Chicken à lagareiro’

The name sounds fancy doesn't it?? Well it is actually just chicken baked with potatoes. This is actually a Portuguese dish that traditionally uses cuttlefish. But my family don't eat cuttle fish, so it became chicken. But I still wanted the cool name!

There are 2 main reasons why recipes will generate a sparkle in my eyes either......

1. They jump out of the page screaming ‘I taste amazing and you need to make me because I am a really really big deal’…..( aaaah Anchorman!) or
2.  They are so simple!

Sometimes the ones that say they taste amazing are usually 'dirty' recipes as far as ingredients and I need to dissect it and chop it up so I can find substitutes that will mop up the evidence of those pesky ingredients that I wouldn’t feed anyone I care about let alone myself.

These ingredients that I stay clear of are gluten and wheat, ANY refined sugars, vegetable/soy/canola oils, most dairy, ANY artificial anything and as many preservatives and sulphates and numbers as I can. I do this because I want to live a life with as much quality as possible, to live a longer life of vitality and to prevent the onset of as many health related issues in my life as possible. I mean who wants to feel shit if they know they can avoid it?? Avoiding these has now become weirdo challenge for me. But that doesn’t mean you need to go to as much trouble as I do! Just cook with as many real ingredients as close to natural as possible. The last time I checked a carrot didn’t require a number to list it as an ingredient.  

So even though I changed the original recipe and used chicken instead of cuttlefish and sweet potato as a more resistant starch (more fibre for more steady energy flow) the whole thing is clean. I almost never drink wine anymore, but the alcohol evaporates in cooking anyway!

What you need

• 1 large green capsicum & 2 red capsicums cut into chunky strips
• 4 onions diced
• 1 kg of potatoes (I used sweet potato) peeled and cut into wedges
• 2 kg of chicken breasts and legs cut into thick strips
• 2 tomatoes roughly chopped
• 130ml olive oil
• 200ml white wine 
• 4 garlic cloves finely chopped
• 3 bay leaves
• 1 tbsp thyme
• sea salt
• cracked pepper 

What you do:

1. Pre heat oven to 180 degrees
2. Pour a little more than half of the oil into a large saucepan on medium heat and add onion, bay leaves and some salt and stir.
3. As the onion becomes softer and transparent, add the garlic. Add the capsicum and thyme and cook for 20 minutes. Stirring occasionally.
4. Once the capsicum has softened, add potatoes, some more salt and wine making sure to scrape the bottom for all flavours. Simmer for 30 minutes.
5. Place chicken strips in a large roasting tray and mix with the rest of the oil and season with salt and pepper.
6. Add tomatoes to the capsicum and potato mix and once combined, pour over chicken to cover.
7. Season again and bake in the oven for 40 mins or until potatoes are crispy

Serve straight from the tray at the table.