Country Captain

From The Gift of Southern Cooking by Edna Lewis & Scott Peacock

3 ½ lb cut-up chicken, brined 8-24 hours
1 tsp dried thyme
freshly ground black pepper
¼ cup veggie oil
6 slices bacon
2 ½ cups chopped onion
1 cup chopped celery
2 cups diced green bell pepper
1 tbsp finely chopped garlic
2 cups drained and chopped canned tomatoes
¾ cup tomato juice, reserved
2 tbsp unsalted butter
2 tbsp and 2 tsp curry powder
1/3 cup currants
2 bay leaves
salt to taste

Rinse chicken pieces and pat dry. Sprinkle w/ thyme and pepper. Heat oil in large pan until hot but not smoking. Sear the chicken to brown. Pour cooking oil from pan. Return pan to stove and cook bacon slices until crisp. Reserve bacon for later.

Add chopped onion and cook 2-3 minutes (till just creamy). Add bell pepper and celery, and cook 5 more minutes. Stir in garlic and cook 2-3 minutes, then add tomato and tomato juice. Cook at a low simmer, partially covered, for 10 minutes, stirring often.

Heat butter in a small pan till hot and foaming. Stir in curry powder and cook, stirring, for 2 minutes. Add curry paste, along with bay leaves and currants to veggie mixture. Simmer, tightly covered, for another 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Spoon about 1 cup of finished sauce into a 9x13 casserole. Arrange chicken pieces in a single layer and cover with remaining sauce. Place a piece of parchment paper directly over the chicken and a double thickness of foil over it all.

Bake 1 ½ hours in a preheated 325 oven until chicken is quite tender.