When I was a little girl, I would visit my grandparents in Chicago for a few weeks every year.  My Papou (grandfather  – in Greek)  owned and operated a beautiful produce market and was famous for his fruit baskets. He loved to garden, and he was known to grow the most amazing, and beautiful raspberry bushes.  He would wake up at 4:00 am and my Yiayia (grandmother – in Greek) would drive him to work. My Papou, an immigrant from Laconia of Peloponnese, he never got his license and could not drive in this country.

Like most immigrants, he worked extremely hard to provide for his family and would rarely be home. Except for lunch, often known as a midday meal or pre-siesta in Greece. One of my more prominent memories was the scent of his hard work and sweat when he came home for lunch. My Yiayia, was also working. She not only raised eight children, she was a “Martha Stewart” before her time.  She was famous for making a meal stretch… which essentially, made her notorious for feeding more than a typical family of four… every night. My grandparents found great joy in inviting those less fortunate in for not only a meal, but also into their lives. They had a makeshift soup-kitchen of their own.

Today, when I made Chicken Kapama, I had my Yiaiya on my mind. She made this dish often, the scents and herbs deeply touched me as I picked through them at the store. One major difference between my recipe and hers, was that my Yiayia used to placed the raw noodles within the boiling pot of sauce. This would create a starchy, yet extremely rich texture from both the sauce and noodles, marinating, together.

Chicken Kamapa — it’s tastes, it’s smells, and the process of making it, somewhat defines home. I find the most beautiful and raw aspect of recreating memorable meals comes with the person creating it or enjoying it. I hope my Chicken Kapama will spark or create a beautiful and full memory from within you and your home.

Chicken Kapama

Print Recipe
Serves: 6 servings Cooking Time: 1 1/2 hours

Ingredients

  • 1 Whole chicken cut up into 8 pieces
  • 1 Tablespoon of garlic
  • Enough Olive oil to cover of the pan you are using
  • 1 Large onion
  • 1 Lemon
  • 1 Can of Hunts tomatoes sauce
  • 1 Can of Hunts dices tomatoes
  • Salt
  • Pepper
  • Oregano
  • 1 Cinnamon stick
  • 1 Hungarian hot pepper
  • 1 Bag of square cut Greek noodles, rice or noodles your choice
  • Grated cheese

Instructions

1

Wash chicken and dry it on a paper towel

2

Season with salt, pepper, oregano and juice from a whole lemon

3

Let rest in the refrigerator for a least one hour

4

Add olive oil to the bottom on a frying pan

5

Add seasoned chicken and brown on both sides

6

Remove from the pan

7

Take the oil and chicken bits and pour into a large pot

8

Add garlic, onion, and hot pepper and saute

9

Add a splash of red wine

10

Place the browned chicken in the large pot

11

Add the tomato product

12

Add 1 Cinnamon Stick before simmering

13

Simmer for 1 hour

14

Boil the noodles or rice

15

Place the sauce on top of the noodles with a piece of chicken

16

Sprinkle with grated cheese

Notes

You can use noodles or rice Boiling the noodles in the sauce in fantastic, however it will reduce the amount of the sauce

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