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Chicken Castillo

September 19, 2008

This is my mom’s recipe, and it’s basically a cacciatore to which my father gave a silly name (you have to say it with a goofy flourish on the double l’s). And the name stuck. I doubled the recipe, froze half for us and gave the other half to a friend that just had a baby.

You can buy a pepper and onion mix in the freezer section of your supermarket and use that instead of the fresh produce. If you do, this is really a terrific “pantry” meal — it’s easy to have all the ingredients on hand and either in the freezer or your pantry.

I like this recipe best when it’s made with a bone-in chicken pieces, dusted with flour and then browned in olive oil. But the chicken breasts freeze better, and skipping the browning step makes the preparation less time-consuming. It’s still a delicious dish if you prepare it as written below — I like to serve it over brown rice.

Chicken Castillo

olive oil
1 green bell pepper, diced
1 red bell pepper, diced
1 medium onion, diced
1 lb. skinless, boneless chicken breasts, cut into 1″-wide strips
1 28-oz. can diced tomatoes
1/3 c. dry sherry (optional)
salt and pepper to taste

Drizzle olive oil in a large, deep saute pan and cook peppers and onions over medium-high heat until they are caramelized (8-10 minutes).

Add remaining ingredients and stir gently to combine. Cover, lower heat, and simmer for 30 minutes. Remove the lid, stir, and continue cooking for another 20-30 minutes uncovered.

Filed under: Poultry