Chicken Costa Brava

All righty, now here's something that's a far cry from our typical New England Yankee fare, Chicken Costa Brava. I'm always on the lookout for new chicken recipes as we eat a lot of chicken here, but we're also limited in what new recipes are tried as one of us (hint: not me) is reluctant to try new combinations of flavors and new ingredients. I can't lay claim to knowledge of what prompted me to try this, as the addition of cumin and cinnamon to a chicken dish was deemed to have a dubious welcome, but surprise of all surprises, we both enjoy this.

I found this recipe on Allrecipes and I see that reviewers refer to the flavors as being a party in your mouth, having complex flavors, or having a melody of flavors. I like the description of a melody of flavors, as I can taste each ingredient individually, the sweet, the salty, the earthy and spicy, each full and bright, like individual notes, and yet they come together in perfect harmony. Okay, enough musical allusions.

I followed the recipe as written, with the exception of reducing the amount of chicken to only four thighs, which made for a lot of sauce. As a result this was probably more like a stew, but I just love the sauce poured onto rice.

If you'd like to spice up your life just a little, here's the recipe.

Chicken Costa Brava

1 (20 ounce) can pineapple chunks, drained, liquid reserved

10 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 onion cut into thick chunks

1 (14.5 ounce) can stewed tomatoes, undrained

2 cups black olives, drained

1/2 cup salsa

2 tablespoons cornstarch

2 tablespoons water

1 red bell pepper, thinly sliced

salt to taste

Drain the pineapple and reserve the liquid. The directions say to sprinkle with salt, but are not specific as to what gets sprinkled with salt, the pineapple or the juice. I personally added it to the juice so that it could cook with the chicken when the liquids are added.

Heat the oil in a large frying pan, then add the chicken. Brown the chicken on both sides.

Combine cumin and cinnamon, and sprinkle over chicken. Add garlic and onion; cook until onion is soft. Stir occasionally so that the onions and chicken don't stick and burn to the pan. Drain excess oil and grease.

Add reserved pineapple juice, tomatoes, olives, and salsa. Cover, and simmer 25 minutes.

Mix cornstarch with water; stir into pan juices.

Add bell pepper, and simmer until sauce boils and thickens. Stir in pineapple chunks, and heat through.

And believe it or not, I think I might even like a little more cumin and cinnamon in this.

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