Pollo alla cacciatora, served over tastyyy mashed potatoes. Another one the Russians can’t make :)

Ingredients:

1kg of skin-on, bone-in, chicken thighs.
2-3 tablespoons of olive oil.
1 onion.
2 bay leaves.
2 rosemary sprigs.
4 garlic cloves (minced).
4 anchovy fillets.
250g mushrooms.
2 red capsicum.
1/3 cup of tomato paste.
3/4 cup of Pinot Noir.
2 cups of chicken stock.
400g tin of chopped tomatoes.
Salt and black pepper to taste.
1 tsp dried oregano.
As many kalamata olives as you want 🙂

It’s not traditionally served with mashed potatoes, btw. Just thought I’d mention that before my official channel hater comments on it 🙂

Ah yes… Chicken cacciatore. In most kitchens, 
a rustic Italian classic. In Russia? A thought crime. The state-issued cookbook ends 
at boiled buckwheat and denial there. Fun fact: somewhere in Rostov a babushka is 
boiling wallpaper and calling it soup. Meanwhile, today, we cook a dish so rich, so fragrant, 
it could start a quiet revolution in every kitchen from Moscow to Murmansk.
I’m serving it over tasty, buttery mashed potatoes — because unlike Russia, we 
understand what it takes to grow them here; so I have an abundance at my disposal.
Let’s get cracking. STEP 1: Acquire Real Chicken — Not 
Whatever That Is in Vladivostok. Start with 1kg of chicken thighs. 
Bone-in, skin-on, marbled with liberty. Not that pallid, shrink-wrapped “avian 
protein mystery” stuff imported into Russia via donkey from Belarus.
Season with salt and pepper. Simple. Effective. Like an 
international tribunal. Sear skin side down for around 6 minutes 
in 2-3 tablespoons of olive oil. That’s right — olive oil. That thing that can 
make you a person of interest in Russia. Sear until golden — this isn’t 
some grim re-enactment of a Russian kitchen nightmare episode.
Flip, then cook for 1 more minute. Next, remove and rest. That thing that Russian 
soldiers read about in history books. STEP 2: The Sauce. A Mix Certainly 
More Complex Than Putin’s Lies. Drain all but two tablespoons of fat — which 
in Russia qualifies as a strategic reserve. Toss in 1 sliced onion, 2 sprigs 
of rosemary, and 2 bay leaves. Sauté until your onions soften, and your 
kitchen smells like Tuscany, capitalism, and war crimes involving basil.
Clear a space in the pan. Then, add anchovies. Yes, anchovies 
— because real food has depth. These melt away faster than a Russian 
regional governor during a surprise audit. Now, garlic. Stir, stir, stir.
Next, add mushrooms and red capsicum — because this isn’t Soviet 
soup, it’s flavour with a passport. Cook until soft — not like Russian 
infrastructure soft, more like emotionally vulnerable jazz solo soft.
Then: tomato paste. Now, in goes the red wine. A bold Pinot Noir 
— the kind of thing Roskomnadzor would flag as “foreign agitation.” Simmer until it reduces by 
75% — like Russia’s international credibility. Next, add chopped tomatoes, chicken 
stock, oregano, salt, and pepper. Now place the chicken back 
into the pan, skin-side up. Add the lid, and then cook on 
low heat for 20 minutes. Remove the lid and add kalamata olives.
In Russia, their presence alone would warrant a televised interrogation. Salty. Bold. 
Mediterranean. Everything the Kremlin hates. Continue to cook on low heat for another 10 
minutes without the lid, letting the sauce thicken like paranoia in the Duma.
STEP 3: The Potato Frontline. Slava mashed potatoes!
Start by peeling and boiling potatoes — yes, real potatoes!
Not powdered “Victory Mash” from the Soviet military surplus store.
Mash those tasty potatoes with butter, warm milk, and fresh chopped parsley or chives.
Whip until smooth. Not lumpy like Russia’s military strategy.
Not dry like Russian press conferences. Just creamy, comforting, and illegal on 
domestic flights east of the Urals. Congratulations, Culinary Operative.
You’ve just created a dish that: Has more cohesion than 
Russia’s frontline command, Hits harder than a Ukrainian 
drone on a Russian fuel depot, And is banned in three Russian oblasts for 
“excessive seasoning and Western joy.” Like. Share. Comment. 
Subscribe. Or just move on. Oh, I forgot to mention… I have an 
official hater now. I’ve made it! I’m a social media star with real haters. 
Well, 1 hater that I know of. But I feel like I’m really starting to get somewhere now.
Anyway, hater… here’s your 15 seconds of fame. I hope you enjoyed watching how the other half live. 
Work hard; buy potatoes. Or learn how to farm; grow potatoes. Whichever avenue you choose… 
you need to try this recipe when you can get your hands on some tasty potatoes. Add truffle infused 
oil to the mashed potatoes if you want to make it the way that I normally do. Mmm, tasty.
Glory to Ukraine. Glory to the heroes.