So Many Dishes

It’s Tuesday, which means that Ken did most of the cooking. I stopped offering private voice lessons at the beginning of Covid lockdown, and I thought that Ken might want to give up Tuesday night cooking, but he kept right on. He had started cooking on Tuesdays because that was my main teaching day. If I’d had to cook, we would have been eating very late. As it was, I’d finish my last lesson, and 15 minutes later we’d be ready for dinner.

One of the dishes that he’s been making longest is one of my favorites. We call it The Greek chicken, because he has at least one other Greek inspired chicken recipe that he cooks. This, however, is the best. It’s not fancy. It’s basically chicken pieces sautéed and cooked in a tomato-wine sauce, which we serve over orzo pasta. What makes it, though, is the addition of cinnamon to the sauce. Ken likes to use Penzey’s Vietnamese cinnamon in this dish; it seems to work better in savory dishes than a typical blended cinnamon.

The recipe comes from a 1979 cookbook, The Complete Middle East Cookbook by Tess Mallos. It’s a book that’s seen a lot of use, and looks it!

Ken has made a few minor changes to the recipe, which I’m including here.

Greek Braised Chicken

• 3 lb. chicken pieces (breast halves/thighs/drumsticks as desired)
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 1 clove garlic, crushed
• 1 14-oz. can diced fire-roasted tomatoes
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste
• 1/2 cup dry white wine
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon, or more to taste
• 1 teaspoon Greek seasoning
• 1/2 teaspoon sugar
• Salt and pepper to taste

Wipe chicken pieces dry. Place butter and olive oil in a large skillet and heat over medium high heat. Add chicken and brown on all sides. Remove chicken to a plate.

Reduce heat and add onion and garlic. Fry gently until onion is transparent, then add remaining ingredients. Cover and simmer for 20 minutes.

Return chicken to pan, cover, and simmer gently for 45 minutes or until chicken is tender, turning once.

Remove bay leaf before serving. Serve over pasta with grated cheese if desired. Serves 4 to 6.

I made a Greek salad to accompany the chicken. I added plenty of feta, since I had some imported Greek sheep’s milk feta in brine. Feta in brine is so much better. And please don’t ever buy pre-crumbled feta. It’s dried out before you open the package. I dressed the salad my favorite way, with lemon juice, a good fruity olive oil, and a pinch of Penzey’s Greek seasoning. Opa! Happy eating!