Planning meals every day can get stressful, especially with back-to-school season upon us.
To save time and energy while planning and prepping for lunches and dinners, celebrity chef Cat Cora has a quick meal you can make without taking away from family time.
Cora’s family recipe for kota kapama, a Greek cinnamon chicken stew, is perfect for a family meal with ingredients that you might already have at home.
(MORE: Cat Cora, more chefs share their ultimate Super Bowl foods for your party)The first-ever female Iron Chef showed "GMA" how to make kota kapama at Ousia in New York City, a restaurant owned by the Livanos family, which competed on ABC's "Family Food Fight" with Cora as a judge. Cora says she grew up seeing her grandmother and her mother make the dish.
"This is one of my family’s favorite recipes. We had it for every special occasion at our home but more importantly we just cooked it for a quick weekend supper," Cora told "GMA."
Chicken (you can use a whole chicken, chicken breast or chicken thighs -- it's entirely up to you)
Sea salt
Black pepper
Cinnamon
Onion
Mizithra cheese
White wine
Tomato sauce
1. Start with the chicken rub, which includes just three ingredients: cinnamon, black pepper and sea salt. You can add a spice, too, but only if you choose to. Mix the rub together in a small bowl. Take your cut-up chicken and sprinkle the rub on all sides. Make sure all sides are completely coated. Let the seasoned chicken sit for 20 minutes, or all day while you’re at work.
2. Heat olive oil in a large skillet over high heat. Sear the chicken on all sides so that it gets brown. Once it’s seared on each side, you can sprinkle on some more salt. If not, remove from pan and set it aside.
3. Turn the heat down and use the same pan to make the sauce. First, cook the onion and then add the garlic, since garlic cooks very fast.
4. After the onion and garlic are cooked, add the white wine. It will lift up everything stuck at the bottom of the pan into the sauce. Keep an eye on the white wine and make sure the alcohol is cooked down. You’ll be able to tell by the smell of the dish. It’ll turn sweet.
5. Once the wine is cooked down, add chicken stock and the tomato sauce. Stir the sauce gently and let it simmer on low heat.
6. Add the chicken pieces back into the sauce and let it simmer for 45 minutes. The sauce will become a dark red, and will have a thicker and concentrated consistency. You can also add fresh oregano on top for a garnish.
7.Serve the chicken and sauce on top of orzo and top with Mizithra cheese. Instead of orzo, you can also use rice. If you’re going to a lighter option, try using salad greens.
Voila!
Check out her full recipe here.