STEW CHICKEN

Time: About 2 hours, plus 2 hours’ marinating

Serves: 6 to 8

Ingredients:

2kg bone-in chicken thighs or chicken leg quarters 1 tbsp salt (plus 1 teaspoon) 1 tbsp ground clove 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce 1 tbsp tomato paste 1 tbsp ketchup 4 garlic cloves, crushed 1 1/2 tsp ground allspice 1 2.5cm piece fresh ginger, peeled and chopped (about 1 tbsp, or use 2 tsp powdered ginger) 1 medium onion, quartered 4 scallions, white and green parts, roughly chopped 1 bay leaf 5 pieces culantro (a Caribbean herb also known as chadon beni) or whole sprigs of cilantro, chopped 5 sprigs fresh thyme (or use 3 tsp dried leaves) 4 tbsp white vinegar 1/2 Scotch bonnet pepper (or use habanero) 1 tbsp vegetable oil 4 tbsp sugar 2 tbsp flour, more as needed, for dusting chicken

Preparation:

1. Remove skin and trim fat from chicken. If using leg quarters, cut chicken into serving-size pieces. (Each chicken leg should yield about four pieces.) If using thighs, you can leave them whole. 2. Make the marinade: In a food processor or blender combine salt, clove, Worcestershire sauce, tomato paste, ketchup, garlic, allspice, ginger, onion, scallions, whole bay leaf, culantro or cilantro, whole thyme sprigs, vinegar and Scotch bonnet pepper. (You should have about 2 cups marinade.) 3. In a large bowl, combine chicken and marinade, ensuring all chicken pieces are coated. Refrigerate for a minimum of 2 hours. (For best results, marinate overnight.) 4. Heat oven to 165C, and keep the chicken close to the stove. In an oven-safe pot large enough to hold the chicken comfortably (such as a Dutch oven), add oil and 3 tbsp sugar and heat over medium until the sugar starts foaming and eventually changing colour; this is the beginnings of your caramel. Cook until caramel is a rich, very dark brown, but not burned. (The caramel may start smoking as it darkens.) 5. Quickly add chicken pieces to the pot, moving them around until they are fully coated with caramel. Add any remaining marinade in the bowl to the pot. Dust chicken with flour to fully coat pieces. At this point there shouldn’t be much liquid in the pot; it should have a thick, pasty consistency. If any liquid remains, sprinkle more flour over the chicken. 6. Add enough water to cover 3/4 of the chicken. (The tops of the pieces should barely peek out of the water.) Stir to incorporate all ingredients. Cover pot, transfer to oven and bake for 35 to 40 minutes. 7. Check chicken for doneness. Once chicken is cooked, taste and add salt if necessary. Add remaining 1 tbsp sugar to balance flavour. 8. Let stew rest for about 30 minutes before serving, or make it ahead and store it in the fridge for the following day; stew chicken tastes even better the day after. Serve with rice (or other grain, such as quinoa) and beans.