This stew with chicken and peas AKA Arakas Latheros – Greek sweet peas cooked in olive oil and tomatoes is a delicious Greek dish. Rich fragrant, flavorful and comforting and it takes no time to make! Perfect dinner idea for busy families! I absolutely love peas, I would gladly make this chicken and peas recipe completely meatless just because of the peas but adding chicken gives it more flavor and it also makes it more nourishing and a full meal/ main dish in one pot. I have included how to make this dish without the chicken in recipe notes for a delicious vegetarian side dish.
What is Lathera Style Cooking?
This green pea dish (arakas latheros, translated as peas cooked in olive oil) is part of a family of Greek dishes known as “lathera” or “ladera”. It’s a style of cooking particularly used for vegetables cooking or braising in olive oil, often with tomatoes and herbs as well. They braise in the delicious oil and sauce until they are very very tender and the sauce has thickened. In Greek cooking this tecnique, is called “Giaxni”, or “yiahni”which means ‘steamy’. ‘Giaxni’ is a very common technique used in different kinds of traditional Greek recipes, which may include meat, fish or vegetables and cooked in a large pan.
Greek Peas and Chicken Recipe Ingredients
- CHICKEN: For this recipe and the way it is cooked I always use boneless skinless chicken thighs. I don’t recommend whole chicken breasts for this dish as they will dry out plus they may not cook through in time depending on their thickness. That being said this dish can be made with chicken bone in skin on cut ups – chicken thighs and chicken drumsticks or you can even do diced or chunks of chicken breast. Brown the chicken as stated in the recipe and then add it back to pan as stated the recipe. Of course the bone in pieces will likely take a little longer to cook and the diced or chunks of chicken breast may take less time to cook so keep this in mind.
- PEAS: Frozen peas are a staple in my kitchen – I always have a bag in the freezer. I use them in everything from soups and stews to stir-fries and side dishes. They add loads of plant protein and fiber. Use fresh or frozen.
- OLIVE OIL: A must – a lot of the flavour in a dish like this comes from the rich flavours in the olive oil. Lathera dishes literally mean oily – this dish is in that category. Don’t skimp on it.
- ONION & GARLIC: Shallots, red onion or yellow onion work well in this recipe – use what you have. You can adjust amounts of garlic to taste.
- CARROT: They add just a hint of sweetness to this dish plus some extra veg.
- POTATOES: The potatoes add some heartiness to this dish and easily take this to complete meal status. They also help thicken the stew
- GREEN ONIONS: Green onions or spring onions add extra flavor.
- TOMATOES & TOMATO PASTE: Use canned finely diced tomatoes or fresh tomatoes work too. Tomato paste always adds richness to a tomato based dish.
- WINE: I like to deglaze the pan with a bit of white wine or red wine but that is optional
- BROTH/STOCK: Some liquid is needed for the veggies to cook. Use either vegetable stock or chicken stock.
- FRESH HERBS: I always use fresh parsley and fresh dill for this recipe – feel free to adjust amounts to taste and I like to garnish with extra fresh chopped herbs as well.
- SPICES: I like other season the chicken with paprika, oregano, garlic powder and the chicken and whole dish with salt and black pepper. Adjust season to taste.
How To Make Greek Arakas
- SEASON & SEAR CHICKEN: The chicken will not be fully cooked -you are looking to add nice colour to the chicken for flavor. It will finish cooking with the veggies after it gets added back to pan.
- SAUTE: In the same pan, add remaining oil, and saute chopped onion, green onions, carrots, potatoes, garlic and chili flakes
- STIR & DEGLAZE: Stir in the tomato paste then deglaze the pan with the white wine
- ADD tomatoes, green peas and herbs and broth mostly cover peas and veggies
- NESTLE chicken into pot, simmer until cooked through and veggies are tender and sauce has reduced.
- SERVE: Warm with extra chopped fresh herbs and feta cheese, plus some extra drizzles of olive oil
Arakas Make Ahead, Reheating & Freezing
- MAKE AHEAD & STORAGE: You can make the Greek chicken stew with peas ahead and reheat it. It keeps well in the fridge in an airtight container for about 3 days.
- RE-HEATING: Reheat stove top adding a little broth or water as needed if it has thickened or in the microwave.
- FREEZING: After dish is cooked and cooled it can be frozen in an airtight container for up to 3 months. Defrost it in the fridge and reheat it before serving.
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