Chicken Ostropel

Name: Chicken Ostropel - Malvina B.
Ingredients: 1 boneless chicken breast; 6 wings; 2 bunches of green onions; 5 cloves of garlic; 5 peeled tomatoes; bay leaves; parsley; salt and pepper; 250 ml of water

Meat - Chicken Ostropel by Malvina B. - Recipia

Chicken Ostropel When I want a simple dish with tomato sauce and browned meat, I make chicken ostropel. The meat is cooked in the oven with a little oil and water, while the sauce is prepared separately on the stove. In the end, the chicken goes into the sauce along with garlic and parsley, and the flavors meld in the last minutes of boiling. It is a family recipe that I have been making for a long time, especially when I crave a traditional dish without complicated steps. Quick Info Total time: not specified exactly; it depends on how long it takes to brown the meat in the oven and reduce the sauce. Preparation time: about 15-20 minutes to prepare the meat, vegetables, and sauce, with no exact time indicated in the original recipe. Cooking and baking time: not specified exactly. The meat is kept in the oven until browned, and the sauce is simmered until it reduces slightly. Servings: the number of servings is not specified; it depends on the size of the breast, wings, and chosen side dish. Difficulty: easy. Recipe type: main course, suitable for a family lunch or dinner. Ingredients 1 boneless chicken breast 6 chicken wings a little oil, for the pan and for sautéing the onion 2 bunches of green onions 5 cloves of garlic 5 peeled and chopped tomatoes 1 bay leaf or a few leaves, to taste chopped fresh parsley salt pepper 250 ml of water Preparation method 1. Prepare the meat Wash the chicken pieces and cut the breast into suitable pieces. The wings can be left whole or divided, depending on how you usually cook them. Place the meat in a baking dish, add a little oil and 250 ml of water, then season with salt. Place the dish in the preheated oven and let the chicken brown. In this recipe, the meat is cooked in the oven, not fried beforehand, and browning happens gradually. 2. Prepare the onion While the chicken is in the oven, chop the green onions and sauté them in a pan or pot with a little oil. No need for a lot of oil; this is just to soften the onion and start the base of the sauce. 3. Add the tomatoes When the onion has softened, add the peeled and chopped tomatoes. Add the bay leaf and let the sauce simmer until it reduces slightly and thickens. If the tomatoes are juicier, the sauce will need more time to reduce. It’s important not to stop it immediately after adding the tomatoes, as the flavor develops during boiling. 4. Add the garlic and season Crush the 5 cloves of garlic and add them to the sauce after it has reduced slightly. Adjust with salt and pepper, then let the sauce simmer for about 5 more minutes. Garlic is added towards the end so that it retains its flavor in the ostropel and doesn’t lose it through prolonged boiling. 5. Combine the meat with the sauce When the chicken is browned, add the pieces to the tomato sauce. Sprinkle with chopped parsley and let everything combine for about 5 minutes. After this time, turn off the heat. Remove the bay leaf before serving, if you used it whole. Why I make the recipe often Chicken ostropel is easy to adapt depending on what meat I have on hand. In this version, I use breast and wings, but thighs can also be used. The sauce is prepared separately and can be simply adjusted with salt, pepper, and garlic, without complicated techniques. I prefer the meat browned in the oven because it doesn’t require frying in a pan or excess oil. The pan-fried version is quicker but uses more oil, and the flavor differs from that of oven-browned meat. Tips and variations Tips The meat should be kept in the oven until it is well browned before being added to the sauce. If you add it too early, without being cooked enough, the sauce may thin out, and the meat will not have the same texture. Do not add the garlic at the beginning of the sauce boiling. Added in the last minutes, it retains its aroma better. The sauce should be allowed to reduce slightly before adding the meat. It doesn’t need to be very thick, but it shouldn’t be completely liquid either. In the end, the approximately 5 minutes the meat stays in the sauce is enough for the chicken to absorb the flavors of the tomatoes, garlic, and onion. If you use very juicy tomatoes, the sauce boiling time may be longer. The recipe does not set a fixed time, so watch the consistency, not the clock. Substitutions Green garlic can be used instead of dried garlic. In the basic recipe, I used dried garlic because that was the available ingredient. The chicken breast and wings can be replaced with chicken thighs. The source of the recipe mentions that thighs work just as well in this dish. Green onions are used as a base for the sauce. No alternative amount for dried onion is indicated, so if you choose this option, the amount can be adjusted to taste without changing the other steps. Variations The meat can be browned in a pan instead of being baked. In this case, preparation takes less time, but it requires more oil, and the result will differ from the baked version. Ostropel can be made with only thighs or only wings if those are the preferred pieces. The steps remain the same: browning the meat, preparing the sauce, then briefly boiling all ingredients together. Serving ideas Ostropel is served with tomato sauce and chopped parsley on top. No specific side dish is mentioned in the original recipe, so you can serve it plain or with the side dish you usually use for saucy meals. It’s good to put sauce on the plate, not just the pieces of meat. It is the part that binds the green onion, tomatoes, garlic, and chicken. Frequently asked questions Can I use only chicken thighs for ostropel? Yes. Chicken thighs are mentioned as an alternative to the combination of breast and wings. You can prepare them in the oven until browned, then add them to the sauce and let them simmer for about 5 minutes. Is it mandatory for the chicken to be baked? No. The meat can also be browned in a pan, and this version is quicker. However, it will require extra oil, and the flavor will not be the same as that of oven-browned meat. When is the garlic added? Crushed garlic is added after the tomato sauce has reduced slightly. After adding, the sauce is adjusted with salt and pepper and simmered for about 5 more minutes. Can I use green garlic? Yes. Green garlic works well in this recipe and can replace dried garlic. The dried garlic version is the one used in the ingredient list. Why should I leave the meat in the sauce at the end? The approximately 5 minutes of boiling together allows the meat to absorb the flavor of the sauce. There is no need for long boiling after the chicken is already cooked and browned. Nutritional values The values are estimates and may not be exact, as the recipe does not specify the weight of the breast and wings, the amount of oil used, or the number of servings. For a typical serving, without a side dish, the estimates are approximately: 350-500 kcal 30-40 g protein 20-30 g fat 8-12 g carbohydrates The amount of fat varies especially depending on how much skin remains on the wings and the oil used in the pan and for sautéing the onion. If you use more breast and fewer wings, the values will be different. A side dish served alongside should be calculated separately. Storage and reheating Ostropel can be stored in the refrigerator in a closed container after it has cooled. Since the storage time is not specified in the original recipe, it is safer to consume it as soon as possible and not leave it at room temperature. To reheat, warm the meat together with the sauce so that the chicken does not dry out. If the sauce has thickened during storage, it can be reheated gradually and carefully without boiling excessively. Fresh parsley retains its flavor better if added at the end, before serving.

Chicken Ostropel

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