Mixed Game Cacciatore

Cacciatore is usually made with chicken but since I understand it's name to mean "hunter" I decided mixed game was fine. They were selling 2 packs of mixed game for £6 at Tesco which seemed pretty good value for something that had never seen the inside of a barn, I figured. If using chicken try and get it with skin on as it adds so much flavour.

For a meatless version of this, think of things you'd "gather". I'd use a combination of wild and brown mushrooms, a bell pepper, and my seasonal fave - the chestnut, but go all out in caramelising the onions. It'll take around 30 minutes on medium to low heat but the flavour is so worth it.

I'm using a slow cooker for this since it's the weekend and I have time and don't want to be jumping up to check the dinner, but this can be cooked in a lidded pot in the oven at 200C for 40 minutes.

Ingredients:

• 2 packs of mixed diced game - around 500g (or chicken legs, breast, wings - whatever you have to hand.)
• gluten free flour, for dredging the meat.
• 2 large onions, sliced
• 1 can chopped tomatoes
• 1 bay leaf
• a spring of thyme (I bought a bunch of the fresh stuff last week so it's appearing everywhere, but you can use whatever herbs you prefer, really)
• a sprinkle of oregano
• salt and pepper to season
• 100 ml red wine
• half a chicken stock cube
• a glug of white sherry (I found one that hadn't been cleared using milk at the local Co-op. The Co-op is the only place in the UK that lists all ingredients in their own-brand alcohols.)
• 1 tablespoon brown sugar

First, coat the meat in a little flour and leave to soak up the juices. In a frying pan on medium heat, gently caramelise the onions for 10 minutes. Put the onions aside. In the same pan, brown the meat gently, add seasoning and tip into the slow cooker. Add the tomatoes to the slow cooker. In the frying pan, pour the red wine into the pan and scrap down the pan with a wooden spoon to remove any burnt on bits. Add to slow cooker.  Add the herbs, haled stock cube, sherry and brown sugar, then leave to cook for 2 hours on high or 4 on low.

Serve over, what else? Pasta.