Greek Chicken Pasta in Sauce - Pastitsada
Tender chicken, cooked in a bold tomato-and-wine sauce loaded with spices. Served over macaroni pasta. It's Pastitsada, a traditional Greek chicken pasta from the island of Corfu!
Servings: 6
Ingredients
- 1.5 - 2 kg (3.3 - 4.4 pounds) whole chicken cut into 8 pieces
- 80 ml (⅓ cup) olive oil
- 250 grams (1 very large or two small) onions minced
- 2 large garlic cloves skin on for subtler flavor
- 80 ml (⅓ cup) red wine
- 2 loaded tablespoons tomato paste
- 2 bay leaves
- 700 ml hot water or chicken/ vegetable stock
- 500 grams (17 ounce) Pastitsio Pasta No.2 or Bucatini pasta
- Kefalotyri, Kefalograviera, or Pecorino Romano cheese to serve with
For The Spice Mix:
- 1 teaspoon sweet paprika
- ½ teaspoon smoked paprika or hot red pepper
- 1 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1 teaspoon ground allspice
- ⅔ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
Instructions
- Prepare the chicken. Pat-dry the chicken with paper towels. Season with salt and pepper.
- Combine all the ingredients for the spice mix in a small bowl and set aside.
- Heat olive oil in a cooking pot.
- Sear the chicken in two batches over high heat. Let the chicken sear well, especially on the skin, and allow it to crisp and brown slightly. Remove from the cooking pot and set aside.
- Saute the onion until almost caramelized over medium-low heat.
- Add the garlic cloves and tomato paste. Cook for 2 minutes.
- Pour in the wine and deglaze the pot. Add the bay leaves.
- Return the chicken to the pot. Cook for 2 minutes or until it no longer smells of alcohol.
- Sprinkle with the spice mix and pour in the hot water or stock. Shake and tilt the pot to help everything combine. Season lightly with salt and pepper.
- Simmer covered over low heat for an hour.
- Uncover partly and simmer for about 20 minutes, raising the heat slightly, until the sauce thickens. NOTE: It won't be a thick pasta sauce, but a stew-like sauce. If the sauce is still too thin but the chicken is starting to stick to the bottom, you can carefully remove the chicken from the pot and keep it aside covered while you thicken the sauce on its own.
- Boil the pasta in salted water for 1 minute less than the package instructions state. Drain for 2-3 minutes in a strainer. Then return the pasta to the hot pot.
- Ladle most of the sauce (leaving a small amount to serve over the chicken) into the pasta and over low heat, stir and cook for a minute to help the macaroni absorb it.
- Serve the pasta with the chicken on top coated with the remaining sauce. Top with freshly ground pepper and plenty of grated cheese.