Slow-cooked chicken with bucatini (and lots of garlic)
Bucatini is a thick, hollow spaghetti. You can find it in large supermarkets and Italian delicatessens, but if you can’t get hold of any, penne makes the best alternative. It won’t look the same, but it’s better to stick with a tubed pasta, rather than use spaghetti, so the garlic, spices and cooking juices can find their way into the pasta. Serves four generously.
1 tsp olive oil
1 tsp hot paprika
1½ tsp ground allspice
½ tsp ground turmeric
Salt
15 garlic cloves, peeled
2 beef tomatoes, roughly chopped
3 tbsp lemon juice
350g bucatini
10g flat-leaf parsley leaves, roughly chopped
Put the chicken in a large bowl with the oil, paprika, allspice,
turmeric and a teaspoon of salt. Toss to coat, then leave to marinate
for 10 minutes.
Put a large, heavy-based casserole for which you have a lid on a
medium-high heat. Lay in the chicken skin side down and fry for 10
minutes (there is no need to add any oil to the pan), turning regularly,
until golden brown all over. Turn the heat to low and add the whole
garlic cloves, tomatoes, lemon juice and two tablespoons of water. Pop
on the lid and leave to cook slowly for 45 minutes, until the chicken is
just cooked through.
Fifteen minutes before the chicken is cooked, fill a large pot with
water, salt generously and bring to a boil. Cook the pasta until al
dente, then drain and return to its pot.
Once the chicken is done, transfer both it and the garlic cloves to a
plate. Pour the remaining contents of the casserole over the pasta and
toss to combine. Return the chicken to the casserole skin side down and
lay the soft garlic in between. Pour all the pasta and cooking juices on
top, cover the pot and leave to cook on a low heat for another 45
minutes.
Transfer the pasta to a shallow serving bowl, then stir in the
parsley. Arrange the chicken on top skin side up (some of the skin may
have stuck to the base of the pan, but don’t worry), then pour over the
garlic and cooking juices, and serve.
