Pastitsada Kerkyras (Παστιτσάδα Κέρκυρας)

Pastitsada is Corfu's Sunday braise: rooster, tomato, red wine, and the island's spetseriko, a spice mix where cinnamon and clove speak first. It is served over thick bucatini or makaronia hontra, thick macaroni, not beside them, because the pasta has work to do. It carries the dark red sauce into every bite.

The method that decides it is the browning. Give the rooster room in the pan and let it take real color before the tomato goes in. Crowded meat goes pale and watery, and then the sauce tastes of boiled chicken and apology. Brown it well, wake the tomato paste and spices in that oil, and the whole pot turns Corfiot.

I write this one plainly because Pastitsada suffers when it is treated as any red chicken stew with cinnamon. The region is the dish's surname. A Corfiot cook keeps the sauce thick, almost staining, and brings the pasta to the pot just before serving. Good olive oil, and patience. You can make it right the first time.