A Positively Regal Pollo

DEAR SOS: Los Angeles Times restaurant critic S.I. Virbila wrote a lovely article for the Times travel magazine last October about dining in the Piedmont area in Italy. She mentioned a restaurant where a top-of-the-stove “positively regal” chicken cacciatore was served. I have been trying to perfect a cacciatore dish for company and would love to have a “regal” recipe. Any chance of getting this one?

DOROTHY

DEAR DOROTHY: S.I. Virbila gladly shared the recipe from the Ristorante Cacciatori in Cartosio, “a hamlet in the hills outside the old Roman spa town of Acqui Terme.” It’s served with polenta “stirred with a wooden stick for a full hour”--or mashed potatoes, which might be easier.

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RISTORANTE CACCIATORI’S POLLO ALLA CACCIATORI

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 (3 1/2-pound) chicken, cut into 12 pieces

1 (4-inch) branch rosemary

2 plum tomatoes, peeled and chopped, or 3 canned Italian plum tomatoes, coarsely chopped

1/2 onion, sliced

Pinch grated nutmeg

Salt, pepper

1/2 cup dry white wine

Heat olive oil in skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken and saute until golden on both sides, about 5 minutes per side. Add rosemary, tomatoes, onion, nutmeg, salt and pepper to taste and wine.

Cover and cook over medium-high heat until chicken is tender and juices run clear when pricked with fork, about 50 minutes. If too liquid, cook uncovered few minutes longer. Serve chicken with tomatoes and some of pan juices.

6 servings. Each serving:

384 calories; 157 mg sodium; 112 mg cholesterol; 27 grams fat; 3 grams carbohydrates; 28 grams protein; 0.25 gram fiber.

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Apron from Bristol Kitchens, South Pasadena.