Cinnamon Chicken

Cinnamon Chicken has been a Bitar family favorite for over 20 years. Gail and I learned to make it when I was in graduate school at the University of Virginia.  We discovered it in Middle Eastern Cooking, a cookbook in the Time-Life series Foods of The World. The country of origin is Greece where it is called "Kota Kapama." This delicious dish is very simple to make.

Eight pieces of chicken4 tablespoons of butter
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 1/2 cups finely chopped onions
1 teaspoons finely chopped or minced garlic
6 fresh garden tomatoes or 1 cup chopped,
drained, canned plum tomatoes
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1/2 cup chicken stock
1 four-inch-long cinnamon stick
Freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Grind some sea salt and black pepper over the chicken pieces. Heat the butter and olive oil over moderate heat in a sauté pan or Le Creuset oven, and brown the chicken pieces. Transfer them to a plate.

Pour off all but a thin film of fat and add the onions and garlic. Cook and stir for a few minutes until the onions are light brown. Stir in the tomatoes, tomato paste, chicken stock, cinnamon stick, 1/2 teaspoon of sea salt and a few grindings of black pepper. Bring to a boil, and then return the chicken to the pan and baste it thoroughly with the sauce. Reduce the heat to low, cover and simmer, basting occasionally, for about 30 minutes.

Serve with white or brown rice, or pasta. Spoon the tomato sauce over the chicken and rice, or pasta. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese if desire.

       
Cinnamon Discussion