An ancient dish that is made almost everywhere nuts and grapes are grown. Serve with rice or bread.

　　

Ingredients

makes 4 servings

　　2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

　　1 chicken, 3 to 4 pounds, cut into serving pieces, or 2 1/2 to 3 pounds chicken parts, trimmed of excess fat

　　Salt and black pepper to taste

　　4 garlic cloves, peeled and lightly smashed

　　1 large onion, sliced

　　1 cup dry white wine

　　1 cup walnuts or hazelnuts, roughly chopped

　　1 cup raisins or currants

　　Fresh lemon juice to taste

　　

Step 1

Put the oil in a deep skillet or flameproof casserole, preferably nonstick, with a lid. Turn the heat to medium-high and wait a minute or so, until the oil is hot. Add the chicken, skin side down, and brown it well, rotating and turning the pieces as necessary, 10 to 15 minutes. About halfway through the browning, add some salt and pepper along with the garlic, allowing the garlic to brown with the chicken. Transfer the chicken to a plate as it browns.

　　

Step 2

Reduce the heat to medium and add the onion; cook, stirring occasionally, until it softens and begins to color, 5 to 10 minutes. Add the wine and let it bubble away for a minute or so. Add the nuts and raisins and return the chicken to the pan, skin side up. Cover and turn the heat to low; cook until the chicken is done, 10 to 15 minutes more.

　　

Step 3

Add about a tablespoon of lemon juice, then taste and adjust the seasoning, adding more salt, pepper, or lemon juice as necessary. Serve immediately.

　　The Best Recipes in the World by Mark Bittman. © 2005 by Mark Bittman. Published by Broadway Books. All Rights Reserved.MARK BITTMAN is the author of the blockbuster The Best Recipes in the World (Broadway, 2005) and the classic bestseller How to Cook Everything, which has sold more than one million copies. He is also the coauthor, with Jean-Georges Vongerichten, of Simple to Spectacular and Jean-Georges: Cooking at Home with a Four-Star Chef. Mr. Bittman is a prolific writer, makes frequent appearances on radio and television, and is the host of The Best Recipes in the World, a 13-part series on public television. He lives in New York and Connecticut.