Preheat oven at 275 degrees. Seems low, but much higher and the pasta sticks really bad to the pot. I learned that.

Season chicken with salt and pepper. Heat olive oil in a dutch oven on medium to medium high heat. Brown chicken a few pieces at a time. Don’t overcrowd, you end up steaming the pieces.

Remove chicken and place aside. Sauté the onion until translucent ten add garlic in the pan for 30 seconds or so. Add the tomato paste and let cook for a minute or two. Then add the tomato sauce, tomato, cinnamon, and 1 cup of boiling water. Return the chicken to the pot. Let all slowly simmer for about 20 minutes.

Chicken should be a bit over half done and tomatoes broken down some.

Remove the chickens from their pot and set on a platter. Stir in the hilopites and another 1 to 1 ½ cups BOILING water. Make sure it is boiling water as you are putting it in a 275 oven. The pasta would never absorb the water and cook if you dump in a bunch of cold water. Use just enough liquid to be soaked up by the pasta. It’s an eyeball thing.

Return the chicken pieces and put this in the oven to cook for about 20 to 30 minutes.