Poulet Chasseur

Cooking is about frame of mind for me. I like to connect to real or imagined origins of a dish. The name for this dish translates to "Hunter's Chicken". I imagine a hunter, with what he has in his pack and what he's found in the woods, cooking over a fire. Simple, flavorful, ok, I just don't know where he got the chicken!

1 Tbsp olive oil

1 Tbsp (½ oz/14gr) butter

1 chicken, cup up into pieces

1 onion (6oz/170g), chopped

2 garlic cloves, minced

7-8 oz mushrooms, thick slice

3/4 cup red wine (be generous)

2 Tbsps tomato paste

2 springs of thyme

2 cups chicken stock

1. Heat the oil and the butter in a large lidded casserole. Season the chicken, then fry for about 5 minutes on each side until golden brown. Remove and set aside.
2. Add the onion to the pan and fry for about 5 minutes, until soft. 
3. Add the garlic, cook for 1 minute, then add the mushrooms, cook for 2 minutes or until the mushrooms 'sweat', then add the wine. 
4. Stir in the tomato paste. Let the sauce simmer and reduce for about 5 minutes, then stir in the thyme and pour over the stock. 
5. Slip the chicken back into the pan, then cover and simmer on a low heat for about 1 hour, whereupon the chicken will be very tender. The chicken will be ready when the internal temperature of the breasts reaches 165°F. 
6. Remove the chicken from the pan and keep warm. Rapidly boil down the sauce until it's syrupy and the flavour has concentrated, about 10 minutes. Put the chicken legs back into the sauce and serve.

Chicken Omelette for Two

Dorothy Hartley, in her book Food in England, calls an omelette a 'friendly dish', easy to make quickly for unexpected guests. I like this very much, and I think of it a lot. While the following recipe is a large omelette meant to feed to healthy appetites, it can easily extend to three people for a light lunch. I like to make it in a stainless steel pan (now that I've learned how to cook eggs in one without sticking).

1 Tbsp (½ oz/14gr) butter
1 Tbsp vegetable oil
5 eggs
A pinch of salt
A pinch of pepper
1 tsp minced fresh herb such as tarragon, thyme
OPTIONAL
- a small handful of chives, minced
- ¼ cup minced fresh lovage (or ¼ tsp celery seed)
10 oz cubed cooked chicken
4 oz gruyere cheese, grated OR 4 oz chèvre cheese OR any cheese you like, really

1. Melt the butter with the oil in a 10" oven-proof fry pan or omelette pan, and let it heat up for 5 minutes at medium-low (in a stainless steel pan, this will prevent sticking).
2. Whisk the eggs with the addition of the salt and pepper until they are frothy.
3. Pour the eggs into the hot pan; you may want to increase the heat to medium. Sprinkle the chopped herbs over the liquid egg. As the egg cooks, lift the edges and tilt the pan to let uncooked egg get underneath.
4. With the oven rack in the middle, turn on the broiler to heat up (or use a salamander if you're so lucky to have one).
5. When the egg has half cooked, spread the chicken evenly over it. While the egg is still a little under-cooked on the surface, (not just slithery but actually jiggly), spread the cheese and slip the pan into the oven to broil
6. When the egg is set and the edges puff up a little, take it out of the oven and carefully fold the omelette, plate and serve as you will.

Frugal Pie

This is a delicious way of using up leftover meat and potatoes. I often will use any drippings or gravy instead of the broth, and I'll also make use of any leftover vegetables, popping them in at the last minute instead of cooking them again. Frugal can also mean delicious.

2 Tbsps (1oz/28gr) butter or bacon fat
1 onion, diced (TO DO: Measure the total quantity of veg and meat)
2 stalks celery, diced
2 carrots, diced
Optional 4oz mushroom, diced
1 Tbsp flour
1 cup broth (can be liquor from the roast)
¼ cup milk
1 sprig thyme, rosemary or sage
½ tsp salt
¼ tsp pepper
8 oz cold cooked red meat
1 lb potatoes (cold or already mashed, or see Step 7)

1. Sauté onion, celery, and carrots in butter until cooked through and starting to brown, about 10 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, mince the meat by hand into small but recognizable chunks.
3. Preheat the oven to 400°F.
4. Add flour to the sautée mixture, stirring well. Cook one minute, at least, or until well browned. This is important - cooking the flour in the buttered vegetables means the flour is absorbing all the liquids and fats in the pan, then cooking so that when you make the sauce, it will have carried all the lovely browning flavour with it, and it won't taste floury. 
5. Dump the broth and then the milk into the vegetable mixture and stir thoroughly. Add the thyme, salt and pepper. Cook over medium heat stirring constantly until the broth thickens and gets bubbly. 
6. Mix in the meat and put in a pie plate or casserole dish.
7. If they're not already mashed, prepare the potatoes with 3 Tbsps of milk or cream, and butter, to taste, along with a pinch of salt.
8. Layer the mashed potatoes on top of the meat mixture and put in the hot oven for 35 minutes or until the top browns.

Poulet à la bière avec herbes de Provence (Chicken cooked with beer and herbes de Provence)

A lovely single-pot meal (unless you make some sort of pilaf to go with it, although a slice of crusty bread works just as well). It's simple, delicious, and kind of impressive in a rustic sort of way. When serving, I always slice up the meat and ladle some of the richly flavoured cooking juices over it.

1 chicken cut into pieces
2 cups stout or dark beer
3 carrots, cut into cut into chunks
2 potatoes, cut into chunks
1 white onion, cut into thick slices
2 tsps Herbes de Provence seasoning
1 tsp sea salt
Pepper
2 stems fresh thyme
2 stems fresh oregano
1 Tbsp olive oil

1. Massage the chicken pieces with olive oil and cover with herbes de Provence and salt.
2. Arrange the onions, carrots, and potatoes in a baking dish and lightly season with more herbes de Provence and salt&pepper. Place the chicken amongst the vegetables with the stems of fresh thyme and oregano tucked in between.
3. Pour in the beer - don't worry about it washing off the herbs, the olive oil should make them stick. Cover and bake for 45 minutes at 450°F. 
4. Remove the lid and continue baking for 15 minutes to let the chicken brown on top.
5. The chicken will be ready when the internal temperature of the breasts reaches 165°F. You could also service with rice or quinoa pilaf.

Roast Chicken with Savoury Apple Mash

3 to 4 (1lb before coring) quartered and cored apples
2 (1 lb before coring) peeled and quartered onions
½ to 1 whole head garlic, cloves peeled
2 sprigs fresh rosemary
2 sprigs thyme
1 tsp rosemary powder
1 generous pinch of salt and pepper
½ cup apple cider vinegar
4 lbs whole chicken
¼ cup (2oz/58gr) butter

1. Preheat the oven to 400°F.
2. Toss the apples, onions, garlic, rosemary and thyme together in a roasting pan large enough to hold the chicken. Pour in the cider vinegar. 
3. Season chicken well with salt, pepper and rosemary powder and rest it on top of the apple mixture, on its left side. Put the butter as a block on top of the chicken and put in the oven; roast for 15 minutes and turn onto its back; roast another 15 minutes and turn onto its right side; Turn onto its breast and roast 30 minutes; turn onto its back and roast until the skin browns and the internal temperature of the breast is 165°F, about another 10 minutes.
4. Let the chicken rest about 10 minutes. Meanwhile, scoop out the apple, onion and garlic, leaving the juices behind to serve separately. Either use the coarse setting on a food mill or mash roughly, to push down the skins and herb stems and push up the delicious savoury/sweet apple and onion garlic and drippings blend. Scoop up the top part and discard the skins. Carve the bird, spoon some of the broth over it, and serve with the mashed apple mixture. 

The beginning of a sauce obsession - Caraway and Cream Sauce

Cook's Illustrated has an awesome Web site with amazing recipes. It's turned me on to sauces in a big way. I figure it would be great for a bistro - cooking the chicken ahead of time, a quick fry in a pan to liven it up, plate it, and drizzle with sauce. The following is a sauce inspired by one of theirs. I have made it to use with the recipe for Chicken Cutlets, but it could just as easily be made for a whole chicken cut into pieces and grilled as below.

For the chicken

2 to 3 Tbsps vegetable oil

1 whole chicken cut into pieces (either 4 or 8)

1. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat.
2. Pat chicken thighs dry.
3. Add chicken pieces to the skillet, smooth side down; cook for 5-7 minutes without moving, and then turn over when the chicken easily releases from the pan on its own. Cook until the juices run clear, an additional 7-10 minutes, depending on the thickness of the chicken piece.
4. Set the chicken aside and keep warm.
5. Remove all but 1 Tbsp of oil and immediately start to cook the shallot as per below.

For the sauce

1 Tbsp oil
2 medium shallots, minced

OPTIONAL: 1 Belgian endive or 5 large Romaine lettuce leaves, cut cross-wise, in thin strips

2 Tbsps apple cider vinegar

1 tsp caraway seeds

½ cup beef stock

½ cup heavy cream or crème fraîche

1 tsp Dijon mustard

Salt and pepper, to taste

1. Set the skillet over medium heat. Add the shallots (and leaves if using) and sauté until softened, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the caraway seeds and continue cooking until the shallots are lightly browned, an extra 1 to 2 minutes.
2. Add the cider vinegar and bring to boil, scraping up any browned bits from the bottom of the skillet with a wooden spoon (remember, browned bits = flavor!).
3. Add the stock and cream; bring to a boil, stirring occasionally, until slightly thickened and reduced to a generous ½ cup, about 5 minutes. Stir in the Dijon mustard; season to taste with salt and pepper. Add the chicken pieces, spoon over the sauce and cook together another 5 minutes or until internal temperature of the breasts reaches 165°F. .
4. OR: Spoon the sauce over chicken cutlets and serve immediately.

 Originally published Tuesday, April 6, 2010

Chicken Curry

My cooking snobbery prevented me from posting this recipe earlier, and all that means is that I haven't made it as often as it deserves to be made. I am ashamed. And yet glad to have finally gotten over my snobbery and recorded this fine recipe.

2 Tbsps. flour
1 tsp salt
½ tsp cayenne pepper
1 chicken, cut up into 8 pieces
2 Tbsps mild flavoured vegetable oil
1 Tbsp generic curry powder
1 onion, sliced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 cup chicken broth
⅓ cup raisins OR candied ginger
1½ Tbsps tomato paste
garnish - chopped fresh cilantro
garnish - plain yogurt

1. Cut up your chicken into 8 pieces and remove the skin.
2. In a paper or plastic bag, mix together the flour, salt and cayenne pepper. Add the chicken and shake well to coat.
3. Meanwhile, heat the oil in a large pan over medium-high heat.
4. Dump the chicken and any remaining flour into the pan and cook until browned. Remove from the pan and set aside.
5. Add the onion and garlic to the pan, adding a little more oil if necessary, and cook for 2 minutes.  Add the curry powder and toss to coat then add the broth, raisins, and tomato paste (it doesn't matter if the onion is completely cooked). 
6. Return the chicken to the pan and simmer for 20 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through and the meat thermometre registers 165°F or juices run clear.
7. If necessary, remove the chicken and cook down the sauce to the desired thickness.
8. Garnish with cilantro and a dollop of plain yogurt.
9. Serve over the rice.

Cilantro Chicken

Part 1 - the Chicken
4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
½ tsp salt
½ tsp ground cumin
¼ tsp pepper

Part 2 - the Sauce
¼ cup (2oz/58gr) butter, divided
2 large onions, sliced (20oz/570gr)
½ cup lemon (or lime) juice
1 bunch minced fresh cilantro

1. Pound the chicken breasts flat. Sprinkle with salt, cumin and pepper, and set aside.
2. In a large skillet over medium heat, sauté the onions in 2 Tbsps of butter until tender and golden brown; remove from the pan and set aside. 
3. Add the remaining 2 Tbsps of butter and then the chicken to the pan and cook until no longer pink.
4. Stir in the lemon juice, the fresh cilantro, and the onions. Bring to a boil, turn off the heat, and serve immediately.

Chicken and Barley Stew

This has all the markings of comfort food for me - the creaminess of the broth and the chewiness of the barley, the brightness of the dill and the warm bursts of the chicken. But be forewarned, this is best served immediately. Since it contains barley, the stuff will just keep absorbing liquid and expanding, so if you refrigerate the stew for later, it will have become a mass that you'll need to break apart, and the flavours will be muted. Since the recipe makes a lot, I usually halve it, which is easily done (just eyeball the barley measurement, it'll be fine).

¼ cup flour
1 tsp salt
½ tsp pepper
2 lbs skinless, boneless chicken breasts
¼ cup grape seed oil
2 carrots, sliced in half-moons
2 celery stalks, sliced
1 leek (6oz/170gr) sliced in half moons
1 garlic clove
1¾ cups pearled barley
6 cups chicken stock
1 cup water
½ tsp salt (yes, again)
¼ tsp pepper (ditto)
1 bunch fresh dill
1 Tbsp lemon juice
fresh tarragon
grated parmigiano

1. Cut chicken into 1.5" cubes. Combine flour, salt, pepper in shallow plate and dredge chicken, shaking off excess.
2. In cast-iron casserole or pot, heat 2 Tbsp oil and cook chicken in batches until golden, 2 minutes per side, adding 2 Tbsp oil each time you put in fresh chicken. Set chicken aside.
3. Add 1 Tbsp oil and cook carrots for 3 minutes, then add celery, leek and garlic and cook until softened, 2 minutes. Add barley, salt and pepper. Cook until barley starts to toast, a few minutes; you'll notice that the barley will take up the oil and moisture, this is a good thing. Browning and toasting all add flavour. Add stock and water and bring to a boil. Cover and simmer 20 minutes, stirring occasionally, until barley is almost tender.
4. Return chicken to pot, cover and simmer until cooked through, 10 minutes. Stir in dill and lemon juice and adjust seasoning. Sprinkle with tarragon and cheese to serve.

Chicken Stew with Dumplings

This one if from my momma. The best dumplings I think I've ever made.

2 Tbsps (1oz/28gr) salted butter
2 leeks, white parts only, sliced ¼" (12oz/340gr) 
4 carrots, diced (8oz/228g)
24 oz/228g skinless chicken breast, cubed
½ tsp salt
1 Tbsp flour
1½ cups chicken broth (12oz/354g)
2 tsp fresh thyme
1 cup fresh green peas (5oz/145g)

Dumplings
1¼  cups flour (6.6oz/188g)
3½  tsps baking powder
½  tsps salt
½  cup Milk (4oz/177g)
1 egg

1. Pick a large saucepan with lots of head room. You'll need enough space for the stew and then for the dumplings to cook on top.
2. Melt the butter over medium-high heat. Add the leeks and carrots; sauté until the leeks are translucent. 
3. Season the chicken cubes with salt and add to the cooking veg in the pot.
4. Stir over medium-high heat until the chicken is just cooked. Add the Tbsp of flour and mix well to cover and fry a couple more minutes, enough to toast the flour a bit to cook out the raw flour taste. 
5. Add the broth stirring constantly to make sure the flour doesn't clump. Cook over medium heat until the liquid thickens, about 5 to 10 minutes. 
6. Add peas and thyme. 
7. Turn down heat and simmer.

FOR THE DUMPLINGS

1. Mix together the dry ingredients. 
2. In a separate bowl, mix milk and egg together. Dump wet over dry and, to avoid tough dumplings, mix only just until blended. 
3. Divide the dough into four portions and gently plop on to the stew in the pot. Cover and cook 14 minutes NOTE: Do not lift lid until done since the dumplings need the steam to cook properly.

Quick Gourmet - Balsamic Poached Chicken

This makes a rather sweet sauce, and it's delicious with simple vegetables like spring potatoes, asparagus or a mixed salad.

Another wonderful recipe from the Unemployed Cook.

2 to 3 boneless, skinless chicken breast fillets

1 1⁄2 cups chicken stock

1⁄2 cup balsamic vinegar

Salt, to taste

Black pepper, to taste

2 Tbsps brown sugar

1. Season chicken breasts with salt and pepper.
2. Bring the stock and the vinegar up to a boil in a medium (2 quart) saucepan, add chicken, and reduce to a simmer. Simmer for 15 to 18 minutes, turning once (cooking time will depend on the thickness of the chicken). Internal temperature should read 165°F when done.
3. Remove the chicken from the pan, and keep warm in a 170°F oven.
4. Turn heat up to high, add brown sugar, and reduce cooking liquid to about 1⁄4 cup (you may want to transfer all of this to a large shallow pan to speed up the evaporation rate). 
5. Slice the chicken thickly and spoon some of the pan sauce over it, and serve.

Chicken with Mushroom and Leeks

The original to this recipe is in Food & Wine March 2011. It's called Simplest Chicken-and-Leek Stew. I think the name is misleading. To start, with the quantity of mushrooms in this recipe, this ingredient should be headlined, otherwise it's like calling a chocolate cake a sponge cake. Secondly, there are three different grouping of things to cook separately, and then you assemble, which means lots of dirty dishes and fiddling with removing from the pan and then putting back in. Thirdly, there is no stewing involved - all the ingredients are cooked separately, then added to the sauce with only a single measly minute of simmering before serving. The one thing that I will agree to about this recipe is that it is delicious.

2 Tbsps mild vegetable oil

2 medium leeks (12oz/340gr) tender parts only, thinly sliced

1⁄2 lb button mushrooms, thinly sliced

Salt and pepper

1 lb chicken breast cut into 2 inch pieces

4 Tbsps flour (I use rice flour)

1 1⁄2 cups chicken broth

1 Tbsp finely chopped fresh thyme

2 Tbsps crème fraiche

1 Tbsp Dijon mustard

1. In a skillet heat 1 Tbsp oil, add leeks and cook over moderate heat until soft (approx 7 minutes). Add the mushrooms, season with salt and pepper. Cover and cook, stirring often, until mushrooms are soft, about 4 minutes. Remove from pan and set aside.
2. In a bag mix 4 Tbsp flour, salt and pepper, and toss in chicken pieces. Shake until chicken is well covered, remove chicken and discard remaining flour. Add 1 Tbsp of oil to pan and the brown chicken, about 2 minutes per side. Add the chicken stock and thyme, simmering until chicken is cooked through (this should be quick since the browning should have cooked the chicken).
3. Remove the chicken from the pan and simmer the stock until it is reduced by half. Throw the chicken and veg back in and simmer over low temperature until it's all heated through, about 1 minute.
4. Meanwhile, in a small bowl mix together the crème fraiche and the Dijon and stir into the stew. Season to taste and serve.

Oven-Fried Chicken With Almonds

There's nothing really subtle or refined about this recipe but it is tasty and quick and you can prepare the mix beforehand (although, since the ingredients are fresh, the mix does have a shelf-life and should be refrigerated or frozen). It uses fresh ingredients instead of powdered this and dried that, which I like a lot in my recipes.

 2 lbs boneless skinless chicken breasts, halved

1⁄4 cup olive oil

1 dash black pepper, ground

1⁄4 tsp thyme, dried

1 tsp salt

1 garlic clove, crushed and minced

2 Tbsps fresh parsley, chopped

1⁄4 cup almonds, finely chopped

1⁄4 cup parmesan cheese, freshly grated

1⁄2 cup Panko bread crumbs

1. Preheat oven to 400°F.
2. Pound the chicken breasts to a 1⁄2 inch thickness and cut them into 12 pieces (or just keep them whole and make sure to use a meat thermometre - chicken is cooked at 160°F).
3. In a medium bowl, stir bread crumbs, Parmesan cheese, almonds, parsley, garlic, salt, thyme and pepper. Pour oil onto a plate. Dip the chicken into the oil and then into the bread crumb mixture to coat.
4. Place chicken on a cookie sheet. Do not move or turn chicken over during baking. Cook for 20 minutes, until juices run clear when the thickest part of the chicken is pierced with the tip of a knife, or until a meat thermometre reads 165°F.
5. Serve immediately.

Chicken Noodle Soup

What research has shown is that chicken soup is effective to relieve the effects of the common cold by blocking the white blood cells that ineffectively try to attack the cold virus, causing the production of phlegm. What they haven't been able to do is propose a viable theory as to how chicken soup does this. It makes me happy that plain-old chicken noodle soup is a delicious home remedy. And, if it's made with the Foundation of Goodness Chicken Stock, it is excellent. The only caveat for this soup is the chicken pieces - do not over-simmer the soup once the chicken pieces have been added. The chicken will continue to cook and become tough. This is also good to remember if re-heating the soup.

2 cups (10oz/280g) diced chicken breast

1 Tbsp vegetable oil

1⁄2 tsp salt 

1⁄2 tsp fresh ground black pepper or to taste

8 cups chicken broth or stock

2 stalks celery (4oz/114g) diced

2 carrots (4oz/114g) diced into little cubes

4 green onions, thinly sliced (60 to 80g)

2 cups (3oz/85g) egg noodles

1⁄4 cup fresh dill, cilantro or parsley, finely chopped

1. If you don't have leftover chicken, then you can prepare chicken breasts on a baking sheet. Preheat the oven to 350°F; coat the chicken with oil, season with salt and pepper. Cook in the oven for 30 to 40 minutes making sure the chicken is fully cooked (internal temperature of 160°F). Remove from the oven and allow to cool before dicing.
2. Heat the chicken stock by simmering in an uncovered pot before adding the other ingredients.
3. While the broth or stock is brought to a simmer, cut up the chicken breast, cutting the meat into medium sized cubes and set aside. Dice the celery, slice or dice the carrots, and thinly slice the green onions.
4. Add the veg and noodles to the pot. When the noodles are fully cooked (8 to 10 minutes), so should the veg. Add the chicken meat and then the herb of your choice. Allow to cook for an additional 4 minutes or until the meat is heated through. Serve piping hot.

The foundation of goodness - Chicken Stock

This is a recipe I've not spent a lot of time researching because I really liked the results the first go 'round. It's from Steven Raichlen's High-Flavor, Low-Fat Chicken - a most unromantic title for any book, but I'm willing to overlook it even if it's just for this recipe.

I've made chicken stock before, either from just boiling some roast chicken carcass or saving the excess liquid from Poule-au-Pot, but when I made this stock, I was amazed at the wonderful flavour and, yes, the wonderful aroma with which it perfumes the air. And, as Raichlen mentions in his book, it's a great way of using scraps. I was saving chicken backs in the freezer from when I cut up a chicken for pieces, just for such an occasion. I love being thrifty like this, and learned that I can be even more so. Raichlen recommends saving vegetable scraps to use in the making, also just kept in the freezer, which I will do next time - everything just gets strained away when the stock is done anyway, so vegetable heels etc will do just fine, so long as they are clean. In the recipe below, it mentions cutting sizes etc, but that's just to give an idea of the best size to extract flavour. I also discovered that it's best to remove the skin from the chicken because it produces so much fat I would just skim off afterwards.

I've also included the instructions for chicken broth at the end. I haven't tried this, but plan on it, soon.

3 1⁄2 to 4 lbs chicken backs, wings, necks, or the carcass from a large roast chicken

1 large onion, quartered with skin

1 leek (6oz/170gr) trimmed, washed, and cut into 1-inch pieces

3 carrots (6oz/170g) cut into 1-inch pieces

3 stalks celery, cut into 1-inch pieces

1 head of garlic, cut in half

Water enough to cover everything in your pot

4 large parsley sprigs or parsley stems

4 fresh thyme sprigs or 1 teaspoon dried thyme

2 bay leaves

10 peppercorns

2 allspice berries 

1. Remove the skin and any lumps of fat from the chicken pieces (unless you want lots of schmaltz floating on the surface of your stock). Rinse the chicken pieces well.
2. Place all the ingredients for the stock in a large stockpot with enough water to cover the chicken. Bring the stock to a boil and skim off any foam that rises to the surface. Lower the heat and gently simmer the stock until well flavored, 2 to 3 hours. Add cold water as necessary to keep the chicken covered. Skim the stock often, especially if you've added water because the cold water brings the fat to the top. It's also very important to only bring the stock to a boil once; any boiling after that will cause the fat to emulsify and make the stock cloudy.
3. Strain the stock into a clean container and let cool to room temperature. I've transfered them to 1-cup containers and froze most of it. Stock will keep four to five days in the refrigerator and for several months in the freezer.

Note: For an extra-clear stock, pour the stock through a strainer lined with paper towels.

Yield: Makes 10 to 12 cups

Chicken Broth Variation:

1. Chicken broth is richer and meatier than chicken stock. Use it for soups and sauces.
2. Prepare the preceding recipe, substituting a 3 1⁄2 to 4 lb chicken for the bones. Wash the chicken and remove any lumps of fat. (For a leaner broth, remove the skin, too.) Simmer the chicken for 1 hour, skimming the stock often. At this point the broth is ready. The chicken meat can be pulled off the bones and used for salads.

Yield: Makes 10 to 12 cups

Poulet au Paprika

It's always such a pleasure when I discover that a negative prejudice I have about food is wrong. I've never had anything against paprika, but it always seemed like an afterthought kind of seasoning that I often wondered what it's use was. That is, until I tried Laura's Poulet au Paprika. It creates such a smooth blend of flavours, all couched in this noticeable taste of paprika. I strongly recommend exploring different types of paprika each time you make this recipe. And I'm fairly confident that you will want to make it again and again.

The original recipe required only chicken thighs, but the cooking instructions are the same as cooking a whole chicken in pieces that I just did that, and it turned out wonderfully.

1 whole chicken cut in 6 to 8 pieces

1 pinch salt and pepper

1 Tbsp bacon drippings or oil

1 red pepper, julienned

1 onion, sliced

half of a small fennel bulb, finely chopped

1 Tbsp hot or sweet Hungarian paprika (or try with other types of paprika)

1 clove garlic, minced

1⁄2 cup white wine

1 tomato (6 to 7oz) roughly chopped

1 bay leaf

2 Tbsps crème fraîche

garnish with a wedge of lemon

1. Season the chicken with salt and pepper. Heat the fat in a sauté pan and, working in batches, brown the meat on all sides, 5 to 8 minutes per side. Remove and set aside.
2. Drain off all but a tablespoon of fat from the pan.
3. Lower the heat and add the julienned pepper, onion, fennel, and paprika. Cook until soft, but not coloured, about 12 minutes, adding the garlic for the final minute.
4. Deglaze the pan with the wine. Add the tomatoes and bay leaf. Season with salt and pepper.
5. Put the chicken back in. Cover the pan, and cook, turning the meat occasionally, until tender, about 30 minutes or until breasts register 165°F on a meat thermometre.
6. Remove the chicken to a serving platter and cover with foil to keep warm.
7. Turn up the heat under the sauce and boil down to sauce consistency. Turn off the heat, stir through the cream, check the seasonings (including the paprika, adding more if you like), then pour over the chicken, and serve with wedge of lemon. Squeeze lemon before eating if desired.

Poached Chicken Breast With Goat Cheese

This is a wonderfully easy recipe from Chavignol, France. The recipe recommends Herbes de Provence, but other herb blends work just as well. This is a recipe for 2 people, but it can easily be multiplied. Enjoy!

2 chicken breasts, skinned and boned

2 medium tomatoes

1 zucchini

16 oz. goat cheese

herbes de provence

olive oil

salt

pepper

1. Pre-heat the oven to 450F.
2. Cut the chichen breasts cross-wise so that each breast becomes 2 sheets of meat. I guess that would be cutting the meat lengthwise.
3. Wash and cut the zucchini and tomatoes and slice into thin rounds.
4. Cut two pieces of aluminum foil big enough to fold over and seal each breast. Place one half breast on each piece of foil. On top of this, layer the zucchini, tomatoes and cheese (which has been equally distributed between the two servings). Once the filling is all used, place the remaining half of chicken breast on top, sprinkle with the Herbes de Provence, drizzle with olive oil, then salt and pepper.
5. Seal the aluminum foil completely, place side-by-side in a glass baking dish and cook about 40 minutes. The chicken should be cooked through (internal temperature of 165F) and the zucchini still have a bit of crunch to it.

Potato-crusted Chicken Breast Pie

There are as many kinds of this pie as there are cheeses. You can substitute whichever kind of cheese you like for the "1 cup grated cheese"; blue or gruyere or cheddar etc.

2 potatoes, sliced 1⁄4 inch thick
4 eggs
1 cup cottage cheese
1 Tbsp flour (wheat or rice)
1⁄8 tsp black pepper
1⁄2 tsp hot sauce
1 cup grated cheese
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cooked and diced
2 green onions, chopped

1. Pre-heat oven to 375F.
2. Bring a bot of water to boil, and blanch the potatoes; about 10 minutes. Drain the potatoes and allow them to cool.
3. Whisk together the eggs, cottage cheese, flour, pepper, and hot sauce. Stir in the cheese, the chicken, and the green onions.
4. Butter a pie dish and arrange the slices in a single layer to cover the bottom and the sides of the dish.
5. Pour the egg mixture into the potato bowl.
6. Bake for 40-45 minutes. Allow it to cool at room temperature for 5-10 minutes before serving, otherwise it'll be too hot!

Lemon and Chive Pan Sauce

The sauce is from Cook's Illustrated, but for the chicken, I follow the instructions to make Sauteed Chicken Breasts.

1 shallot, minced (about 3 tablespoons)

1 tsp all-purpose flour

1 cup low-sodium chicken broth

1 Tbsp juice from 1 lemon

1 Tbsp minced fresh chives (I've also used green onion tails)

1 Tbsp (½ oz/14gr) butter

Salt and ground black pepper

1. If required, add a little oil and sautée shallot in a skillet and cook over medium heat until softened, about 2 minutes. 
2. Add the flour and cook, stirring constantly, for about 30 seconds. 
3. Add the broth, increase the heat to medium-high, and bring to a simmer, scraping the pan bottom to loosen browned bits. 
4. Simmer rapidly until the liquid is reduced to ¾ cup, 3 to 5 minutes. Stir in any accumulated chicken juices; return to a simmer and cook 30 seconds. Off heat, whisk in the lemon juice, chives, and butter; season with salt and pepper. Spoon over chicken and serve immediately.

Tart Chicken

Another delicious chicken recipe from Laura Calder. The first time I made this I forgot to strain the sauce at the end and to add to last tablespoon of butter, and it was still delicious with the tomato chunks all the same.
August 2017 - I've made a few amendments to reflect how I make this. Namely it is the description for the vinegar reduction as well as added element in reducing the sauce at the end, before incorporating the knob of butter. It makes it more syrupy and gooey. :)

1 chicken (3-1/2 pounds/1.6 kg) cut into six-to-eight pieces

Salt and pepper

1 Tbsp (14gr) butter + plus another for finishing

1 Tbsp mild vegetable oil

6 cloves garlic, peeled

1 cup white wine vinegar

1 cup chicken stock

1 bay leaf

1 sprig thyme

1 Tbsp. tomato paste

4 medium tomatoes, roughly chopped

2 good handfuls of chopped fresh parsley

1. Season the chicken pieces with salt and pepper. Melt 1 spoonful of the butter in a sauté pan with a drizzle of oil to prevent it burning, and brown the chicken (don't use non-stick or you won't get the rich fond to form). You’re not cooking the chicken here, just making the skin crisp and giving it colour and flavour. Four to five minutes per side is about right, depending on the cooking temperature, which should be medium high or more. Set aside the chicken.
2. Lower the temperature and let the pan cool a bit to avoid burning the garlic, then cook 5 minutes. Deglaze the pan with the vinegar and boil down by half, about 10 minutes (you'll know when the sound changes and you can run a wooden spoon along the bottom and it leaves a trail because the liquid has thickened). 
3. Return the chicken to the pan, and pour the stock over. Add the herbs, tomato paste, and the tomatoes. Cover and simmer until the meat is cooked, about half an hour (with a meat thermometer the white meat should read 165F and the brown 180). Remove the chicken to a dish and keep warm.
4. Strain the liquid into a saucepan, pressing to get all the juices through, then using a wooden spoon to strain as much matter from the veg as possible. Boil the liquid to reduce again until you get a nice syrup (wooden spoon trick again. Whisk in the last spoonful of butter, and pour over the chicken. Sprinkle over the parsley, and serve.