Chicken in tomato sauce with Greek egg noodles (Kotopoulo me hilopites)

1. Rub the chicken thighs with salt and pepper and brown them on all sides in the olive oil in a wide pan until golden, then lift them out.

2. Soften the finely chopped onion and garlic in the oil, add the tomato purée and fry for 1 minute, then pour in the white wine and boil for 2 minutes.

3. Add the grated tomatoes, the cinnamon stick and about 300 ml water, return the chicken, cover and simmer gently for 40 minutes.

4. Lift out the chicken and keep it warm; top up the sauce with boiling water to about 1.2 litres, bring to the boil and add the noodles.

5. Cook for 12-15 minutes, stirring often, until the pasta is tender and has absorbed most of the liquid – it should end up creamy and saucy; remove the cinnamon stick.

6. Spoon the pasta onto plates, top with the chicken and sprinkle generously with grated kefalograviera.

Tip: Hilopites are small square egg noodles that Greek home cooks dry in summer; small square pasta works perfectly. You can replace the cheese with gruyère or parmesan.