Portuguese Chicken Recipe

[Melanie R.]

I tried this Portuguese recipe this week and enjoyed it, so I thought I'd share. I personally wanted a little more sauce, so I'd recommend doubling the sauce part if you want it a little saucier. I thought orzo made a nice accompaniment.

Galinha a moda do Pico: Baked Chicken with Tomatoes, Peppers, and Cinnamon)
from Uma Casa Portuguesa by Carla Azevedo

2 lb chicken pieces
1/4 c dry white wine
1/4 c white wine vinegar
1 tsp piri-piri sauce or Tabasco
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 green pepper, seeded, cored and sliced
3/4 c. peeled, seeded, and chopped tomatoes
1/2 tsp Spanish paprika
1 two-inch cinnamon stick
1/2 tsp salt
Coarsely ground black pepper to taste

Rinse chicken pieces and pat dry with paper towels. Place in heavy plastic bag and set in large bowl. Combine white wine, wine vinegar, piri-piri sauce and garlic. Pour over chicken; turn to coat, and close bag. Refrigerate 4 hours or overnight, turning several times. Let stand at room temperature for 30 minutes before cooking.

Remove chicken from marinade, letting excess drip off. Wipe chicken pieces dry with paper towels; reserve marinade.

In large heavy saucepan or Dutch oven, heat olive oil over medium-high heat; cook chicken pieces in batches for 3-5 minutes per side, or until browned. Remove and keep warm. Add green pepper to saucepan and cook for about 1 minute, or until golden-brown. Stir in tomatoes, paprika, cinnamon stick, salt, pepper, chicken and reserved marinade; bring to boil, scraping up any brown bits. Reduce heat and simmer, partially covered and stirring frequently, for about 30 to 40 minutes, or until chicken is tender and no longer pink inside. Taste and adjust seasonings with salt and pepper if necessary. Transfer chicken pieces to a serving dish, remove cinnamon stick and pour sauce over top.
Makes 4 servings.

[Roy Hersh]

Not only does that sound really tasty, but quite healthy too. Thanks for sharing this recipe Melanie.

Interestingly, while in Portugal ... twice during the trip I had chicken soup served to me, whereas in all my previous visits I had never had this in Portugal. On this specific tour, we had soup w/98% of our lunches and dinners. The Portuguese LOVE soup.

[Melanie R.]

Well, I don't know about healthy (chicken skin), but it is delicious! You could always take off the skin, but you lose a lot of flavor that way. (And you'd have to add a little bit of some other fat to saute the vegetables in). I got the recipe from a Portuguese cookbook that I got recently. I've marked a few recipes to try, several of which include Port as ingredients (in savory dishes as well as sweet ones).