My nanna in Australia would have been proud of this one. One of her classics. A one dish meal. It just requires some time in the oven.
When I recently baked this dish, the smells wafting from the oven evoked many childhood memories of me being back at my nanna’s house. Many childhood memories involved me playing marbles in the backyard with my cousins. We used to love playing marbles and every time we went back, there were always lost marbles to be found.
There were always a few chicken running around in my grandparent’s backyard too, which came in handy for this dish….My nanna loved fresh produce and that included fresh chicken. Nothing was ever wasted.
This was my nanna’s signature dish. Most of the time made with chicken but sometimes beef or pork too. Everything went in the oven, baked on low heat for 2.5-3 hours and then the temperature increased in the last half an hour to brown the chicken and potatoes.
This chicken dish has a layer of potatoes and onions. I added fennel and cumin seeds (my nanna used to only use fennel), stock, kunserva and seasoning. Other mediterranean herbs can be used including rosemary, oregano and thyme. I used a large 2+ kg chicken chopped but your could use a small chicken (approx 1.6kg) and reduce the cooking time by half an hour.
- 1 large chicken cut into pieces (I used a 2+kg chicken)
- 3 large onions sliced
- 3 garlic cloves crushed
- 2 tablespoons fennel seeds lightly crushed
- 1 tablespoon cumin seeds lightly crushed
- 350 ml chicken stock
- 1 tablespoon kunserva (tomato puree)
- 5 large potatoes sliced thinly
- Seasoning
- Olive oil
- Foil
- A large baking dish
- Preheat oven to 140oC.
- Place the onions and garlic on the bottom of your baking dish.
- Sprinkle half the herbs, some seasoning and some olive oil onto the onions and garlic.
- Place the chicken on top of the onions and sprinkle with a little more seasoning.
- Cover with the potatoes.
- Place the remaining herbs, seasoning, and olive oil over the potatoes.
- Mix in the kunserva with the stock and pour the stock on the side of the baking dish.
- Cover with foil.
- Place the dish in the oven and bake for about 2.5 hours. Check to see if the chicken is cooked through. If not bake for a further half an hour still covered with foil.
- Remove the foil and increase the temperature to 180oC.
- Bake for a further half an hour or until the chicken and potatoes are browned.
- Remove and garnish with parsley (optional).
- Serve with greens of your choice.