Metsovo is a mountainous town in the mainland Greece on its western side and cleaves to the great mountain of Pindos at 1.160 m height. It is a beautiful picturesque town that has kept its old houses and buildings. This town has given birth to some great benefactors of the newly born Greek State after its liberation from the Ottoman Empire. One of them was George Averof.
Averof was born in 1815 in Metsovo and he was the youngest son of 8 children. As it was very common during those ages, when he was 19 years old he left his town to try to create a career on his own. He went to Cairo in Egypt and worked as a clerk in his brother’s store. After his brother’s death he took over the store. Slowly slowly, he starts to deal with imports and exports and due to his commercial instinct and smart moves he managed to become very rich and with high connections. He was considered to be one of the most important persons in Egypt and a very influential figure of the Greek community.
He created a vast fortune which he used to help the newly born, poor and unstable Greek country. Among other things he gave money for the expansion of the National Technical University in Athens, for the reconstructions of the Panathenian Stadium where the first modern Olympic games took place, for the construction of military school, for the construction of agricultural school, for the construction of Athens Conservatory and finally the donation of 2,500,000 golden francs to the Navy so as to build a battleship which was named after him. George Averof died in Alexandria of Egypt in 1899 and his body was transferred to Greece and he was buried with great honors.
In this beautiful place, Metsovo, they produce two different cheeses that have Protected Designation of Origin. One is Metsovone cheese and the other one is Metsovela cheese. Metsovone is a semi-sharp smoked cheese. It is smoked with the Pasta Filata method and is left to mature for about three months. It is produced mainly from cow’s milk or a combination of cow’s milk with sheep or goat’s milk. It has a beautiful bold flavor and it goes perfectly with meat or in sandwiches.
I wanted to make a Saturday meal that would be a crowd pleaser and I couldn’t think of anything more suitable than smothered chicken.
- 4 chicken breasts, skinless, boneless
- 400 gr. / 14 oz. white mushrooms, sliced
- 2 peppers, I used one red and one yellow bell pepper
- 1 onion, sliced
- 250 gr. / 9 oz. Metsovone cheese or any other smoked cheese, grated
- Salt, pepper
- Paprika
- Taco seasoning
- Roasted asparagus to accompany the chicken
- Preheat oven in 175°C / 350°F.
- In a pan scatter the peppers and onions and in another pan scatter the mushrooms.
- Sprinkle with salt, pepper and olive oil.
- Bake in batches until all of them are soft about 20 minutes.
- Cut each chicken breast lengthwise in two.
- Season them with salt, pepper, paprika and taco seasoning.
- In a skillet in high heat add the breasts in batches and sauté them until they take a nice golden color.
- Remove and set aside.
- In a pan place the chicken breasts one close to the other.
- Top them with the mushrooms, onions and peppers.
- Add the grated cheese on top.
- Bake in the same oven for about 20 minutes or until the cheese takes a nice golden color
- Remove, set aside for five minutes and serve.
- I accompany the chicken with roasted asparagus but you can make French fries or mashed potatoes.
- 4 στήθη κοτόπουλου, χωρίς πέτσα, χωρίς κόκαλα
- 400 γρ. μανιτάρια, κομμένα σε φέτες
- 2 πιπεριές, μια κόκκινη και μια κίτρινη πιπεριά
- 1 κρεμμύδι, κομμένο σε φέτες
- 250 γρ. τυρί μετσοβόνε ή οποιοδήποτε άλλο καπνιστό τυρί, τριμμένο
- Αλάτι, πιπέρι
- Πάπρικα
- Καρύκευμα Taco
- Ψητά σπαράγγια για συνοδευτικό
- Προθερμαίνετε το φούρνο στους 175° C.
- Σε ένα ταψί βάλτε τις πιπεριές και τα κρεμμύδια και σε ένα άλλο ταψί σκόρπιστε τα μανιτάρια.
- Πασπαλίστε με αλάτι, πιπέρι και ελαιόλαδο.
- Ψήστε σε παρτίδες, έως ότου μλακώσουν περίπου 20 λεπτά.
- Κόψτε κάθε στήθος κοτόπουλου κατά μήκος στα δύο.
- Βάλτε αλάτι, πιπέρι, πάπρικα και το καρύκευμα taco.
- Σε ένα τηγάνι σε δυνατή φωτιά προσθέστε τα στήθη σε παρτίδες και σωτάρετε μέχρι να πάρουν ένα ωραίο χρυσαφί χρώμα.
- Σε ένα ταψί, τοποθετήστε τα στήθη κοτόπουλου το ένα κοντά στο άλλο.
- Βάλτε από πάνω τα μανιτάρια, τα κρεμμύδια και τις πιπεριές.
- Προσθέστε το τριμμένο τυρί από πάνω.
- Ψήστε στον ίδιο φούρνο για περίπου 20 λεπτά ή μέχρι το τυρί να πάρει ένα ωραίο χρυσαφί χρώμα
- Αφαιρέστε, αφήστε για πέντε λεπτά και σερβίρετε.
- Εγώ το συνόδευσα με ψητά σπαράγγια, αλλά μπορείτε να κάνετε τηγανητές πατάτες ή πουρέ πατάτας.
