. Drain it and transfer it to a large serving bowl. Ladle several scoops of the cacciatore sauce into the bowl with it just to coat it well and toss it all together.

Take the chicken off of the heat when it is done and transfer it to a large platter. Spoon the rest of the sauce over it and sprinkle it with lots of fresh basil on top. Serve family style immediately with the pasta and salad and enjoy!