Serves 6. Preparation time 15 minutes. Cooking time 1-2 hours.
250 g thick pancetta or back bacon, cubed
2 onions, chopped
1 -2 large carrots, diced
4 tins (410 g each) chopped tomatoes
2 cups red wine
1 tablespoon chilli jam or sugar
4 cloves of garlic, crushed
16 chicken thighs and drumsticks, skin on
2 sprigs of rosemary
4 bay leaves
1 cube chicken stock
1 cup calamata olives, pitted
• Add the pancetta to a heavy-based pan or potjie and fry gently in its own fiat until golden. Add the onions and carrots and saut£ until fragrant and soft but not browned.
• Add the tomatoes, red wine, jam or sugar and garlic, and bring to a fast simmer without the lid for 20 minutes or until somewhat reduced and thickened.
• Add the chicken, rosemary, bay leaves and stock cube. Replace the lid and lower the temperature to a gentle simmer. Never let the pot boil after adding the chicken; bubbles should only gently rise to the surface.
• Check the pot after 40 minutes, if the sauce is too thin, leave the lid off for another 20 minutes. It's ready when the chicken fells off the bone and the tomato sauce is fragrant and thick with a deep rich colour.
• Add the olives, season to taste with salt and black pepper and serve with soft pap or salt-baked potatoes. (This dish freezes and reheats well.)
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