with chicken thawing, i found myself in need of some inspiration. Scanning the pages of The Foods of the Greek Islands by Aglaia Kremezi, i found what turned out to be THE PERFECT dish. the chicken was tender and delicious. and the pasta? with hints of sundried tomatoes and the savory use of cinnamon, the pasta was...heavenly.
Makes 6 servings
Pre-Heat the oven to 4oo
1/3 c olive oil
1 4.5lb chicken cut into six pieces (or 6 turkey drumsticks)
1 large onion halved and thinly sliced
1/3 c chopped oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes
1 cinnamon stick
1 teaspoon dried oregano, crumbled
1 teaspoon aleppo pepper (or a pinch of red pepper flakes)
2 c grated ripe tomatoes* (or canned diced tomatoes w/their juice)
Salt to taste
2 c chicken stock**
1 lb elbow macaroni, cooked in plenty of boiling salted water for 2 minutes and drained (you can also use orzo)
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
1/2 c coarsely grated hard myzitha, kefalotyri, pecorino Romano or Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
*i used fresh tomatoes that i finely chopped b/c i couldn't be bothered trying to "grate" tomatoes.
**2 c is a good idea of how much stock you'll use but don't be surprised if you need a little more or even a little less.
In a Dutch oven or any large dish (i used a large cast iron skillet) that can be used on the range as well as in the oven, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat and saute the chicken or turkey in batches until golden brown on all sides. Set aside. Also, don't worry too much if your chicken doesn't brown quite the way you think it should. you can always brown it in the oven later by leaving the dish uncovered for part of the cooking time.
Add the onion to the pot and saute until soft, about 3 minutes. Add the sun-dried tomatoes, cinnamon stick, oregano, pepper or pepper flakes, and tomatoes. Sprinkle the chicken or turkey with salt and place it on top of the onion and tomato mixture. Add about 1/2 cup of stock, or just enough to come about 2/3 of the way up the chicken or turkey pieces. Bring to a boil, cover and transfer to the oven. If your chicken didn't brown as much as you'd like, leave the cover off the dish for the first 15 or 20 minutes of the baking time.
Bake for about 1 1/2 hours, or until the meat is very tender. Transfer the chicken or turkey to a platter and cover to keep warm.
Meanwhile, bring remaining 1 1/2 cups of stock to a simmer.
Add the stock to the onion and tomato mixture, stir in the pasta and bake, uncovered, for about 15 minutes or until most of the liquid has been absorbed. add more stock if the pasta begins to dry out.
Place the chicken or turkey on top of the pasta and bake for another 10 minutes, until the pasta is tender. Serve immediately, sprinkled with the parsley and cheese.
