Chicken Cacciatore

Wipe the chicken dry. Salt and pepper well on both sides.
1 whole chicken, salt and pepper
Heat the olive oil in a heavy Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add chicken pieces and cook for about 5-6 minutes on each side or until nicely browned. Brown the chicken in batches to prevent overcrowding of the pan. Remove the chicken to a plate and set aside.
¼ cup olive oil
Add the onions into the Dutch oven (no need to clean it out first) and cook for 3 minutes, or until they begin to brown slightly.
1 medium onion
Add the garlic, celery and bell pepper and cook for an additional 5-6 minutes until vegetables begin to soften. (If using wine, add 1 cup after the vegetables have softened. Cook the wine with the vegetables until the wine has reduced by about half its volume.)
4 cloves garlic, 1 rib celery, 1 bell pepper
Add tomatoes, thyme and bay leaf. Stir well.
29 ounces canned diced tomatoes with juice, 4 springs fresh thyme, 1 bay leaf
Add the chicken back to the pan along with any juices that accumulated on the plate while the chicken was resting.
Bring to a gentle simmer. Cover and cook for approximately 1 hour. Near the end of cooking time, stir in the chopped parsley. Check and correct seasonings.
¼ cup fresh parsley
Serve over your choice of pasta or polenta.