Chef Dimitra
Attiki Kotopoulo me Patates sto Fourno (Κοτόπουλο με Πατάτες στο Φούρνο)
Attiki's lemon-oregano tray roast: chicken browned above, potatoes cut large below, drinking olive oil, garlic, lemon, and all the Sunday pan juices.
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Thessaloniki Kotopoulo Giouvetsi (Κοτόπουλο Γιουβέτσι)
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Thessaloniki chicken giouvetsi is the home-table bake of browned chicken, tomato, cinnamon, and kritharaki, finished when the orzo drinks the sauce but still keeps its shape.
Main Dishes
Greek
Weeknight
Comfort Food
One Pot
20 min
Active Time
1 hr 10 min cook•1 hr 30 min total
Yield6 servings
Thessaloniki kotopoulo giouvetsi is chicken baked with kritharaki, the small rice-shaped pasta, in a tomato sauce scented lightly with cinnamon. The dish belongs to the northern home table: practical, generous, and made in the same pot that comes to the table. The region is the dish's surname, and this Macedonian version keeps the spice quiet and the tomato deep.
The whole dish depends on the kritharaki. Toast it first, then give it hot broth, and it bakes up separate and glossy instead of collapsing into a thick paste. That's the difference between giouvetsi and a pan of overcooked pasta with chicken sitting on top. One small step, no drama.
I like bone-in thighs and drumsticks here because they forgive a busy cook and give the sauce real flavor. Use good tomato, good olive oil, and patience. My mother's Thessaloniki kitchen made this on weekdays as often as Sundays, because a pot like this feeds people without asking for applause.
Giouvetsi takes its name from the Turkish guvec, both the earthenware cooking vessel and the stew cooked inside it, a word that entered Greek kitchens through centuries of Ottoman rule. In Greece the dish became a baked meat-and-pasta casserole, with kritharaki or hilopites added near the end so the pasta could absorb the meat juices. Chicken giouvetsi became especially common in urban homes after chicken moved from a feast-day bird to an everyday meat in the second half of the twentieth century.
The technique, the tradition, and the story behind every dish.
Discover Culinary ExplorerIngredients
bone-in chicken thighs and drumsticks
Quantity
1.4kg
patted dry
fine sea salt
Quantity
12g
freshly ground black pepper
Quantity
3g
extra virgin Koroneiki olive oil
Quantity
80ml
yellow onion
Quantity
1 large
finely chopped
garlic cloves
Quantity
2
minced
dry white wine
Quantity
120ml
crushed ripe tomatoes or canned crushed tomatoes
Quantity
400g
tomato paste
Quantity
30g
cinnamon stick
Quantity
1 small
bay leaf
Quantity
1
dried Greek oregano
Quantity
1 teaspoon
hot chicken broth
Quantity
900ml
kritharaki (Greek orzo)
Quantity
350g
kefalotyri or graviera
Quantity
40g
grated, plus more for serving
flat-leaf parsley
Quantity
2 tablespoons
chopped
lemon wedges (optional)
Quantity
as needed
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| bone-in chicken thighs and drumstickspatted dry | 1.4kg |
| fine sea salt | 12g |
| freshly ground black pepper | 3g |
| extra virgin Koroneiki olive oil | 80ml |
| yellow onionfinely chopped | 1 large |
| garlic clovesminced | 2 |
| dry white wine | 120ml |
| crushed ripe tomatoes or canned crushed tomatoes | 400g |
| tomato paste | 30g |
| cinnamon stick | 1 small |
| bay leaf | 1 |
| dried Greek oregano | 1 teaspoon |
| hot chicken broth | 900ml |
| kritharaki (Greek orzo) | 350g |
| kefalotyri or gravieragrated, plus more for serving | 40g |
| flat-leaf parsleychopped | 2 tablespoons |
| lemon wedges (optional) | as needed |
Equipment Needed
- •wide ovenproof pot with lid, 30cm
- •deep round metal tapsi or clay giouvetsi dish, 30cm
- •small skillet for toasting kritharaki
Instructions
- 1
Season the chicken
Heat the oven to 190C. Salt and pepper the chicken all over and let it sit while you prepare the onion and tomato. Dry skin browns better, so don't rush this with wet chicken straight from its packet.
- 2
Brown the pieces
Warm 50ml of the olive oil in a wide ovenproof pot or a deep tapsi over medium-high heat. Brown the chicken in batches, skin side down first, until the surface is golden, 4 to 5 minutes per side. It won't be cooked through yet. Take it out to a plate.
- 3
Build the sauce
Lower the heat to medium. Add the onion to the fat in the pot and cook until soft and sweet, about 8 minutes. Stir in the garlic for 30 seconds, then the tomato paste until it darkens slightly. Pour in the wine and scrape the bottom clean. Add the tomatoes, cinnamon stick, bay leaf, oregano, and 300ml of the hot broth. Simmer for 8 minutes.
- 4
Bake the chicken
Return the chicken and any juices to the pot, skin side up. Cover and bake for 25 minutes, until the sauce is working around the meat and the chicken has given its flavor back to the tomato.
- 5
Toast the kritharaki
While the chicken bakes, warm the remaining 30ml olive oil in a skillet and add the kritharaki. Stir for 3 to 4 minutes, until the grains smell nutty and turn a shade darker. This is the step that decides the dish. Toasted kritharaki keeps its edges in the oven; raw kritharaki drinks the sauce too fast and bakes into paste.
Use hot broth when the kritharaki goes in. Cold liquid slows the oven and makes the pasta swell unevenly. - 6
Add the pasta
Take the pot from the oven. Lift the chicken pieces onto a plate for a moment. Stir the toasted kritharaki into the sauce with the remaining 600ml hot broth. Taste the liquid. It should be properly seasoned, because the pasta will drink it. Nestle the chicken back on top, skin side up.
- 7
Finish uncovered
Bake uncovered for 22 to 28 minutes, stirring the kritharaki gently once around the chicken after 12 minutes. The pasta should be tender but not swollen to mush, with glossy tomato sauce still moving around it. If the pan looks dry before the pasta is done, add another splash of hot broth.
- 8
Rest and serve
Pull out the cinnamon stick and bay leaf. Scatter over the grated cheese and let the giouvetsi rest for 10 minutes, because kritharaki settles as it stands. Finish with parsley and more cheese at the table. Lemon is optional. In Thessaloniki, half the table will take it and the other half will argue.
Chef Tips
- •Use bone-in chicken if you can. Boneless breast cooks fast but gives a thin sauce, and giouvetsi wants a sauce with shoulders.
- •If tomatoes are out of season, use good canned crushed tomatoes. The right canned tomato is better than a pale winter tomato pretending to be summer.
- •Leftovers thicken because kritharaki keeps drinking. Reheat gently with a little hot broth or water, not more oil.
Advance Preparation
- •Season the chicken up to 12 hours ahead and refrigerate uncovered, then bring it toward room temperature for 30 minutes before browning.
- •The tomato sauce can be cooked 1 day ahead. Add the toasted kritharaki and hot broth only when you are ready to bake.
Frequently Asked Questions
Nutrition Information
1 serving (about 425g)
Calories
750 calories
Total Fat
41 g
Saturated Fat
11 g
Trans Fat
0 g
Unsaturated Fat
28 g
Cholesterol
160 mg
Sodium
1700 mg
Total Carbohydrates
54 g
Dietary Fiber
4 g
Sugars
6 g
Protein
42 g
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