Kotopoulo Kapama

Chicken Stew with a greek twist.

This is a very tasty stew that I've made for friends and family many times and it's one I remember my mom making regularly for guests. It has ingredients that you don't always think go together but when the sweet peppery cinnamon and tart lemon juice mix with the tomato sauce, it's magical. Ladle this stew over good hardy pasta. My preferred pasta is perciatelli, a long straw like noodle. You can find them in some supermarkets, if not then try it over parpadelle, the long broad noodles. And the best garnish for this dish is Kasseri cheese, a hard tangy greek cheese. You'll find this rustic dish quite popular once you make it.

The Ingredients:
3 to 4 chicken legs (legs and thighs)
28 ounce can diced tomatoes
1 sweet onion
1/2 cup tomato paste
1 14 oz can chicken broth
3 lemons juiced
1 tablespoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon allspice
1 teaspoon nutmeg
salt and pepper to taste
tbsp olive oil and 1/2 tbsp butter
1 lb package perciatelli or parpadelle
kasseri cheese (you can use parmesan or another hard tangy cheese.)


Putting it all together:

First wash and cut the chicken legs, remove skin from thighs.

I've also used the whole chicken cut up and also boneless, skinless chicken if you want less fat. Chicken breast tends to get a little dry tasting if you aren't careful to add a little more olive oil. Salt and pepper them.


Clean your cutting surface and hands after handling the poultry!

Chop up the onion.

Heat a deep pot over high heat and add olive oil and a little bit of butter. The butter helps brown the chicken parts.
Saute the onion until it glistens
and then add the seasoned
chicken parts. Brown them
on both sides. This takes about 5 to 10 minutes.




The next step is adding the cinnamon, nutmeg and allspice, coating the chicken well. Salt and pepper to taste. Start with a teaspoon of salt and add more if necessary.

De-glaze the pot with some
chicken broth and then add
the canned tomatoes, paste and
chicken broth. Mix well and then
add the juice of three lemons. Fresh lemon is the best, don't skimp on that!



Let it simmer with the top slightly askew for around an hour and a half.
You want the sauce to thicken and the chicken
to be falling off the bone. It'll be very flavorful the more it thickens. Before serving the the stew you need to cook your pasta.










Here is the perciatelli, you need
a large pot of water to cook this.
Bring the water to a roiling boil.
Throw pasta into the pot and cook
until it's al dente, about 11 minutes for perciatelli. Drain well and put back into the pot.


My mom used to brown butter in the pot and then put the pasta back in and coat it with this browned butter. It was yummy. But in these health conscious days, I use a little olive oil to coat the pasta.

Grate your cheese and then you are ready to plate up your stew.

Put pasta in a plate or bowl, ladle some stew over it and garnish with the cheese. Now you too can make Chicken Kapama.