Chicken Kokkinisto

Κοτόπουλο Κοκκινιστό

Serves:
6 people
Prep time:
20 minutes
Cook time:
1.5 hours

Kokkinisto (pronounced ko-kin-oh-sto) refers to the method of cooking in tomato sauce. In Greek, Kokkino (κόκκινο) means red and kokkinisto (κοκκίνιστο) means reddened. Chicken Kokkinisto is a simple dish that comes together in just one pot and is sure to be a home cooking staple. When serving, the rule is to have 2 potatoes per person (unless you’re Caitlin, who gets 3 potatoes per serving). Whether you mash up your potatoes, keep them whole or drench them in lemon, there's no wrong way to enjoy this dish.

Ingredients

  • 1 cup canola oil
  • 1kg of skinless chicken breast cut into 12 pieces or 6 pieces of marylands into drumsticks and thighs
  • 12 medium/large potatoes,(peeled and cut in quarters)
  • 1/4 cup of olive oil
  • 2 teaspoon salt
  • 2 teaspoon cracked pepper
  • 1 cinnamon stick, broken into large pieces(or 2 teaspoons of cinnamon powder)
  • 1.5 tablespoon tomato paste
  • 1/2 cup lemon juice(the juice of approximately 2 lemons)

Method

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  1. Heat up a splash of in a large, deep pot over a medium high heat
  2. Place your chicken into pot and cook for a few minutes until golden brown but not cooked all the way through. Remove chicken from the pot and set aside
  3. Add one cup of canola oil over a medium high heat. Once the oil has warmed, add and shallow fry. Be careful with this step and avoid handling the potatoes too much. There has been many a burn in Yiayia’s kitchen
  4. Once potatoes are golden brown, remove them from the pot and set the potatoes aside. You can remove most of the oil and re-introduce it later. Or you can strain it, and use it for other cooking
  5. Keeping the pot on the stove but with the heat off, place the golden chicken at the bottom of the pot and place the golden potatoes on top of the chicken
  6. Pour over the chicken and potatoes, or re-use your canola oil from before. You can adjust to use as much oil as preferred
  7. Cover the chicken and potatoes with cold water, ensuring all of the pot’s contents are submerged
  8. Add , cracked and
  9. Turn the stove on high heat to bring the chicken and potatoes to a boil. Once boiling, reduce to a low heat to simmer
  10. Once simmering, add to your liking. You can adjust the amount you use until you reach the desired colour. Yiayia likes to have hers bright red, using around 1.5 tablespoons. It’s not called Kokkinisto for nothing!
  11. Simmer for around 30 minutes, and add
  12. Cook for a further 30 minutes
  13. Serve and add salt and lemon juice to taste

From Yiayia's Fridge · page 33