Butcher your chicken to give you 8 serving pieces; you should end up with 2 drumsticks, 2 thighs, 2 wings and 2 breasts. If your chicken breasts are large, you can cut them in half and therefore end up with a total of 10 pieces. Remove any excess fat, but leave the skin on the chicken. Sprinkle the salt evenly over your chicken and set aside.
1 whole chicken, 1 tbsp salt
In a deep frying pan heat 1/2 cup of olive oil over medium heat. Add your chicken to the pan and begin frying it. Do not overcrowd your pan as this will reduce the heat; it is better to fry your chicken in two batches if your pan is not large enough to fit it all in at once.
1/2 cup olive oil
Fry your chicken for approximately 5 – 7 minutes per side, until golden brown. As your chicken cooks, place it in a large pot.
After all of your chicken is fried and has been transferred to the pot VERY CAREFULLY transfer the hot oil to a glass measuring cup. Add enough extra olive oil to bring the total volume to 1/2 cup.
Pour this oil into the pot over the chicken. Add the tomato sauce, water, cinnamon, pepper and cloves if you are using them.
4 cups tomato sauce, 1 cup water, 1 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon, 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper, 2 whole cloves, optional
Bring the contents of the pot to a boil and then reduce to medium heat. Cook, covered, for 45 minutes. Remove cover and check sauce; it should be relatively thick and coating the chicken pieces nicely. Cook uncovered for another 5 – 10 minutes.
Meanwhile, bring a large pot of water to a boil and cook the pasta according to the packaging directions.
500 grams pasta
When the pasta is done, drain it well and get ready to serve. Toss your pasta with mizithra cheese (at least 2 tablespoons per serving) and then ladle on some chicken and accompanying sauce. Be sure to remove the cloves from the sauce if you used them.
1/2 cup grated mizithra cheese
Enjoy!