Greek Chicken Kapama Recipes

EASY CHICKEN KAPAMA

Steps:

• Season chicken well on both sides with salt and pepper and sprinkle with the ground cinnamon. In a large skillet, heat butter and olive oil over medium. Working in batches to avoid overcrowding, cook the chicken until it begins to lightly brown in spots, 2 to 4 minutes per side. Set aside. (If it's not cooked through at this point, that's O.K.)
• Add the onion and the garlic to the skillet and cook until the onion begins to soften and the garlic is fragrant, 2 to 3 minutes. Season with salt.
• Stir in the tomato paste, tomatoes, 1/4 cup water and the cinnamon stick(s). Add the chicken and any residual juices, stir to coat with the sauce and bring to a simmer. Turn heat to medium-low, cover and simmer until the chicken is cooked through and the flavors meld, stirring occasionally, 15 to 20 minutes. Add a few tablespoons water if needed to thin out the sauce. Taste and adjust seasonings to your liking.
• Serve the chicken over buttered egg noodles or orzo, if using, spooning the tomato sauce on top. Top with the herbs and grated cheese, if using.

CHICKEN KAPAMA - GREEK BRAISED CHICKEN IN SPICED TOMATO SAUCE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 325F
• Pat chicken thighs dry and season them with 1/2 tablespoon olive oil, and 1 teaspoon each salt and pepper.
• In a heated 7-9 quart Dutch oven over medium-high heat, brown the chicken in 1 tablespoon of olive oil for 5-7 minutes per side. Work in batches if needed, as as to not crowd the pan. Transfer the chicken to a plate. Drain any excess fat from the pot.
• Return the pot to the heat and heat the remaining olive oil.
• Add the onion and stir. Cook for 5 minutes, scraping up any browned bits from the bottom of the pot.
• Add the carrots, celery, garlic, and ground cinnamon (if using cinnamon sticks, wait to add them). Cook for 5 minutes.
• Stir in the wine, vinegar, honey, and tomato paste. Simmer for 5 to 7 minutes, until reduced by half.
• Add crushed tomatoes and cook 5 minutes more.
• Return the chicken to the pot. Cover it with the chicken broth, add bay leaves and cinnamon sticks (if using). Pour in chicken broth or water. Stir to combine.
• Bing contents of the pot to boil. Cover the pot and place in the oven. Braise for 2 hours, or until tender.
• Serve over your favorite rice, potatoes, or pasta.

KAPAMAS - LAMB IN AROMATIC TOMATO SAUCE

Steps:

• In a large heavy stewing pot, heat olive oil and cook lamb, turning it frequently on all sides to brown evenly and lightly. Add the onion and sauté, stirring with a wooden spoon, until wilted.
• "Extinguish" the pot, as the Greeks say -- deglaze, in other words -- with the brandy by pouring it into the pot. Add the tomatoes, allspice, bay leaves, cinnamon, salt and pepper. Stir well with a wooden spoon to blend. Add, if necessary, enough water just to cover the meat. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low. Cover and simmer for about 1 hour 15 minutes, or until meat is almost cooked. Add more water, if necessary, during cooking to keep mixture moist and sauce from reducing too much.
• About 10 minutes before meat is done, Adjust seasoning if necessary, and stir in the parsley just before removing from heat. Serve with saffron rice.

CHICKEN KAPAMA

Steps:

• Arrange chicken in single layer in baking dish.
• Cover with lemon juice and salt and pepper.
• Let stand at room temperature 1 hour, turning occasionally.
• Combine all the remaining ingredients in a large saucepan.
• Bring to a boil over medium heat and cook until sauce thickens, stirring occasionally, 40 minutes.
• Heat oil with butter in large skillet over medium-high heat.
• Drain chicken and pat dry; brown on all sides.
• Return to baking dish.
• Preheat oven to 350F.
• Pour sauce over chicken, cover with foil.
• Bake until chicken is tender, about 40 minutes.
• Discard spices and serve.
• The sauce is excellent and lends itself to this dish being served with buttered pasta (penne or rigatoni would be good).

GREEK CHICKEN KAPAMA

Steps:

• Sauté onion, garlic, celery and butter 'till tender.
• Add tomatoes, tomato paste, water, parsley, red pepper, garlic powder, oregano, black pepper, cinnamon and red wine.
• Then add giblets.
• Brown chicken and add to sauce.
• Simmer for 2-3 hours.
• -----------For the pasta --------------.
• Boil ziti aldente.
• Brown butter.
• Layer parmesan cheese and butter then bake for 15 minutes.

CHICKEN STEW WITH CINNAMON - CHICKEN KAPAMA

Steps:

• Clean the chicken pieces , remove excess fat and pat dry with paper towels.
• Heat olive oil and butter in a large dutch oven .
• Add chicken pieces to the pot and brown (skin side down) over medium-high heat until nicely browned. You may need to do this in two batches depending on the size of your pot.
• Remove chicken from the pot and transfer to a platter. I prefer to remove and discard the skin from the chicken pieces.
• Using a large spoon, remove all but two tablespoons of the fat and oil.
• Add onions to the pot and saute until tender.
• Add garlic and sauté until fragrant, about 1 to 2 minutes.
• Add wine, tomato paste, crushed tomatoes, brandy, honey, cinnamon stick, cloves, bay leaves, salt, and pepper. Allow sauce to come to a boil and then lower heat to a low simmer.
• Return chicken to the pot (with juices) and simmer uncovered for 10 minutes.
• Cover and simmer for approximately 1 hour.
• If the sauce appears to be too thin, you can simmer uncovered in the last 10 minutes of cooking to reduce it a bit. Stir occasionally to circulate the ingredients. Serve over cooked pasta or orzo and sprinkle with grated cheese.

KOTA KAPAMA(CHICKEN STEWED IN WINE, GARLIC, & CINNAMON)

Steps:

• Pat the chicken pieces dry with paper towels so they won't splatter in the pan. Mix the cinnamon, salt and pepper together in a small bowl. Rub the chicken pieces on all sides with mixture. Mince 3 of the garlic cloves, set aside.
• Heat oil in a large, deep, 12" cast iron skillet(or stainless steel, but you want high sides-about 3") over high heat. Don't crowd the pieces in the pan or the chicken will steam rather than brown. If you need to, do in 2 batches.
• Add the chicken to skillet and brown for 4-5 minutes on each side, moving the pieces with a metal spatula so they don't stick to the pan. When the chicken is browned nicely on all sides, remove from skillet and set aside.
• Reduce heat to medium high and add onions and minced garlic. Cook for 3 minutes, stirring constantly, until onions have softemed and are a rich golden brown. Add the wine and scrape the bottom of the pan with a spoon to deglaze, loosening any brown bits.
• When the wine has evaporated, add the water, tomato paste, and remaining 2 whole garlic cloves. Return the chicken to the pan. The liquid should cover about 3/4 of the chicken.
• Reduce heat to low, cover skillet with a lid, and simmer for about 1 hour, or until the chicken is tender and thoroughly cooked. If the sauce gets too thick, thin with a little more water. Taste and adjust seasoning to your taste.
• Great served with buttered noodles, rice, orzo, or macaroni. Sprinkle the grated cheese over the top of each serving. Enjoy!