This is the recipe for the huge rooster I bought at the Central Market. It was so big that didn’t fit in any of my pots so I had to cut it in portions. I boiled the carcass with the neck and the wings and made a fantastic egg-lemon chicken soup. I put the breasts in the freezer for future use and I cooked the thighs, drumsticks and the wings in tomato sauce. Four people ate to bursting point.
Ingredients: 1 chicken or rooster cut in portions. If too big use the parts that you like. 1 grated onion 4 tablespoonfuls olive oil 2 cloves of garlic crushed 3 tomatoes finely diced 1 teaspoon tomato paste 1 cinnamon stick 2 good pinches allspice 4 – 5 juniper berries crushed 1 wine glass red wine 2 tablespoonfuls margarine 4 – 5 dropsTabasco sauce Salt & pepper Grated cheese 1 package Mafaldine pasta or any other pasta you like 3 tablespoonfuls margarine
Directions:
Put the oil in the pot and sauté the chicken pieces on all sides until nicely browned. Remove the pieces from the pot and place them on a place. Sauté the onion for a few minutes until translucent. Place the chicken pieces on top of the onions, and add the wine. When the wine evaporates, add the garlic, the tomatoes and the tomato paste, the cinnamon, the allspice, the juniper berries. Add a glass of water, cover the pot and when it starts boiling, turn down the heat to about 2 – 3. Let the chicken simmer until it is tender. Check the water from time to time. The free-range chickens are a bit tougher, so you will need to let it simmer for about one hour. Check to see if it is soft, taste and check the seasonings. There must be a fair amount of sauce to drizzle over the chicken and the pasta. Turn off the heat and add two tablespoonfuls of margarine. Add the Tabasco sauce. It isn’t a Greek ingredient, but it sure enhances the flavor.
In the meantime put water in a large pot, and when it boils add some salt and the mafaldine pasta, or any other pasta you like. When it is al dente strain the pasta. Put the margarine in the pot and when it melts add the pasta and stir, so that it is coated with the margarine.
Place some pasta on a plate and top it with a chicken piece, together with a generous amount of sauce. Sprinkle some grated cheese. A nice Greek cheese like myzithra or kefalograviera really does this dish justice.
Accompany this dish with a nice green salad and crusty bread to mop up the sauce!