Back to recipes index

BARRY JORDAN

1957-2024
BRAISED CHICKEN WITH PUMPKIN AND SWEET POTATO
My mother was an excellent cook - not exactly a large repertoire, or very adventurous, but somehow everything worked for her. However, she didn't really want me in her kitchen; it was only when I went away to university that she would occasionally allow me to display the prowess I was slowly gaining elsewhere. And somehow I became "the cook" of all the various households I've been part of since then.
​Retirement was supposed to be the time when I could really indulge myself, as well as compose a lot and immerse myself in music in a way which is almost impossible for a "working musician" - who has time to do more than scratch the surface? Unfortunately, illness has put a stop to those fantasies and also reduced the size of my stomach, so that I mostly cannot do more than think about food nowadays.
INGREDIENTS
  • ​8 chicken portions (much better with skin and bones!)
  • 1 tbsp oil
  • 1 large onion, thinly sliced
  • 2 sticks cinnamon
  • salt and pepper
  • 1 clove garlic (or more, obviously), crushed
  • 500 g pumpkin (should not be watery, I like to use butternut)
  • 500 g sweet potato, peeled and cubed (not too small)
  • 1 cup chicken stock
  • 125 g prunes
METHOD
  1. Pat the chicken dry, brown in the oil. Add onion, cinnamon and some seasoning. Cook gently until golden. If a lot of fat has cooked out of the chicken, pour some of it off. (I remove the chicken for a while before the next step so that it does not get overcooked).
  2. Add garlic, sweet potato and pumpkin and some more seasoning, then pour in the stock (you might not need all of it) and bring to the boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer gently for about 40 minutes -put the chicken back in the pan or pot when you think it’s time. Then add the prunes and let them heat through until they are soft and plump.
  3. You don’t really need anything else, but you can serve this with rice, perhaps flavoured with cinnamon or even turmeric.
  4. Cooking time is about an hour.
  5. If there is too much liquid, take out as much as you can (or remove the chicken and vegetables and keep them warm) and reduce it over a brisk heat. 
Barry Jordan
Barry Jordan
I was born in Port Elizabeth (now Qberha), South Africa, in 1957, where I spent my youth picking up bits of knowledge about music here and there; somehow, I found himself on the organ bench of the local parish church at the age of 13. And one thing led to another, although I had no formal organ lessons until much later. I also played the piano (obviously), clarinet, horn (both French and tenor), the tuba and the cello. To quote my father, "Oh no, what are you bringing home now?"

I went to the University of Cape Town in 1976, where somehow the organ became my first study (the pianists were all so good!). From 1977 I found myself Organ Scholar at St George's Cathedral and, with the wonderful Hill organ and the revelatory new Beckerath at UCT at my disposal (as well as some lessons from a distinguished visiting professor at the University, none other than Gillian Weir) I began to investigate this new universe, all the while also finding out how to be a composer under the tutelage of Peter Klatzow (a wonderful cook.)

After graduating, national service beckoned. This took the form of playing the clarinet in the band of the South African Police for four very long years. However, it was also a productive time as a composer, since most working days were short, if noisy and irritating. And then, after that (we are talking about 1984) came two years as a school teacher, back in Cape Town. Concurrently, I registered as an M.Mus student in composition and wrote, in satisfaction of the degree requirements, the orchestral work Last Things (https://soundcloud.com/user-300924996/last-things). 
​Equipped with a couple of prizes and a SAMRO overseas scholarship, I moved to Vienna at the beginning of 1986 to study with Martin Haselböck (organ) and Francis Burt (composition), but it was to be a short sojourn;  at the end of that year, Haselböck became professor in Lübeck, and I went along, being lucky to be appointed assistant organist of the Nikolaikirche in Kiel, which paid a lot of the bills. In Lübeck I completed my Konzertexamen organ as well as the requisite "B" and "A" church music diplomas (now rechristened bachelor and masters degrees). After that, well, what next? With a little nudging from Martin Haselböck, I applied for the position of director of music at the cathedral of Magdeburg, got it, and remained there for nearly 30 years until retirement nudged at the end of November 2023.
BACK TO THE RECIPES INDEX