Mediterranean Chicken with Capers and Olives

A filling meal with the fresh flavours of the Mediterranean

Some South Africans class chicken as a vegetable.

As a South African myself, meat is a very important part of our diet, however, chicken doesn’t always count as meat.   It is only consumed by those on a diet or those that feel poorly. And on Sundays.

Some years ago I came across this recipe and ever since then it has become a regular dish on our table. Of course I have tweaked it over the years as I can never remember the original recipe and this is the result.

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The chicken dish

Depending on how much time I have, I either start it off on the stovetop (when I have plenty of time) or I just compile the whole thing and whack it in the oven. Both ways are equally delicious.

The bonus part of just wacking it into the oven is that I can slightly tailor the dish to suit both mine and my husband’s tastes without too much effort! I love spinach and extra capers, and he prefers more chicken.

Stove top

• Fry off the onion, garlic, olives and capers first.
• Then add the diced tomatoes, spinach and stock cube along with the herbs and season well. Reduce the heat and let the sauce blip away until reduced and rich.
• Whilst the sauce is blipping away, put the chicken in the oven until cooked through.

Oven

• Start by layering your diced tomatoes, spinach, seasonings and stock cube.
• Scatter the olives and capers over and arrange your onion chunks over the top.
• Lastly place your chicken on top of the onions and bake in the oven at 200℃.

Serve

No matter how you choose to cook your chicken, serve it on a bed of tagliatelle or pappardelle and scatter over fresh herbs.

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If you liked this recipe, why not try some more chicken recipes?