Braised Village Chicken with Sage

This village chicken recipe is part of a series of recipes from the Cretan Diet on the Greek Island of Crete. As with all the ingredients that make up recipes from the Cretan Diet, the Village Chicken recipe is very simple, tasty and nutritious.

All the ingredients for Cretan Diet recipes are locally sourced, entirely natural without artificial additives or preservatives. The traditional simple ways of combining ingredients, cooking and serving are the key to tasty food packed with goodness, flavour and taste.

This has to be the simplest yet tastiest chicken dish ever. The key to its success however lies in the quality and freshness of the chicken. Look for organic, free-range chickens, like we have in Crete - it will really make a difference to the taste.

Village Chicken Ingredients

4 good sized chicken pieces
1 large onion, finely chopped
100 ml olive oil
120 ml white wine
120 ml water
2 sprigs of fresh sage (or 1 teaspoon dried)
Juice of 1 lemon
Salt, pepper

Method

Take off the skin and fat from the chicken if you wish to. Heat the oil in a large casserole pot until nice and hot. Brown the chicken on all sides and then remove. Turn down the heat and add the onions, cooking until soft and translucent.

Add the chicken back to the pot with the onions and add the wine and water. Season well and simmer for about 1-1¼ hours or until the chicken is well-cooked.

Add the lemon juice and sage sprig and cook for 5 minutes or so.

Serve with Greek Lemon Potatoes.

How to Follow the Cretan Diet

We are going to help you eat like they do in Crete. This will open up for you a whole new world of tasty, healthy eating and Cretan cooking that will improve your well-being and even prolong your life. (Be sure to drive carefully and stop smoking to reap the benefits of a longer lifespan!)

These are the basic rules for the Cretan Diet:

Use olive oil as the principal fat, replacing all other fats and oils for frying and dressings
Drink a moderate amount of wine, normally with an evening meal; about one to two glasses per day for men and one glass per day for women
Eat plenty of fresh fruit as a typical daily dessert; limit sweets with a significant amount of sugar and saturated fat
Include in your diet lots of food from plant sources, including fruits and vegetables, breads and grains, beans, nuts, and seeds
Eat low to moderate amounts of cheese and yoghurt daily
Consume low to moderate amounts of fish and poultry weekly; and limit eggs to a maximum of four per week
Include red meat rarely perhaps just once per week