Chicken Baked with Pastirma and Pearl Onions
Pastırmalı Tavuk Güveç
Traditionally clay-baked, chicken casseroles like this are loved all over Turkey. This version is flavoured with a cured beef called pastirma. It is much stronger in flavour than cured pork products, so you only need a few thin slices to flavour the whole dish. In Turkey, pastirma is easily found in any deli or supermarket. In Western countries, search for pastirma Middle Eastern food stores. If you have trouble sourcing it, you can substitute with any other cured meat – even bacon (if your guests don’t mind!)…
8-10 chicken thighs or similar dark chicken meat, bone in
1 knob butter
6 thin strips pastirma, diced
200g mushrooms
30 pearl onions
4 garlic cloves, crushed
3 potatoes, peeled and diced into medium chunks
4 carrots, peeled and roughly sliced
1 bay leaf
1 tsp thyme
1 can diced tomatoes
1 tbsp tomato paste
500ml chicken stock*
¼ tsp black pepper
1 ½ tsp salt
Pre heat your oven to 200C.
1. Set a small pot of water on to boil. Cut the root end off every pearl onion, cut a shallow cross into the cut surface. Tip the onions into the boiling water. Boil for 2 min, then drain. Immediately tip into a bowl of cold water. Squeeze the tip of each pearl onion and watch the skins come off easily. A layer or two of onion will come off too – don’t worry. It’s the inner heart bit that you want.
2. Melt a knob of butter in a frypan, and fry pastirma until it is crisp. Remove from pan, but keep the fat in the pan.
3.Lightly brown your chicken on both sides in batches. Get a deep saucepan or pot and place the chicken inside.
4. Using the left-over chicken fat in the pan, fry the pearl onions and the mushrooms until they start to colour. Tip them into the pot with the chicken.
5. Next, fry the garlic and carrot until the garlic start to show colour. Tip this mix into the casserole dish too. Add the potato chunks, bay leaf and sprinkle over the thyme.
6. Dissolve the tomato paste in the chicken stock, and stir until well combined. Tip this over the chicken and vegetables. Make sure the chicken is at least barely covered.
7. Place the casserole on the stove and bring to an enthusiastic boil. Lower the heat, and cover with the lid slightly ajar. Leave to simmer for 90 minutes, until the sauce has reduced slightly and the potatoes are very soft. Serve with crusty bread and pilav
SERVES: 6
*Quality ready-made chicken stock is not available in shops in Turkey. Use the jelly-like stock reductions (tavuk suyu), available next to the nasty crumbly stock cubes in Turkish supermarkets, and dissolve in 750mL water.
Or make your own chicken stock! Boil a few raw chicken wings, half an onion, a few sprigs of parsley, 5 peppercorns in 1L water for at least 20min. Season aggressively with salt. It’s so easy, you can do it while you prep your other ingredients.