Recipe: This Slow-Roast Chicken Revives a Greek Countryside Classic

In Greece, roast chicken isn’t just a meal – it’s a ritual. Every family has its own way of preparing it, from the cut of bird used to the herbs tucked in for flavour. Carolina Doriti’s version, from The Greek Islands Cookbook , traces the dish back to the tserepa: a heavy clay dome once used to turn an open fire into a makeshift oven.

“Nomadic shepherds, farm workers, labourers and others without access to a regular oven would take the tserepa with them to prepare bread, pies or roast meats, and particularly chicken,” Doriti writes. “It was an essential utensil in the countryside on Ithaca, Kefalonia and Lefkada, as well as parts of mainland Greece.”

While most of us don’t have a tserepa at home, Doriti shows how to recreate the same spirit in a contemporary oven. The chicken roasts low and slow with potatoes , tomatos, lemon and marjoram until everything is tender and golden. If you’ve got the time, let the dish linger in the oven. The longer it cooks, the better it tastes, and the more your kitchen will fill with warm, comforting aromas.

Slow-roast chicken with potatoes

Serves 4
Preparation time: 15 minutes
Cooking time: 2 hours, or 5–6 hours for the slow version

Ingredients

4 chicken thighs with drumsticks attached (about 1.5kg/3lb 5oz), rinsed and dried
140ml olive oil
1 large onion, peeled
2 Romano peppers (or red bell peppers)
2 tomatoes (about 400g), peeled and cored
70ml white wine
3 tbsp fresh lemon juice
3–4 garlic cloves, peeled and roughly chopped or thinly sliced
3 potatoes (around 650g), peeled and quartered lengthwise
3–4 fresh marjoram sprigs or 1½ tsp dried marjoram
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Method

Preheat the oven to either 170°C/150°C fan/gas 3 to slow cook or 190°C/170°C fan/gas 5 for a faster cooking time.

Rub the chicken thighs with a little olive oil and season generously with salt and black pepper. Arrange in a large, deep ovenproof dish.

Cut the onion, peppers and tomatoes into rough 3cm chunks, place in a bowl and season with salt and black pepper. Scatter the vegetables around and between the chicken thighs, including the tomato juices from the bowl.

In a separate bowl, combine the olive oil, white wine and lemon juice. Whisk in the minced garlic, then season with salt and black pepper. Pour this mixture over the chicken and vegetables, then add the marjoram.

To ensure the dish cooks evenly and stays moist, first cover the ovenproof dish with parchment paper and then tightly seal it with a layer of foil. This traps in the steam during cooking and keeps the flavours locked in.

Place the dish in the hot oven and either slow cook it at 170°C/150°C fan/gas 3 for 5–6 hours or cook at 190°C/170°C fan/gas 5 for 2 hours or until the chicken and potatoes turn lightly golden and any liquid has significantly reduced. (If you need to speed up the roasting process even more, you can uncover the chicken after 1 hour and roast it for a further 45 minutes or until golden.)

Once done, carefully remove the foil and parchment paper – taking care not to burn yourself on the steam – and rest for 15 minutes before serving.

This is an extract from The Greek Islands Cookbook by Carolina Doriti, photography by Manos Chatzikonstantis. Published by Murdoch Books RRP $39.99.

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