Chicken Tserepa

The recipe that follows describes a traditional way of cooking chicken (mainly, but other kinds of meat as well, such as rabbit for example) in Ithaca. And to counter the reaction of their near neighbours, yes, the same technique is used in Kefalonia as well, but tserepa is a traditional dish of Ithaca.This is a uinique dish, that is worth the effort of all who attempt it.The recipe is already on the site in an older article about Ithaca, but is so interesting that I wanted to bring it to the foreground and not leave it buried in a corner full of spider webs.

Recipe by ggr

Cookpad Greece @cook_8238176

Greece

Recipe by ggr

Saved

Ingredients

1chicken (or even 2, depending on the size of the baking tray)
potatoes, as many as to fill the empty space in the baking tray
2-3fresh tomatoes
1 tbsptomato paste
2green peppers
salt, pepper, garlic, oregano
olive oil
white wine
lemon

Saved

Steps

1

Cut the chicken into 4 pieces (or portions).
2

Make a paste using salt, pepper, crushed garlic, chicken spice mix. (Avoid to use oregano at this stage because it blackens the meat. Its time will come).
3

Empty the mix in a bowl and add oil so that you make a relatively firm paste.
4

Continue by stuffing the chicken legs with the paste (make small holes in their skin and meat and fill them), the chicken breast, as well as under the armpit (don't be afraid,it is no longer ticklish).
5

Let the chicken marinate overnight. (If you get up during the night, don't get carried away by the smells and start taking snacks. The food IS STILL RAW).
6

Place the fresh tomatos in a baking tray, some cut into big pieces, some in rings, as well as the tomato paste dissolved in 1 cup of white wine. Pour the lemon juice over them.
7

Add the chicken.
8

Fill the tray with quartered potatoes, making sure that they have drained all their water from washing.
9

Salt and pepper the potatoes and place the peppers between them, cut into rings.
10

Cover the baking tray and place it in the oven, at 150-160 degrees for an hour and a half to two hours, checking to see if it is ready.
11

Add the oregano when the food is almost done.
12

And now, for those who have (?) or want to try to imitate the procedure of the "tserepa" using some other kind of pot (I used a claypot and the result -for Athens- was satisfactory) the process is as following
13

In the place that you are going to bake the food (in a large fireplace, barbeque in the garden or a brazier) begin by heating the tserepa. Make a good fire with wood or coal. Place the cover of the claypot slanted on the fire so that it heats well on the inside. When the coal is hot and ready and there is enough ash, clean an area, place the tray and cover it carefully (very caferully so that you don't break the lid which will be very hot).
14

Seal the edges of the claypot with ash and coal so that no air can get insite but also to keep the juices and the fragrance of the food contained.
15

Leave the claypot covered for about two and a half hours.
16

When you uncover it, the food will be ready.