Chicken legs with Barbera grapes
Not as unusual as this recipe may seem. meat and grapes perfectly bind together. For this recipe, the grape used is Barbera. Barbera is an ancient Italian grape dated back to 17th century; naturally high in acidity with strong black cherry flavors. For its acidity, the flavor must be balanced with a little honey and sweet wine or liqueur during cooking. Obviously you can replace Barbera with any other type of grapes. If your grapes are sweet, simply remove the honey from the ingredients.
Ingredients for 2 persons:
4 chicken legs
800 gr Barbera grapes (oviously you can choose any other type of grapes. If your grapes are very sweet, remove the honey from the ingredients) Barbera grapes is an ancient Italian grape dated back to 17th century; naturally high in acidity with strong black cherry flavors
Fresh thyme – Fresh sage – salt – pomegranate seeds
Half glass pomegranate liqueur (or alternatively half a glass of red sweet wine)
1 tbsp honey
4 tbsp olive oil
1 teaspoon corn flour
Method:
Preheat oven 200°C / 392°F
1.Heat 4 tbsp oil in a non stick pan. Add the chicken legs and cook until browned all around. Add the salt.
2. Add the grapes to the skillet, the herbs, the pomegranate liqueur (or alternatively half a glass of red sweet wine) and 1 tbsp of honey over the grapes.
3. Bake in the preheated oven for 50 min.
4. When ready transfer the chicken to plates. Filter the liquid from the pan, add 1 teaspoon of corn flour and boil (in a small saucepan) for 1-2 min until it becomes a creamy and glossy sauce. Pour on the chicken legs. Decorate with fresh herbs and pomegranate seeds.
Serve with fresh Barbera wine
See step by step the gallery below
Karidopita / Καρυδοπιτα
Karidopita. A mouthwatering , dark, spice scented walnut pie. Widespread throughout Greece, it is one of the oldest and most traditional Greek desserts. Scented with cinnamon and gloves, almost always served with a ball of ice cream, it has a flavor that is not easily forgotten.
The recipe varies slightly from one region to another, so it can be found with some small variations such as adding rum or cognac in the dough.
Ingredients
For the syrup
- 800 g granulated sugar
- 800 g water
- 1 stick cinnamon
For the walnut pie
- 250 g butter, at room temperature
- 200 g granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 360 g hard flour
- 4 eggs
- 250 g walnuts
- 1/2 teaspoons cloves
- 1 tablespoon cinnamon
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1 pinch salt
- 120 g milk
- Butter, for the pan
- All-purpose flour, for the pan
Method:
Syrup:
- In a pot add the sugar, the water and the cinnamon and cloves
- Transfer over medium heat and let it come to a boil until the sugar melts.
- Remove and set aside to cool well.
For the walnut cake
- Preheat the oven to 170ο C (340ο F) set to fan.
- In a mixer’s bowl add the butter, the sugar, the vanilla, and beat with the whisk attachment at high speed, for 3-4 minutes, until the mixture is fluffy.
- Add 2 tablespoons of the flour, the eggs one by one, the milk and keep beating. Wait for each egg to be incorporated before adding the next.
- In a blender add the walnuts, the cloves, the cinnamon, and beat so that the walnuts have the desired size and consistency that you want in your cake.
- Transfer the walnuts to a bowl and add the flour, the baking powder, and the salt.
- In the same mixer’s bowl add the solid ingredients and mix all ingredients together with a spoon or a spatula.
- Butter and flour a 25×32 cm baking pan and spread your mixture in it. Bake for 40-50 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean from center of cake
- Remove and immediately pour the cold syrup over it, using a serving spoon.
- Allow 1 hour for the whole syrup to be absorbed, and serve with vanilla ice cream.
(Do not refrigerate, it may cause the syrup to crystalize.)
Enogastronomista 