Monday, November 8, 2004

Recipe of the week -- What I feel like eating: Chicken Braised with Tomatoes and Olives I made this for dinner last night with our great friend Jerry, who was visiting from New York and plays a big role in our collective lives, not least because he married us (and became a Universal Life Church minister online to do so, God bless California.) I was craving healthy, spicy, clean tasting comfort food (I'm pregnant, after all) so I made this and served it with whole wheat couscous cooked in chicken broth, and a salad of plain arugula, shaved parmesan, sea salt and cracked pepper, dressed only with really good olive oil. The H, pleasantly lubed with 2 double bourbons to deal with the stress of real estate transactions, said, quizzically, as he dug in "What is this?". He seemed suspicious. I said "It's what I feel like eating"--which, in his compromised state, shut him up. Needless to say, we all devoured it. 3 bell peppers--one yellow, one red, one orange 1 chicken, cut into 8 parts 1 c. flour 1 t kosher salt 1 t freshly ground pepper 2 T olive oil 2 medium onions, finely chopped 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped 2 medium zucchini, halved lengthwise and then sliced into half moon-shaped pieces 3/16 inch thick 1 t dried thyme 2 cans diced tomatoes (the big cans--28 oz. each?) 1/2 c red wine vinegar 1/2 cup (one package) dried porcini mushrooms, soaked for half an hour in hot water and drained 1 c kalamata olives, pitted, drained, rinsed (I buy them pre-pitted--I can't deal with smashing all the damn pits out) 1/4 t cayenne Preheat the broiler and place the peppers on the oven rack directly underneath. Roast the peppers until they're blackened on all sides--it will take about 3 minutes per side, depending on the heat. Keep an eye on them. When they're done, put them in a brown paper bag and set aside. Rinse and dry the chicken pieces. Heat the olive oil in a large dutch oven. Meanwhile, combine the flour, salt and pepper and dredge each piece of chicken quickly in the mixture, thoroughly coating, but shaking off the excess. When the oil's hot enough to make a bit of flour dropped into it sizzle, start putting in the chicken: first the thighs, then the legs, then the breasts, then the wings. Do it in batches if you can't fit them all in the pan (I couldn't.) Brown each piece for about five minutes on each side--they should be nice and golden, but not dark. Remove them to a plate as they finish and set aside. The peppers should be cool enough to handle now; pull the skin off (it should be easy) and seed and slice them into 1/4 inch wide strips. Drain off all but a tablespoon of the fat in the pan and add the onions. Saute over medium heat for about five minutes until they're softened and even golden, but not crispy. Add the garlic, zucchini, and thyme, and cook for a couple of minutes. Then add the tomatoes and the red wine vinegar. Allow to reduce for a couple of minutes (it should be at a good simmer) and then add the mushrooms, olives, roasted peppers and cayenne. Cook for a couple more minutes, and then submerge the chicken pieces in the vegetables. Reduce the heat if necessary to just keep it at a simmer. Cover the pan, and cook for 25-30 minutes, turning the chicken pieces occasionally (a little more won't ruin it.) If the sauce seems too thin at the end of that time, take off the lid and turn the heat up for a few minutes to reduce it a bit more. Serve over the hot couscous; I like to pull the skin off the chicken before serving it, but that's a matter of personal taste. My son even ate the leftovers of this, with some of the sauce and chicken (pulled off the bone so as not to offend delicate toddler sensibilities) served on pasta with a little goat cheese (his favorite, what can I say, he's my kid) sprinkled on top. I even snuck in some zucchini bites, undetected, a great personal victory against the unbending will of Mr. NO VEGETABLES. In the interest of full disclosure, this was inspired by a couple of recipes, one from Mark Bittman's fabulous How to Cook Everything and another from a Debra Madison book, the name of which escapes me. But I take credit for this end product. 9:41:56 PM     comment [] trackback []