Braised chicken in aromatic tomato sauce (pastitsatha)
Braised chicken in aromatic tomato sauce (pastitsatha) recipe in the greek category
Recipe ingredients:
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1 (3 pound) chicken, cut into 8 pieces
- 3 cups chopped red onions
- 6 whole allspice
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
- Pinch cayenne pepper
- 1 (28 ounce) can whole Italian-style tomatoes, drained, juices reserved, tomatoes chopped
- 1 cup water
- 2 tablespoon (or more) red wine vinegar
- 2 tablespoon tomato paste
- Pinch of granulated sugar
- 12 ounces perciatelli pasta or spaghetti
- Freshly grated kefalotyri cheese or Parmesan cheese
Recipe method:
- Heat oil in heavy large Dutch oven over medium-high heat.
- Add chicken in batches and cook until brown on all sides, about 8 minutes per batch.
- Place chicken on platter. Add onions to Dutch oven. Saute until tender, about 5 minutes.
- Add spices. Stir until fragrant, about 1 minute.
- Stir in tomatoes and their juices and water.
- Return chicken to Dutch oven.
- Cover. Simmer over medium-low heat until chicken is very tender, about 35 minutes.
- Transfer chicken to platter. Tent with foil.
- Add 2 tablespoons vinegar, tomato paste and sugar to Dutch oven.
- Simmer until thickened to sauce consistency, stirring occasionally, about 10 minutes.
- Season with salt, pepper and more vinegar, if desired.
- Remove from heat. Cover to keep warm.
- Cook pasta in large pot of boiling salted water until tender but still firm to bite. Drain.
- Transfer pasta to platter. Top with chicken, sauce and cheese.
Tags: braised, chicken, aromatic, tomato, sauce, pastitsatha, recipe, greek, recipes, cooking