Greek people like to have a lot of cheese added to their pasta dishes. The traditional method for serving pasta in a Greek household is to first sprinkle some grated cheese onto an empty plate. Then, the pasta is added, along with some more grated cheese. The meat sauce would go over top, and some more cheese would be sprinkled over it. More often than not, the top sprinkling of cheese would first be added to some melting butter in a saucepan, and allowed to burn a little bit, and then spooned over the pasta dish.
Parmesan cheese is an excellent choice for this dish. There two traditional, Greek hard cheeses, that are usually used: one is called kaseri; and its flavor is not unlike that of a good parmesan. The other is known as migithra, and it has an exceedingly strong flavor; which most novices may find difficult to get used to. This dish will serve 4-5 people.
Ingredients
- 1 clove of garlic, minced
- 1/2 chopped onion
- 2-3 teaspoons olive oil
- 3-4 chicken breasts
- (or a combination of legs and breasts)
- 4 teaspoons tomato paste
- 1/2 cup water
- (or 3/4 cup plain tomato sauce)
- 1/2 teaspoon paprika
- 1 bay leaf
- salt and pepper to taste
- grated cheese
Instructions
- Fill up a large stockpot 3/4 of the way with water to boil. Add some salt and some olive oil. In the meantime, add a little more olive oil to a frying pan with the onion and garlic, and saute for a few minutes.
- Add the chicken pieces skin side down, or fattest side down, and gently saute on moderate heat, until the pieces start to take on a golden color. Cover the pan with a lid so that the chicken will retain moisture, and not stick too much to the pan.
- Turn the pieces over, and resume cooking. When both sides have taken on a nice brown color, turn over again, and mix in the tomato paste with water; or the tomato sauce. Add the bay leaf and other spices. Reduce the heat to low, and continue to simmer. Add water to the pan from time to time, if necessary.
- At this point, the water in the pot should be at a rolling boil. Add the spaghetti, and cook according to the directions on the package. That should be approximately 8-10 minutes. When the pasta is ready, pour into a colander, and place back into the pot. Add a little more olive oil, or butter, to keep the pasta from sticking together, and mix.
- The chicken should be ready at this point. A piece could be removed and sliced open with a knife. The chicken should not have any red juice, or color in it. Place the chicken piece back in the pan, and turn off the heat; if it is ready.
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