The Heirloom Project is a series of monthly recipes brought to the community (‘My Family to Yours’) from a Resident of RiverMead. The Residents have submitted recipes (and stories) from their family’s ‘recipe book’ to share with us and future generations. One recipe and family story behind the recipe was selected by a judging panel for each month of the upcoming year. The selected recipe will be featured on the menu at RiverMeads’ Main Dining Room with Chef Fournier building the balance of the menu around complimenting the chosen recipe.
Our January 2017 selected recipe comes to us from Dorothea Bowen.
The Story: “Chicken Kapama is a traditional Greek dish. It’s basically chicken pieces braised in tomato sauce. Depending on the part of Greece the cook comes from, the sauce might have more or less flavoring in addition to the tomato. My mother’s parents were from Sparta, where orange and lemon trees are common, and the food is highly flavored with Mediterranean spices. She learned to make Kapama with cinnamon, allspice, lemon, and onion. But my father was from an area near the sea, where the cooking was more plain. It was a constant source of good-natured bickering between the two of them about how much flavor should be added to the tomato in this dish. As my recipe demonstrates, I sided with my mother.”
The Recipe:
Chicken Kapama (kah-pah-MAH)
Serves 8 - 10 people
Ingredients:
14 large (or 16 small) chicken thighs, skinned, bone-in or boneless
2 to 3 large lemons: (4 tsp of grated zest, 2/3 cup of juice)
1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 1/2 tsp ground allspice
1 tsp salt
ground black pepper to taste
2 cups chopped onion
olive oil
1/3 cup flour
28 - 30 oz. tomato sauce
Directions:
1. Marinate chicken in lemon, spices, salt and pepper for at least one hour – up to overnight.
2. Sauté onions in olive oil in a large pot big enough to fit all the ingredients.
3. Remove chicken from the marinade, reserving the marinade. Brown the chicken pieces with the onions.
4. Sprinkle the flour over the chicken as it’s browning. The flour should lose its powdery whiteness.
5. Add the tomato sauce and marinade.
6. Cook covered on low heat until the chicken is done. That’s about 45 minutes if the chicken pieces have bones.
7. Skim fat from the surface.
Serve with white rice
ENJOY!
