Chicken Stifado
Ingredients
Mixture of 4-6 pieces of organic chicken thighs and/or legs
1 Glass of dry or semi-sweet white wine
1 large white or red onion finely chopped
10 small whole onions such as pearl or shallots, peeled
1 garlic clove finely chopped
2 Fresh vine ripened tomatoes
1 tablespoon of sun-dried tomato puree/paste
2 bay leaves
1 sprig of fresh rosemary
3-5 sprigs of fresh thyme
3-5 sprigs of fresh Greek oregano (optional)
4-5 all spice berries
1tsp of Black Peppercorns
2 cinnamon sticks
Sea Salt
Glug of Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1Tsp of Red Wine Vinegar
Pinch of Sugar
Classic, Flavoursome and Comforting. The perfect solution when you want to make something delicious and healthy in a hurry. We were first introduced to this dish several years ago when we stopped off at small taverna on the side of the road in the stunning island of Santorini in the Akrotiri region. The old lady who had lived there all her days didn’t have a menu. A simple kitchen and whatever she cooked that day was what you got. This is our version of what we were served on that stunning day. We hope you enjoy this as much as we did.
How to Make It
Heat your E.V.O.O in a large wide cast pot or casserole dish over a high heat. Place your chicken thighs/ legs in the pot, skin side down, reduce heat to medium and fry until golden brown. Using kitchen tongs, carefully turn to brown on the other side for approx. 5 minutes in total. Once you have done this, proceed to transfer the meat to a side plate and drain off all but 2 tablespoons of fat from the pot.
Add the chopped onions to the remaining fat and gently cook until soft and translucent. About 10 minutes. Thereafter, stir in the chopped garlic.
Lightly season the chicken with salt and pepper and place back in the pot with the onions and garlic. Pour in the glass of wine and then add the fresh herbs, allspice berries, peppercorns and cinnamon.
Blend your tomato puree with about 50ml of water and add this to the pot. Add enough water to come about halfway up the chicken pieces but do not fully submerge the meat. Grate in your fresh tomatoes being careful to discard the skins. Season with salt and pepper, gently stir the whole mix and cover the pot. Finally reduce your heat to a low heat and simmer the chicken for about 45 to 50minutes until tender.
In a separate pan, while the dish is cooking, proceed to prepare your pearl onions. In a small frying pan, add a splash of E,V.O.O. and over a medium heat brown your onions with a pinch of sugar and seasoning until lightly caramelized.
Fifteen minutes before removing the chicken from heat, gently stir in the pearl onions/ shallots and the red wine vinegar. Serve with crusty bread or pan fried potatoes.
ENJOY - ΚΑΛΗ ΟΡΕΞΗ
