Chicken Salpicón

There are many recipes for Salpicón, however, we really liked how it was prepared at El Renaciente Restaurante in Buenos Aires, which is a local dive that is braved by those who don’t need to use “the facilities.” (Read: no toilet seats and no toilet paper provided in the women’s room. The Salpicón was $38 pesos.

Following is a list of the ingredients that we could discern. Eventually, I’ll try to reproduce it and post a follow up.

Roasted chicken, skin removed and chicken pulled apart and cut into small pieces
Boiled potatoes, quartered and quartered again
Boiled eggs, cut in half
Red peppers, cooked al dente and cut into pieces
Olives, cut in half
Sweet onion, chopped
Parsley
Mayonnaise
Salt

Chopped Kale Salad

After a whirlwind trip to the east coast to photograph colleges for University Icons (21 days, 4,000 miles and over 80 schools), we stopped for a two day visit with our friends Anne and Tobey in the upper reaches of West Virginia. Their magnificent house, situated on numerous wooded acres on the Potomac River, just outside of Shepherdstown, WV, was a perfect respite after 3 weeks of road travel. Anne served a chopped kale salad, which was accompanied chicken thighs and chicken sausage that Tobey masterfully grilled. Carolyn had previously made a kale salad, but it was made with large leaves that were a struggle to chew. Anne used curly kale leave that she chopped into fine pieces. That made a big difference and we loved it. Last night we reproduced it, but with baby kale (also finely chopped). The quantities are merely a guide. This recipe does not require exactitude and is based on 2 servings. The best part is that it’s easy and quick to prepare. We believe it’s gluten free too.

2 large handfuls of baby kale, chopped
1/8 cup pine nuts, toasted (I like them well toasted!)
3/4 cup Shredded (Kirkland brand) Parmigiano Reggiano cheese
juice of 1/2 lemon
1/4 cup olive oil
salt
black pepper (freshly ground)

Combine the kale, nuts and cheese in a large bowl. Combine the lemon juice, oil and spices in a jar. Add the lid, shake vigorously and pour over the salad. Toss to mix everything together.

Serve with grilled Italian chicken sausage (Whole Foods) and/or grilled boneless/skinned chicken thighs that have been seasoned with Italian spices and salt.

Roasted Chicken with 50 to 100 Cloves of Garlic

Serves 4

This recipe, I have read, comes from Provençal, however, like all old recipes, has many variations.  This chicken is roasted.  The garlic turns  mild and creamy after the long roasting. It may sound overpowering but the garlic cloves mellow and sweeten in the oven.

Note:  Option, if you don’t want to peel the garlic.  Separate cloves from garlic bulb, leaving peel intact. When you serve them, the creamy flesh will readily squeeze out from the skins.

Feel free to use as many cloves as you want because any leftover roasted garlic cloves can be peeled and used to make a simple garlic mayonnaise known as aïoli.

Note:  After the chicken is removed, you will have some remaining liquid.  Add enough cloves of garlic over cover the bottom of the roasting dish, add a bit more water (~1/3 cup), sprinkle with ~1 or 2 tablespoons of olive oil, and roast for 1 hour at 325F.  Use as a spread on toast or mix into mashed potatoes.

50 to 100 cloves of garlic, peeled
1 tablespoon butter, room temperature
3.5 lb whole chicken
1 tsp salt
1 tsp cracked black pepper
1 cup white wine or water

Preheat the oven to 400F.  Peel the garlic.  Rub butter over outside of chicken and inside cavity; salt and pepper the skin and inside cavity.
Tie legs together with kitchen string.  Place the garlic cloves, in single layer, in medium baking dish and place chicken on the garlic.

Pour the water carefully into dish; roast, uncovered, brushing occasionally with pan juices, about 1 hour 30 minutes or until browned and cooked through. Stand chicken on platter, covered with foil, 15 minutes before serving.

Serving suggestions:  Oven Roasted Potatoes. 

Sliced chicken breast with pieces of garlic.

Garlic, roasted in the pan juices.

Moroccan-Style Chicken Tights

Serves four

Let me admit right away that this recipe is not Moroccan at all. It’s not based on a Moroccan recipe, but rather, it’s an invention rooted in how I imagine a Moroccan cook might prepare chicken. I haven’t actually ever had chicken prepared by a Moroccan, but it doesn’t really mater . . . this is one tasty chicken dish.

You probably noticed that the name of this dish refers to “tights.” I refer to the chicken thighs as “tights” as an homage to my immigrant Polish mother who, notwithstanding her quite good English, and to everyone’s amusement, always pronounced “thighs” as “tights.”  I love the mistakes that people make when trying to speak a non-native language. It leads to a great deal of hilarity, confusion and discussion; all highly desirable outcomes. Otherwise, you would simply get your question answered or point across and that would be that.  Boring, eh? Case in point: When Carolyn and I made our second trip to Buenos Aires, we came prepared having learned a few Spanish words and phrases. Among these was the phrase “mas despacio,” which means “more slowly.” We had had plenty of experience hearing fast-spoken Spanish, which we found impossible to understand and planned to say mas despacio, por favor often, to slow people down. Instead, we wandered around Buenos Aires politely insisting “mas espacio, por favor,” which means “please, more space.” Of course, this lead to all sorts of confusion. But, it did slow people down because they recognized that we really had little grasp of their language.

A technical note:

I am not a fan of chicken fat and trim as much from the chicken as possible. The first and second photos (below) show the before and after trimming. I prefer that the little pile of fat ends up in the trash rather than in our veins.

Another technical note:  Turn on the exhaust fan.  If you have a recirculating kitchen fan, open a window.  This recipe is aromatic and can generate a bit of smoke.

The final technical note:  I’m not sure what sort of wine to suggest with this meal.  Perhaps a harder liquor is in order.  Although alcohol is not permitted in Muslim households, I know they have alcohol in Casablanca, since I saw the movie at least a couple of times.

The recipe . . .

8 boneless/skinless chicken thighs
salt
garlic powder
black pepper
cinnamon
cardamom
paprika
cumin
ground red pepper (cayenne)
sugar
3 tablespoons olive oil

What?  No quantities?  No, just sprinkle the chicken evenly with spices. Be generous. The quantity of each spice is about the same, except be sparing with the cayenne pepper. Arrange the chicken, spiced side facing the pan. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet to medium heat and sprinkle more spices over the bare side chicken. Sauté until the chicken is browned (nearly blackened in appearance; five or six minutes), reduce heat to medium and turn chicken. Cook another five or six minutes.

Serve with couscous and a side of steamed and lightly buttered carrots OR slices of zucchini. This is how I imagine I would make chicken tights if I was Moroccan.

Leftovers: This dish is ideal for leftovers. Simply place into a skillet with the couscous, add a couple tablespoons of water, cover and heat on low heat until warm. Remove cover, turn up the heat to medium and cook until the liquid has evaporated.

Couscous

I like to use the large “pearl” couscous. Lightly brown couscous in 3 tablespoons of olive oil in a skillet. Add one diced onion and water (or chicken broth)(quantity per instructions on package), one (Knorr’s) vegetable bullion, ¼ teaspoon (or more) of garlic powder, salt, 1-1/2 tablespoons butter, and one finely diced carrot. Cover and cook over low heat until couscous is tender. Remove cover, increase heat to medium and sauté over moderately high heat until slightly browned, stirring often.

Zucchini

Slice ¼” thick on an angle. Push aside chicken once it is near the end of the cooking time and arrange zucchini slices in skillet. Cook for 4 minutes per side.

Chicken, ready to be cleaned of fat

Chicken, cleaned of fat.  Note the 2 tablespoons of fat removed (circled)

Chicken & Sausage Stew

 

 
This is a hearty entrée with a complex flavors and chicken that falls off the bone. I like to use a cast iron skillet to brown the chicken and sausage because it does a better job browning than a standard skillet. But it's not essential. Any skillet will do. Don't over-cook the sausages while browning because they will cook further in the pot. You want them to remain juicy. It's certainly possible to make this dish without the sausage, which contributes a lot of unnecessary fat, but it admittedly tasty fat.

Rather than a cut-up whole chicken I often buy a package of 2 chicken breasts, with bone, skinned; a package of boneless, skinless chicken thighs; and a package of chicken legs. Although more expensive to buy skinless pieces, it saves time. With this much chicken I increase the amount of other ingredients proportionately. The amounts are forgiving. Serves 6-8; great for left-overs.

6 medium red potatoes, halved (3 or 4 quartered potatoes, if using large)
1 cut-up chicken, skinned (or 6-7 legs and 6-7 boneless/skinless thighs)
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 green peppers, quartered and quartered again
3 red peppers, quartered and quartered again
1 or 2 lb. mushrooms, sliced (more is better)
6 links Italian sausage
1 large (red) onion, quartered and quartered again
½ bulb crushed garlic (or 2 tablespoons minced garlic)
2 vegetable bullion (Knorr’s)

Coating for chicken (mix well before coating):

1/3 cup all purpose flour
1 tablespoon oregano
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon thyme
1 tablespoon dried, ground rosemary (or 1-1/2 T. fresh, ground)
3/4 teaspoon rubbed sage

Seasonings:

2 tablespoon oregano
2 vegetable bullion
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon thyme
1/2 tablespoon dried, ground rosemary (or 1 T. fresh, ground)
2 teaspoon fennel
1/2 teaspoon salt

Using a paper towel, remove skin from the chicken pieces. Cut and pull off as much of the fat as possible. Using a large, sharp knife, cut each breast in half (cross-wise).

Coat chicken pieces and brown on all sides in the olive oil in a 12” skillet over medium-high heat. Remove to a plate. Add the sausages and brown. Remove and set aside with the chicken.

Add the onions and a couple tablespoons of water. Brown for 6-7 minutes.

Place 1 tablespoon olive oil in the bottom of a deep pot. Add to the pot, in the following order: the potatoes, mushrooms, any remaining coating, vegetable bullion, the garlic, chicken, sausage, seasonings, one half cup of water. Cook for 30 minutes on low heat, covered. Add the peppers and cook an additional 20-25 minutes, covered.

Serve with bread and red wine.