Yahnili Magarına / Magarına Bulli Yahni (Chicken & Tomato Pasta)

I want to show you how I cook my version of one of my oldest, everyday family recipes and how I take humble Magarina Bulli Yahni / Yahnili Magarına from being delicious, to being EXCEPTIONAL! #PleaseMakeIt 

Serves 4-6

3 tbsp Olive oil

4 x Free Range Chicken Drumsticks, butterflied

4 x Free Range Chicken Thighs, deboned (keep the bones), skin on

Few sprigs of thyme

3 bay leaves

1 tsp black peppercorns

2 tsp sea salt flakes

3 litres cold water

1 large brown onion, halved and finely sliced

1 tsp pul biber

1 tsp paprika

2 tbsp tomato purée

600g large fresh ripe tomatoes, halved and coarsely grated flesh side down (discard skins)

300g Bucatini (each tube, broken into 3 pieces)

125g hellim (halloumi cheese), finely grated

1 tsp dried mint

Method: 

Add the chicken bones, fresh thyme, two of the bay leaves, 1 1/2 tsp salt, peppercorns to a large saucepan and fill with the cold water. Place on the hob over a medium-high heat and once boiling, skim off any foam that rises to the top, then pop the lid half on and simmer on a low heat for 1 hour.

Brush the chicken with a little of the olive oil and add a tablespoon of olive oil to a large sauce pan and place on the hob over a medium heat. Once hot, add the chicken to the pan, in batches, and cook for a few minutes on each side until golden brown. Remove to a large dish. Add the rest of the olive oil to a pan and saute the onions for 12-15 minutes until golden and caramelised. Add the pul biber, paprika and tomato purée to the pan, stir them through the onions and add the grated tomatoes. Stir well, pop the chicken back in, including the resting juices, the final bay leaf and 200ml of the simmering chicken broth from the large soup pan. Pop the lid on and simmer on a low heat for 30 minutes, checking occasionally so the sauce doesn’t catch. If the sauce starts to reduce too much, then add a little bit more liquid to the pan. 

Once the sauce is 10 minutes away from being ready, remove the chicken bones, thyme, bay leaves and peppercorns from the large pan of stock then add the pasta in. Cook as per the packed instructions. 

Mix the grated hellim, dried mint and coarse black pepper together and sprinkle a little on a bottom of the dinner plates. Serve the pasta onto the plates with a large slotted spoon, spoon over some of the “yahni” tomatoey sauce, sprinkle over some more of the grated hellim, then some chicken and drizzle over extra virgin olive oil and a sprinkling of pul biber to serve. THE BEST.