Sweet and sour chicken

Name: Sweet and sour chicken
Cook time: 2 h 30 min
Ingredients: 1.5kg chicken thighs; 2 onions; 250ml dry red wine; 3 bay leaves; Salt; 6 peppercorns; 1/2 cup plain flour; 6 tbsp extra virgin olive oil; 2 tbsp finely diced pancetta; 2 celery hearts, finely chopped; 10 green olives, flesh removed and chopped; 1 tbsp capers; 50g sultanas; 50g pine nuts; 1 tbsp castor sugar; 4 tbsp red wine vinegar; 2 tbsp chopped parsley

Steve Manfredi

July 17, 2012

Time:2 hours +

There's more to sweet and sour than bright orange Chinese pork.

Ingredients

1.5kg chicken thighs
2 onions
250ml dry red wine
3 bay leaves
Salt
6 peppercorns
1/2 cup plain flour
6 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
2 tbsp finely diced pancetta
2 celery hearts, finely chopped
10 green olives, flesh removed and chopped
1 tbsp capers
50g sultanas
50g pine nuts
1 tbsp castor sugar
4 tbsp red wine vinegar
2 tbsp chopped parsley

Method

Six to 8 hours before cooking, rinse and pat dry chicken thighs.
Place in a bowl.
Peel and thinly slice 1 onion and place in a pot with red wine, 1 bay leaf, 1 tsp salt and the peppercorns.
Bring to boil for a minute then remove from heat.
Once cooled, pour over chicken, cover and refrigerate.
When ready to cook, drain and pat dry.
Dust chicken with flour and fry until golden using half the olive oil.
Heat remaining oil in a casserole dish and lightly fry pancetta, remaining onion (finely chopped), celery, olives, capers, sultanas, pine nuts and remaining bay leaves for a minute.
Add chicken, a couple of pinches of salt and stir on low heat.
Dissolve sugar in a bowl with vinegar and add to chicken.
Mix, cover with lid and cook on low heat for 10-12 minutes, adding water if too dry. Season, stir in parsley and serve.