What is cacciatore, and how do you use a cacciatore stew base?

Cacciatore means hunter in Italian. The dish began in the countryside kitchens of Italy as a hearty one-pot meal for hunters and their families, made from what the land and the farm provided. It is usually chicken or rabbit, slow-cooked in a tomato sauce with onions, bell peppers, garlic and herbs such as rosemary and thyme. Cacciatore is also known as hunter's stew.

Cacciatore belongs to cucina povera, the poor kitchen of Italy: simple ingredients and little effort for a lot of flavor. Cooks make it many ways. Many brown the meat first, then simmer it in the sauce until tender. The long simmer is the part that takes time.

Classic Cacciatore is a hunter-style stew base from San Gennaro Foods, the Mascio family company. It is a blend of slow-simmered tomatoes, aromatic herbs and garden vegetables in a 24.7 oz (700 g) jar. It is the sauce of the dish, made ahead from a family recipe. You add the meat, so the pot fits what you have on hand.

The main ingredients are tomatoes in juice, water, carrots, mushroom, green onion, celery, onion, garlic and tomato paste. It includes a chicken base made with roasted chicken, so Classic Cacciatore is not vegetarian. It has no sugar added, and it is gluten free and non-GMO. With a serious food allergy, call San Gennaro Foods at 253-872-1900 before you buy.

Use it three ways. For a soup, add broth or water to the thickness you like, then heat it. For a heartier stew, stir in fully cooked chicken or your favorite protein. Or serve it as a thick, chunky sauce over pasta, polenta or a meat dish. Garnish with fresh parsley. The meat goes in already cooked, so this is the quick version of the dish.

Leftover roast chicken, cooked sausage or cooked stew beef all suit the base. Cut the meat into bite-size pieces so every spoonful gets some. Store unopened jars at room temperature. Refrigerate an opened jar and use it within 5 days.

Both work. Serve Classic Cacciatore in bowls as a hearty stew, or spoon it over creamy or grilled polenta. Polenta is mild, so it carries the tomato sauce and soaks it up. A roll of San Gennaro pre-cooked polenta is already cooked. It needs only heat: a crust on the grill, or about 10 minutes in broth.

For creamy polenta, cut a roll of Traditional Italian Polenta into small pieces. Cover them with 1 cup of broth and 1 tablespoon of olive oil, and cook over medium heat about 10 minutes, stirring often. Mash it smooth and stir in 1/2 cup of grated Parmesan. The Creamy Polenta recipe has the steps. For grilled rounds, cut 3/4-inch slices, brush them with olive oil and grill them over medium heat 8 to 10 minutes a side. More methods are in how to cook pre-cooked polenta.

Classic Cacciatore is sold in 2-packs at the polenta.net shop, and in a combo with Northwest Cioppino. Shipping is included.