If you happened to be looking for the perfect food friendship, there's no doubt that chicken and tomato would catch your eye. They might be a little shyer, but they are just as companionable as boisterous bacon and eggs or showy fish and chips. One simply goes better with the other.
This is no wonder when they have such a lot in common. Both chicken and tomato are foods that have been homegrown for decades. They are each mild in flavour and extremely versatile, being happily fried, roasted, barbecued or boiled.
They might be a little more shy, but they are just as companionable as boisterous bacon and eggs or showy fish and chips.
Better still, you can prepare a dish of chicken and tomato in mere moments, or leave them to gently get along for hours. They are equally delicious either way.
You can always tell a perfect pairing when it shows up in cuisines from across the world and time itself. Take these recipes here - all of them are traditional dishes that have been passed down through many generations. Except maybe for a chimichanga. That's a thoroughly modern friendship.
Meat cute
Leave it to the Italians to do fine things with chicken and tomatoes. In this simple dish, tasty chicken meatballs pair beautifully with a simple tomato and garlic sauce.
Bringing the heat
Spice is happy to meet both chicken and tomato, as showcased in this pandan-scented curry. Tomato isn't generally big in Malaysian cooking, but it adds sweetness and colour and, of course, sidles up nicely to the chicken.
Caccia later
Cacciatore chicken is an Italian favourite that deserves to be on every winter menu. This one's a slow cooker that relies on gentle heat overtime to produce a rich sauce that permeates the chicken.
Emperor's choice
What kind of dish would you serve to please Napoleon Bonaparte? Why, poulet Marengo, of course. Only a solid chicken and tomato dish could be enough after battle.
Soup-er duper
Adding hearty chicken pieces to any kind of tomato soup is a genius move. Start with Poh's chicken lentil soup and keep slurping from there.
Filipino fave
This Filipino spin on a standard Spanish-style chicken afritadaand is delightful. Loads of garlic, tomato and capsicum bump up the yum-factor and there's even a hit of fish sauce thrown in for good measure.
Tex-mex tom-chick
Shredded chicken braised in a spicy chipotle chilli sauce is wrapped in a flour tortilla and fried until crisp. Served with a tart, green tomato salsa, a chimichanga is a burrito like you’ve never had before.
Hot twist
Donal Skehan adds chorizo to a standard Irish chicken and bean stew and the crowd goes wild. Underpinning the resulting bold flavour is, naturally, a couple of tins of plum tomatoes finest.
Curry loves chutney
Ever added a big dollop of tomato chutney to a chicken curry? Do it!
This Sri Lankan curry is rich, creamy and very comforting. Grinding the spices yourself will give it a bolder flavour and complements the lemongrass and ginger beautifully.
“For me this chicken curry is soul food, it is the curry we had every week and is light and almost broth like. The chicken is important here as it really rounds the flavours of the dish. Please do use chicken on the bone here, it really makes a difference. If you have a friendly butcher, ask him to joint and skin it for you, if not you can find packets of thighs or drumsticks in the supermarkets. Also, buy slightly under-ripe tomatoes as you want them to add tartness and the sweetness of ripe tomatoes will ruin the curry. The secret to any well-cooked curry is the cooking of the masala, slowly and over time is the best way, so be a little patient- it is worth the effort.” Anjum Anand, Anjum's Australian Spice Stories
King of happy
You can't talk about tomato and chicken's friendship without eating butter chicken while you do it. It's like the pinnacle of their relationship, spreading happiness wherever it goes.
A fragrant twist on a classic, this is full of aromatic spices with the rich creaminess of coconut milk.
Did we mention pasta?
Adding pasta turns our beloved duo into a firm trio. Chicken, tomato and pasta make for some very quick mid-week meals like this lorighittas recipe made with the trio plus white wine, parsley, garlic and onion.
There's a special place in my heart for gnocchi – done properly, it is a thing of great beauty. I prefer mine to be light pillows of goodness with enough structure so they hold nicely. Like most things in life, once you get the hang of it, gnocchi is relatively quick and simple to make. The trick is to have the right type of potatoes cooked properly – not long enough and you’ll get a strange slightly textured product, too long and you’ll end up with a gluey mess. This is a sauce that is a regular at Berta – almost like a bolognese, it is subtle, yet spicy and comforting. As for the gnocchi, when making them, remember to show no fear and treat your potatoes with a firm, yet gentle, hand.
Tajarin is the Piedmontese dialect name for tagliolini or tagliarini (thin ribbons of pasta). They are particularly connected with the town of Alba – where this recipe, with its sauce of chicken livers, is also known as tajarin all’albese, where a topping of the famous local white truffle is added. Tajarin are served with many sauces, and one famed for its simplicity is sugo di arrosto, the drippings left over in the pan from a Sunday roast.
This one too
If you've never made your bolognese with diced chicken instead of beef mince, now would be the time to give it a go. It makes for a lighter dish where the tomato-based sauce is given room to really shine.
Paprika plays nice
This baked Spanish dish features plenty of paprika, a spice that plays equally well with both chicken and tomato. The same is true for the added olives, capsicums, lemon and balsamic vinegar. The whole dish is basically a party of friends.
This is a dish loved by all. It’s especially popular with Korean children and it’s a great addition to a school lunchbox.
When I first discovered Korean fried chicken, it was a revelation: the coating is flakey and crunchy, the skin is thin and crispy, and the meat is super juicy and tender.
Galangal is the star of the dish, giving the soup a mild, spicy aroma whilst the coconut cream lends it a richer, creamier broth than other Thai soups.
If I were to think of something that reminds me of being in southern France it would be this dish. A couple of these tomatoes and a glass of rosé and I am in heaven.
A simple way of eating cherry tomatoes to allow the heat to ‘pop’ their skins and release their juices, which mingle deliciously with the garlicky olive oil and salty capers.
