Nonna's Chicken Cacciatore with Polenta and Green Beans

In honor of my Italian grandma's 90th birthday yesterday, today I learned how to make my great-grandmother's (Nonna) chicken cacciatore, polenta, and green beans. Nonna (Margaret) was born just north of Venice, Italy, in 1900, and came to the the United States in 1905. This was a standard meal that she and my grandma Ollie made often.


My birthmother, Mary, getting ingredients ready.



Chicken Cacciatore ("Hunter's chicken")

Ingredients:

8-12 chicken thighs

Olive oil

1/2 white onion (chopped)

1 small bulb of garlic (peeled and chopped)

1 28-oz. can stewed tomatoes

1 8-oz. can tomato sauce

Rosemary, thyme, and sage to taste, or poultry seasoning.

In a hot skillet (400 degrees if you have an electric skillet), add a few tablespoons of olive oil.

About this much...

Add garlic and onion and sauté until soft. Add chicken and brown both sides.

When chicken is browned but not cooked all the way through, add stewed tomatoes and tomato sauce. Add a few tablespoons of chopped fresh rosemary, thyme, and sage, or a few teaspoons of poultry seasoning if you do not have fresh herbs. Reduce heat to low (200 degrees if you are using an electric skillet), cover, and let cook for about 25-45 minutes (25 if you have boneless meat, 45 if there are bones).

While this is cooking, make the polenta and green beans.

Nonna's green beans

Ingredients:

1/2 pound fresh green beans
3 shallots (chopped)
2 T butter
2-3 T olive oil
1/4 t cinnamon
Salt & pepper to taste
1 t tomato paste
1/2 cup water

In a shallow microwaveable dish, add green beans and a 1/2 inch of water and microwave for two minutes. In the meantime, melt butter in a skillet and add olive oil and shallots. Sauté shallots until just starting to brown. Add green beans, cinnamon, and a few dashes of salt and pepper. Turn heat to low and cover, allowing to cook until the green beans are your desired crunchiness. Dissolve tomato paste in the 1/2 cup of water, and add this in the last few minutes of cooking.

Nonna's polenta

Ingredients:

Water
2 cups cornmeal
1 1/2 t salt

Before starting polenta, butter a large, shallow platter in preparation for the end of this recipe when you won't have an extra hand to do it. Nonna used a large wooden platter that did not need to be buttered. A very large wooden cutting board will also work.

Bring 4 1/2 cups water and salt to a boil. While waiting for the water to boil, add 1 1/2 cups cold water to the cornmeal, mixing until there are no lumps. Add this mixture to the boiling water, turn the heat down to low, and stir constantly for 5-20 minutes (depending on the quality of the cornmeal). Tradition dictates that you should be stirring the polenta with a wooden spoon.

When the polenta is very thick, but not thick enough to be pulling away from the sides of the pan, remove from heat and pour immediately onto platter or cutting board. Shape with a spatula or a damp kitchen towel so you have a nice round patty of polenta.

Let cool for 5-10 minutes until the polenta is firm enough to slice easily. Using a sharp knife, cut into slices like a pizza. Use a pie server to remove slices from the platter so they still look pretty.

By this time, the chicken cacciatore and the green beans should be done cooking. Serve the polenta with some of the sauce and tomatoes from the green beans and chicken.

As we were about to sit down to lunch, we realized today that we were eating Nonna's favorite meal on the old chairs from her kitchen. It seemed very appropriate for the occasion.

Nonna's chairs

Buon appetito!