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.
Ingredients
- 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
Instructions
- 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.
- Serve with thin pasta. Grate cheese generously over dish.