Cuban-style Chicken and Rice

Ingredients

1 lime, cut in half
4 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs
1 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more as needed
freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 small yellow onion, finely chopped (about 3/4 cup)
1 green bell pepper, seeds and ribs removed, finely chopped (1 to 1-1/2 cups)
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/3 cup pimento-stuffed manzanilla olives, sliced
1/2 cup plain tomato sauce or canned crushed tomatoes
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1 bay leaf
12 ounces light (as in pale) beer
2 cups chicken broth
1-1/4 cups uncooked long-grain white rice, rinsed
a baby pinch of saffron threads

Method

1. Squeeze the juice of both lime halves all over the chicken thighs, then season both sides of the thighs generously with salt and pepper. Let them sit for a couple minutes while you prep the rest of your ingredients.
2. Drizzle the oil into a Dutch oven or another large, heavy-bottomed, ovenproof saucepan and heat over medium heat. Brown the chicken, skin sides down, for 8 to 10 minutes until golden and crisped, and then again for 8 minutes on the meat sides. Transfer them to a plate.
3. Pour off all but 2 tablespoons of rendered chicken fat into a heatproof container (for saving or discarding once the fat has cooled) and then dump the onion, bell pepper and garlic into the remaining rendered fat in the pot. Cook until the veggies have softened and the onion is slightly translucent, about 5 minutes.
4. Add the olives, tomato sauce or crushed tomatoes, cumin and the bay leaf. Cook, stirring every now and then, for 3 minutes.
5. Pour the beer into the pot. Add the broth, rice, saffron threads and the teaspoon of kosher salt, and stir. Increase the heat to medium-high; bring everything to a boil, then reduce to low.
6. Barely tuck in those crisped chicken thighs, skin sides up, partially cover the pot and cook low and slow until the rice has absorbed nearly all the liquid, 30 minutes.
7. Toss out the bay leaf and let everything rest for 5 minutes. Fluff the rice with a fork before serving.

Makes 4 servings.

Source: Washington Post

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Slow-cooked Chicken with Brown Bread Sauce

Ingredients

2 whole chickens, about 4 1b each
sea salt and black pepper
2-1/4 1b butter (or 4 cups/1 liter olive oil)
small bunch of thyme
1 garlic bulb, halved horizontally

Baby Vegetables

8 baby turnips
8 baby leeks
8 baby carrots
splash of chicken stock
2 tbsp butter, diced

Brown Bread Sauce

4 tsp olive oil
2 shallots, peeled and minced
generous 1/3 cup dry white wine
2 cups chicken stock
1 slice of brown bread, crusts removed and torn
1/3 cup whipping cream
2 smoked mussels

Method

1. Remove the legs and wings from the chickens, leaving you with the chicken crowns. Save the wings for the sauce and use the legs for another dish (such as coq au vin).
2. Rub the chicken crowns all over with salt and pepper.
3. Melt the butter in a large heavy pan and add the thyme and garlic. Lower the heat to just below simmering. The butter should barely move.
4. Add the chicken crowns and lay a piece of crumpled waxed paper on the surface of the butter. Poach gently for about 30 to 40 minutes until the chickens are firm and just cooked through.
5. Remove and let cool slightly, then take off the skins and reserve for the crispy chicken skins.
6. Carve out the chicken breasts and return them to the warm butter to keep them moist.
7. To make the sauce, heat the olive oil in a large pan. Add the chicken wings and pan-fry for 3 to 4 minutes until golden brown all over. Remove and set aside.
8. Add the shallots to the pan and pan-fry, stirring, for 4 to 6 minutes until soft and golden brown. Deglaze the pan with the white wine and let it bubble until reduced by half.
9. Pour in the chicken stock and return the chicken wings to the pan. Bring to a simmer and cook for 35 to 40 minutes until the liquor has reduced by two-thirds.
10. Meanwhile, blanch the baby vegetables in boiling salted water for 3 to 4 minutes each until just tender when pierced with a skewer. Refresh in a bowl of iced water, then drain.
11. To finish the sauce, whiz the bread in a blender or food processor to fine crumbs.
12. Strain the sauce through a fine strainer into the blender and add the cream and smoked mussels. Season well with salt and pepper and blitz for a few minutes.
13. When ready to serve, remove the chickens from the warm butter. Heat the baby vegetables through in a pan with the stock and butter. Gently reheat the brown bread sauce and froth it up using a hand-held stick blender.
14. Place a chicken breast on each warm serving plate with a little tarragon emulsion. Halve the baby vegetables and divide between the plates. Garnish with watercress sprigs and crispy chicken skins, then pour over the brown bread sauce and serve.

Makes 4 servings.

Source: Gordon Ramsay’s maze

Taragon Chicken with Apricot Sauce

Ingredients

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, about 1/4 pound each
4 tablespoons Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon olive oil or canola oil
1/2 cup sliced dried apricots
6 sprigs fresh tarragon
juice of 2 oranges
4 tablespoons pine nuts

Method

1. Preheat the broiler to high.
2. Spread 2 tablespoons of the mustard on one side of the chicken breasts. Turn and spread with the remaining 2 tablespoons of mustard.
3. Place the chicken, skin side down, in a flameproof baking dish and drizzle with oil. Broil on one side for 10 minutes.
4. Turn the chicken over and broil for another 5 minutes.
5. Sprinkle with the apricots and tarragon. Pour the orange juice over all and broil for another 5 minutes, or until the chicken is browned and cooked through.
6. Sprinkle the pine nuts over the chicken and broil for 30 seconds to warm through.
7. Serve the chicken with the apricots and pine nuts and spoon the pan juices on top of each portion.

Cook’s Tip:

Salt and pepper are not used in this recipe because the mustard sufficiently seasons the chicken. Apricots and orange juice bring a sweet-tangy balance that would be compromised by adding salt.

Makes 4 servings.

Source: Super Foods Cookbook

French Toast Sandwiches

Ingredients

2 eggs
2 tbsp 1% milk
4 slices whole-grain bread
2 slices Swiss cheese
2 slices of leftover thinly sliced chicken or turkey
2 tbsp butter
1 tsp whole-grain mustard

Method

1. Crack eggs into a pie plate. Add milk and beat together with a fork.
2. Make 2 sandwiches using 1 slice of meat and 1 slice of cheese in each and add mustard.
3. Dip both sides of each sandwich in egg mixture.
4. In a large fry pan, melt butter over medium heat, rotating pan to ensure bottom is covered with butter.
5. Add sandwiches to fry pan, cover with a lid and cook 3 – 4 minutes.
6. Flip sandwiches over and cook another 3 – 4 minutes or until both sides are brown.
7. Remove and serve hot.

Makes 2 servings.

Source: Manitoba Egg Farmers

Chinese-style Lemon Chicken of Chef Lee Lum

Ingredients

4 boneless and skinless chicken breasts
3 egg whites, beaten until frothy
1 cup water-chestnut flour or powder (available at Chinese grocery stores)
peanut or vegetable oil for frying
3 small carrots, cut in julienne strips
1/2 large green bell pepper, cut in julienne strips
3 scallions, trimmed, cut in julienne strips
3 rings canned pineapple, drained and shredded
1 oz lemon extract
rice or head iceberg lettuce, finely shredded to serve

Marinade

2 tablespoons light soy sauce
1/4 teaspoon sesame oil
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon gin or vodka

Sauce

3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup white vinegar
1 cup chicken broth
1 tablespoon cornstarch mixed with 2 tablespoons water
grated zest and juice from 1 large lemon

Method

1. Place chicken in a shallow dish. Combine marinade ingredients and pour over chicken. Toss to coat, and let sit for 30 minutes.
2. Drain chicken and discard marinade. Add chicken pieces to beaten egg whites, and toss to coat. Pour water-chestnut flour on a plate and dredge chicken in flour.
3. Preheat oven to 200ºF.
4. Pour peanut oil in skillet one-half inch in depth, and heat to 350ºF. Add chicken in batches. Brown one side, turn and brown other. Drain.
5. To make the sauce, combine sauce ingredients in pan. Bring to a boil. Stir until thickened.
6. Cut chicken into one-inch crosswise slices, and place on top of rice or lettuce on a serving platter. If necessary, keep it warm in oven.
7. Add vegetables and fruit to sauce. Remove from heat and stir in lemon extract. Pour over chicken and serve.

Source: The New York Times