Thessaloniki Politiko Kotopoulo Kokkinisto (Κοτόπουλο Κοκκινιστό)

Thessaloniki Politiko kotopoulo kokkinisto is the red chicken of the weekday table: bone-in pieces, onion, tomato, wine, and a quiet stick of cinnamon. It is not a plain tomato stew. The spice gives it its Constantinopolitan address, and the bone gives the sauce its body.

One method decides the whole pot. Brown the chicken properly, in batches, until the pot has dark gold marks and the oil smells roasted. Then the tomato has something to hold. Skip that and the sauce tastes flat, like tomato poured over boiled meat. Good olive oil, and patience.

I serve it with hilopites when I want the northern table, with rice when the day has been long, and with fried potatoes when nobody wants to pretend restraint. The region is the dish's surname, so this is the Thessaloniki-Politiko line of kokkinisto, cinnamon-scented and practical, the kind of food that keeps a house fed on a Tuesday.