Cinnamon-braised Chicken (Kotopoulo Kapama)
Kotopoulo kapama is a Greek dish of braised chicken flavored with cinnamon. This recipe is the Catsoulis family version, from the Greek island of Kythera.
Chicken pieces (one per person)
2 large onions, finely chopped
4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 tin tomatoes, or 300 g of fresh tomatoes
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 cinnamon stick
3 bay leaves
½ tablespoon finely-chopped fresh parsley
½ cup red wine (shiraz)
3 tablespoons tomato paste
1 carrot, cut into thick slices
1 stick of celery, cut into thin 3-inch strips
Finely-chopped celery leaves
¼ teaspoon ground cloves
Heat oil in saucepan and add onion. Stir gently until onion is well browned.
Add chicken, bay leaves, and cinnamon, then thoroughly brown chicken on all sides. The objective is to get as much "stock" from the skin as possible as this adds to the flavour later on.
Add tomatoes, garlic, wine, and water, and cook through. Add parsley, celery leaves, celery, carrot.
Add enough water to cover the contents of the pot. Allow to cook slowly for at least 2 hours. It is important to cook over a low heat so that sauce does not catch. Stirring or agitation will only cause the vegetables and chicken pieces to break up.
2 hours
Serve with thin pasta. Grate cheese generously over dish.
- •The fresher the ingredients, the better it will taste.
- •It is important to get as much "stock" from the chicken as possible. This is the reason for leaving the skin and bone on, although too much skin will result in a fatty dish.
- •The chicken should be browned for at least 10 minutes before the tomatoes are added.
- •If wine is added, it should be a good wine. When wine is used in cooking, the alcohol boils off leaving only the taste of the wine, therefore a poor quality wine will do little for the flavour.
- •Don't be overgenerous when adding ingredients, as an imbalance will shift the final result. In particular, strong sauces should only be used in small quantities.
- •In addition, a small piece of pumpkin may be finely chopped and added to thicken the sauce. It will cook away completely but will enhance the flavour.