Braised Chicken with Spiced Polenta

Cooking skills focus: Braising, sautéing, simmering, balancing flavors

Ingredients:

1 gal MINUS 1 C water

   (Note: For creamy polenta it’s a 5:1 water to polenta ratio; for firm polenta it’s 4:1. There are 16 C in 1 gal.)

Light salt for the water

   (Note: taste the water; it should be slightly salty.)

1 T cooking oil

9-10 chicken thighs (or 5 whole legs), scored with a knife

1 onion, julienned

½ head garlic, cloves peeled & sliced thickly

3 C polenta

4 T unsalted butter

2-3 T (spice blend) (whatever you want to experiment with!)

1 T cooking oil

1 bu broccoli rabe, sliced ½” thick

½ head garlic, cloves peeled and sliced thickly

3 lemons, juiced

1 bu green onion, sliced thinly

Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions:

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

2. Start heating the salted water to a boil in a large pot.

3. Heat a large sauté pan over high heat. Add the first 1T oil, then add the chicken, in batches if necessary to avoid crowding the pan. Brown them well and set them aside in a deep dish to braise.

4. Heat the sauté pan again over medium-high heat, then add the onions and the first part of the garlic. Cook for 5 minutes then add to the chicken. Cover the braising dish and cook in the oven for 45 minutes.

5. Meanwhile, when the water is boiling, add the polenta and begin to stir immediately. Reduce the heat to medium and continue to cook and stir until the polenta is done (taste it). Then melt the butter in it and add the 2-3 T spices.

6. Heat a new large sauté pan over high heat and add the last 1 T oil. Add the last of the garlic and the broccoli rabe, reduce the heat to medium-high and sauté for 5 minutes. Set aside.

7. When the chicken is done and cool enough, pull the meat off the bones and mix it with the onions and garlic it braised with.

Indian Spice Chicken Sandwiches

Cooking skills focus: Braising, balancing flavors

Ingredients:
2 T cooking oil
1 yellow onion, quartered and sliced 1/4" thick
1 head garlic, peeled & sliced

1 t cooking oil
5 whole chicken legs (or 10 each drumsticks/thighs), meat scored with a knife so heat can penetrate and cook it faster

2 T Sambar Masala spice blend (also from World Spice Merchants)
salt & pepper to taste

1 head green cabbage, cut bite-sized

1 T cooking oil

Salt and pepper TT

Instructions:
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. In a large sauté pan, heat the first 1 T cooking oil over high heat, then add the onion and garlic and     sauté 4-5 minutes. Remove to a baking dish.

3. Heat the pan again over high heat, then add the next 1 t cooking oil. Brown the chicken in the hot pan until well browned and remove to the baking dish. Combine with the onion and garlic, season with salt, pepper and the Sambar Masala, and braise in the oven for 40 minutes.

4. Heat the pan again over medium-high heat. Add the last 1 T cooking oil, then add the cabbage and sauté for 6-7 minutes or until lightly browned.

5. When the chicken's done, let it cool for a little bit so you don't kill yourself doing the following:
6. Pull the meat off the bones (the bones can still be used for stock), toss with the cabbage, and use the mixture to fill sandwiches or wraps.

Indian Spice Chicken Sandwiches

Cooking skills focus: Braising, balancing flavors

Ingredients:
1 T cooking oil
1 yellow onion, quartered and sliced 1/4" thick
1 head garlic, peeled & sliced

1 t cooking oil
5 whole chicken legs (or 10 each drumsticks/thighs), meat scored with a knife so heat can penetrate and cook it faster

1 T cooking oil
2 medium bags braising greens mix
2 # tomatoes, cored & diced large

2 T Sambar Masala spice blend (also from World Spice Merchants)
salt & pepper to taste

Instructions:
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. In a large saute pan, heat the first 1 T cooking oil over high heat, then add the onion and garlic and saute 4-5 minutes. Remove to a baking dish.

3. Heat the pan again over high heat, then add the next 1 t cooking oil. Brown the chicken in the hot pan until well browned and remove to the baking dish.

4. Heat the pan again over medium-high heat. Add the last 1 T cooking oil, then add the braising greens for 6-7 minutes or until well-wilted.

5. Combine the onions, chicken and greens with the tomatoes, and season everything with salt, pepper and the Sambar Masala. Cover the dish and start to braise for an hour.
4. When the chicken's done, let it cool for a little bit so you don't kill yourself doing the following:
6. Pull the meat off the bones (the bones can still be used for stock), toss with the potatoes and kale, and use the mixture to fill sandwiches or wraps.

Braised Chicken, Kale and Potato Sandwiches

Cooking skills focus: Braising, balancing flavors

Ingredients:
1/2 t oil
1 yellow onion, quartered and sliced 1/4" thick
1/2 head garlic, peeled & sliced
4 whole chicken legs (or 8 each drumsticks/thighs), meat scored with a knife so heat can penetrate and cook it faster
2 Yukon gold potatoes, cut into small dice (1/4” on a side)
1 bu lacinato kale (also called "dinosaur" kale because of its cool bumpy texture), cut into ½: slices

½ C water
salt & pepper to taste

Instructions:
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. In a large saute pan, heat the oil over medium-high heat, then add the onion and garlic and saute 5-6 minutes. Remove to a baking dish and heat the pan again, over high heat.
3. Brown the chicken in the hot pan until well browned and remove to the baking dish. Add the onions, potatoes and kale, and season everything with salt and pepper. Cover the dish and start to braise for an hour to an hour and 15 minutes.
4. When the chicken's done, let it cool for a little bit so you don't kill yourself doing the following:
6. Pull the meat off the bones (the bones can still be used for stock), toss with the potatoes and kale, and use the mixture to fill sandwiches or wraps.

Togarashi Braised Chicken Sandwich

Ingredients:
1 T cooking oil
6 chicken thighs or drumsticks

1/2 red onion, julienned
1/2 head garlic, cloves peeled and thickly sliced
1 bunch rainbow card, ribs and stems removed and leaves cut bite-sized

1/2 grapefruit, juiced
2 t togarashi shichimi powder (Japanese 7-spice), or to taste
1 t soy sauce, or to taste

Instructions:
1. Preheat oven to 375.
2. Heat a large saute pan over high heat. Add the oil when the pan is hot, then add the chicken and brown well. Remove to a small baking dish.
3. Heat the same pan again over medium-high heat, then add the onions. Cook for 3-4 minutes, then add the garlic and chard. Cook for 7 minutes more, then mix in with the chicken.
4. Cover the baking dish and braise the chicken and veggies for one hour. Pull the meat off the bones when they're cool enough to handle, then add the remaining ingredients and taste for seasoning. Make some sandwiches with this filling and some shredded carrots. Delicious!

Tomato & Fennel Braised Chicken Sandwich

Eat them before they eat our babies!!!


Cooking skills focus: Sauteeing, braising, balancing flavors

Ingredients:
2 T cooking oil
8 chicken thighs, scored
salt and pepper TT

1 # roma tomatoes, cored & diced large (3/4" on a side)
1 bulb fennel, cored, outside peeled and sliced thinly

2 T cooking oil
1 onion, diced medium (1/2" on a side)
1/2 head garlic, cloves peeled and sliced
salt and pepper TT
1 T Berbere spice blend, ground

2 carrots, sliced thinly into coins
1/2 bu parsley, chopped finely

Instructions:
1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
2. Heat a large saute pan over high heat. Add the chicken thighs in batches and brown well. Remove to a baking dish and set aside. Keep the saute pan out.
3. Heat the saute pan over medium-high heat. Add the tomatoes and fennel and saute for 5 minutes. Add to the baking dish with the chicken.
4. Heat the saute pan over high heat and add the next 2 T cooking oil. Add the onion and saute 3 minutes, then add the garlic and saute 5 minutes more. Add to the baking dish and mix everything together with the Berbere spice blend.
5. Braise covered for 45 minutes. Carefully pull out all the chicken bones and cartilage when done.
6. Stir in the carrots and parsley, and stuff into bread for sandwiches.

Harissa-Spiked Chicken & Corn Stew with Pineapple

From the September Pike Market Community Kitchen at the Pike Market Senior Center.

Cooking skills focus: Preparing meat for cooking, braising/stewing, balancing flavors

Ingredients:
1 qt chicken stock (homemade is strongly preferred, but sometimes you have to make do)
1 large can crushed tomatoes

1 T cooking oil
8 chicken thighs, meat cut off the bone & diced about 1/2" on a side
salt & pepper TT
1 yellow onion, diced 1/2" on a side
1/2 head garlic, cloves peeled & sliced thinly

6-7 ears corn, kernels cut off the cob
4 Yukon gold potatoes, diced 1/2" on a side
4 T harissa spice blend
salt & pepper TT (about 2-3 T salt and 1 T pepper)
water if needed (see below)

1/2 pineapple, diced about 1/2" on a side

Instructions:
1. In a large pot, heat the stock and tomatoes together to a simmer, over medium-low.
2. Heat a large saute pan over high heat. When you can see some wavy smoke lines coming from the pan, add the 1 T oil. Allow the oil to heat up for a few seconds, coating the pan, then add the chicken, season with some salt & pepper and brown well, for about 3-4 minutes on high. Be careful, especially when moving the chicken around in the pan!
3. Reduce the heat to medium-high and stir in the onion and garlic. Saute for 2-3 minutes and then add to the simmering stock & tomatoes.
4. Add the corn, potatoes and seasoning. Add a little more water if needed but keep the consistency stew-like. Cover and simmer over low heat for 45 minues to an hour, until the potatoes are done and the chicken is tender. Taste and adjust the seasoning if needed.
5. Serve with the pineapple as a garnish in the middle of each bowl.

This recipe embodies the power of balancing flavors. You have sweet and savory playing together in a multitude of ways, given the chicken, onion and garlic as savory, the corn and tomato as sweet and savory combined, the harissa spice blend as sweet and savory also but in the form of spices, and the pineapple as sweet but also tangy, and that pineapple tangyness reaching back to the tomato's delicious acidity and connecting there. It's a complex web of flavors that's pretty easy to create.

Chicken + Greens Supper

*Written for Clean Greens Farm & Market*
serves 3 as a main course or more as a small plate

Ingredients:
1/2 t cooking oil
salt & black pepper TT
6 chicken drumsticks (free-range and grain-fed whenever possible!), scored deeply with a knife for faster braising

salt & black pepper TT
1 bunch kale, chopped bite-sized
6 red potatoes, diced bite-sized
2 T olive oil
3 slicing tomatoes, cut in half & sliced 1/2" thick
½ head garlic, peeled & sliced 1/4" thick

Instructions:
1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. Season the drumsticks with salt and pepper. Heat a large saute pan over high heat. Once it's hot, add the 1/2 t oil. Add the drumsticks and brown on all sides for about 6-8 minutes. Set them aside in dish and reduce heat to medium-high. Add the kale (in batches if necessary), season with a little salt & pepper, and cook for about 5 minutes or until wilted. Set aside.
3. In a large bowl, toss the potatoes with the olive oil, salt and pepper. Layer a baking dish from bottom in order as follows: potato, kale, chicken, tomato (embed among chicken), and garlic. Sprinkle with a bit more salt and pepper. Cover and bake until chicken falls away from the bone, approximately 2 hours.

Caution: Chicken is terribly delicious. This chicken is especially terribly delicious.

Curried Chicken and Summer Vegetables

Maria and Dan did everything. Thanks Maria and Dan!

Ingredients:

1/2 t cooking oil
6 chicken drumsticks
salt & pepper TT

1 T cooking oil
1 onion, medium diced (about 1/2" on a side)
1/2 head garlic, peeled & sliced thickly
1" ginger root, peeled & sliced thinly
3 serrano chiles, sliced [taste these and make sure you want all of them, with all their spicy seeds & membranes, in your mouth. I mean, I would. But you may not and I am not judging you. *cough* *yes I am*]
3 T curry powder (freshly ground is better)
1 13-14oz can of coconut milk
1 T soy sauce
1 lime, juiced

4 medium red potatoes, medium diced
2 summer squash (any), medium diced
1 bu green onions, sliced thinly

Instructions:

1. Heat a large sauté pan over high heat. Add the 1/2 t cooking oil, allow to heat up and swirl the pan to coat it. Add the chicken drumsticks and allow to brown well. transfer to a baking dish, cover and braise for one hour. Pull the meat from the bones when done and set aside.
2. Meanwhile, heat the large sauté pan again over high heat. Add the 1 T cooking oil, allow to heat up, then add the onion, garlic, ginger and chiles. Reduce heat to medium-high and sauté for 5 minutes. Turn off the heat and mix in the curry powder. Transfer to a blender.
3. Add the coconut milk, soy sauce and lime juice, and blend until liquefied. Strain into a large saucepan.
4. Add 1/2 C water to the saucepan and add the potatoes. Taste the sauce to make sure it's salted enough because the potatoes will actually suck a bit of salt from the sauce. Add more soy sauce if necessary. Cook the potatoes over medium heat in the sauce for 10 minutes.
5. Add the chicken, squash and green onions and cook 5 minutes more. Taste everything to make sure it's done and well seasoned. Serve as-is or over rice.

Chimichurri Braised Chicken & Black Bean Salad

(Chimichurri is originally from Argentina & Uruguay, but is now used widely)
from the last Pike Market Community Kitchen

Ingredients:
1/2 t cooking oil
4 whole chicken legs, scored
salt and pepper TT
1 red onion, diced
1/2 head garlic, peeled & sliced
2 t Chimichurri
2 cans black beans, rinsed well and drained
2 bell peppers, diced
1/2 C cashews
1 lemon, juiced
1 t Chimichurri spice blend (ours was from World Spice)
1/2 bu parsley, chopped

Instructions:
1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
2. In a large saute pan, heat the oil over hgh heat. Add the legs (be careful! they like to spit hot grease at you!), season with salt & pepper and brown well. Remove to a baking dish.
3. In the same pan, saute the onion and garlic for about 5 minutes, then add to the chicken. Add the 2 t Chimichurri and mix. Cover the dish and braise for about 45 minutes.
4. Pull the chicken off the bones and combine with all remaining ingredients. Season to taste.

Stuffed Rice w/ Red Quinoa Caps

Two of my roommates went down to Oregon and ate at a Thai restaurant called Sweet Basil, in Eugene. They told me about how beautifully the rice was presented there: a layer of red rice topping white rice in the shape of a star. I thought that was so cool that I wanted to riff on it, so I expanded the idea into an entree. Unfortunately, I couldn't find red rice but I used red quinoa for a similar visual effect and a delicious nutty taste.

Ingredients:
1 t cooking oil
5 chicken drumsticks, scored*
1 onion, diced small
5 cloves garlic, minced
1 pt cherry tomatoes
salt & pepper TT

2 C white or brown rice (we used brown jasmine rice)
1 C red quinoa (or regular quinoa if you can't find red)

Instructions:
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. Heat a large saute pan over high heat and add the oil. Add the chicken and brown it well.
3. Remove the chicken to a baking dish. Drop the heat to medium-high and add the onion.
4. Saute the onion for 3-4 minutes, then add the tomatoes and garlic. Season with salt & pepper, then add to the chicken. Cover and braise for 45 minutes.
5. Meanwhile, cook the rice & quinoa according to the package directions.
6. When the chicken is done, pull the meat off the bone and mix it with the braised onions, tomatoes & garlic. Season this filling to taste.
7. Line a medium-sized bowl with plastic wrap. Put in a layer of the quinoa, pat it down and make a depression in the middle where you can stack the filling. Put about a half cup of filling in, then cover with the rice. Pack that down neatly. Put a plate upside down on top of the bowl, get a good hold of everything, and quickly invert the whole thing, unmolding your stuffed rice onto the plate. Repeat. Fun, right?

*I've found that if you're going to braise something and you want the process to go faster, you can just cut into the item with a knife before browning it so that the second-stage, low-and-slow moist heat penetrates more quickly.

Braised Chicken & Kale Sandwich (or, the Sloppy Chickwich)

Hahaha sloppy chickwich. This is another example of how easy, cheap and versatile braised chicken legs are.

Ingredients:
1/2 t oil
1 red onion, quartered and sliced 1/4" thick
1/2 head garlic, peeled & sliced
4 whole chicken legs (or 8 each drumsticks/thighs), meat scored with a knife so heat can penetrate and cook it faster
1 8 oz can tomato sauce
1 bu lacinato kale (also called "dinosaur" kale because of its cool bumpy texture)
salt & pepper to taste

Instructions:
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. In a large saute pan, heat the oil over medium-high heat, then add the onion and garlic and saute 5-6 minutes. Remove to a baking dish and heat the pan again, over high heat.
3. Brown the chicken in the hot pan until well browned and remove to the baking dish. Add the tomato sauce and season everything with salt and pepper. Cover the dish and start to braise for an hour to 90 minutes.
4. Meanwhile, heat the saute pan again over medium heat. There should be plenty of rendered chicken fat in the pan in which to cook the kale. So saute it in the delicious fat for 5 minutes, and season with salt and pepper. Set aside to wait for the chicken.
5. When the chicken's done, let it cool for a little bit so you don't kill yourself doing the following:
6. Pull the meat off the bones (the bones can still be used for stock), toss with the tomato sauce and kale, and use the mixture to fill sandwiches or wraps.

You could totally just eat this over rice or pasta, too.

Delicious Soup

this is a condensed-format recipe, designed for a pocket recipe book called "Learn to Cook" I made and gave out to random people at the Pike Market for a few months in 2009. some of the ingredients may be difficult to find outside of the market, and can be substituted or disregarded.

4 cloves garlic [peel & slice thinly]
2 yellow potatoes, small [dice 1/2"]
1/4 lb crimini mushrooms [quarter]
1 bu green kale [wash & chop 1/4" on a side]
1/2 C crushed tomatoes
1/2 C water
5 C Delicious Stock
[combine these in a large saucepan; simmer until potatoes are just tender, about 35 minutes on low heat]

1/2 lemon [juice]
1 1/2 t kosher salt
1/2 t black pepper
[add, taste & serve]

(that's it.)

(soup is really easy when you have already made good stock.)

Delicious Stock

this is a condensed-format recipe, designed for a pocket recipe book called "Learn to Cook" I made and gave out to random people at the Pike Market for a few months in 2009. some of the ingredients may be difficult to find outside of the market, and can be substituted or disregarded.

to be honest, this is a kind of involved stock. you can make simple soup stocks or complex ones and they'll all be good for what they are. this one will have nice nuance and a great depth and balance of flavors. but you can always just save vegetable scraps in your freezer for a week and throw that in simmering water, and that's a good stock too, with a more straightforward flavor.

makes over 20 servings for under $20
(scale the recipe down if you don't have a large stockpot at home)

7 lbs chicken backs (butcher)
4 shallots, med [peel]
1 yellow onion, med [peel & quarter]
[roast all these together w/ a little olive oil, salt & pepper at 425 for 30 min and then add to 2.5 gal water. simmer 4-5 hours]

3 black lemons (spice shop)
1 tsp tellicherry peppercorns (spice shop)
2 long pepper peppercorns (spice shop)
1 1/2 dried aji mirasol peppers (spice shop)
1 1/2 dried pasilla negro peppers (spice shop)
2 bay leaves
1 bu celery [wash & rough chop]
5 carrots [wash & rough chop]
[add all these and simmer 2 more hours]
[strain]

(this stock makes soup best finished with lemon juice. the black lemon spice is actually just dried lemon, which has a smoky flavor that's both bright and deep. that rich, dark lemon presence balanced with fresh lemon juice creates a delicious effect.)

Chicken Soup

Ingredients:
1 chicken, meat cut off the bone and diced; skin and fat trim reserved
2 yellow onions, peeled & quartered
1 head garlic, peeled; ½ of it sliced
¾ lb crimini mushrooms, sliced ¼ inch thick
1 full bag vegetable scraps (or about ¾ lb vegetables if you haven't been saving your scraps in the freezer)
4 carrots, peeled & diced about ¼” thick
¾ C rice
1 lemon, juiced
salt & pepper TT

Instructions:
1.Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
2.Roast the chicken carcass (with leg bones) with the onions and the whole peeled garlic cloves for 30-40 minutes or until well browned.
3.Meanwhile, start a large pot with 2 ½ quarts water simmering over medium-low heat. Add the bag of vegetable scraps and the trim from the carrots. When the chicken, onions and garlic are done roasting, add them, too.
4.Simmer the stock over low heat for 3 ½-4 hours.
5.At some point while the stock is cooking, heat a large saute pan over medium-high heat. Add the chicken skin and fat trimmed off the chicken and render the fat off for about 5 minutes. Remove the chicken and add the mushrooms. Brown well for about 8-10 minutes and reserve.
6.Strain the stock into a new or cleaned pot and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Add the chicken, mushrooms and rice and cook for 15 minutes. Add the carrots and sliced garlic, and cook until the rice is cooked through, about 20-30 minutes more. Add the lemon juice, season to taste and serve.

Spinach Salad with Chicken and Pineapple

Ingredients:

5 chicken leg/thigh pieces, scored

salt and pepper TT

2 T oil

1 lb chorizo

1 pineapple, diced

2 bunches spinach, washed and chopped

¼ C white wine vinegar

½ C olive oil

salt and pepper TT

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Preheat a large sauté pan over high heat. Season the chicken. Add 2 T oil to hot pan. Add chicken and brown well. Add chorizo, break up and brown.

Transfer to a braising pan. Cover and cook for 45 minutes.

Meanwhile, combine pineapple and spinach.

Wisk together vinegar, oil, salt and pepper.

When chicken is done, remove the meat from the bone with a fork and put over spinach and pineapple.

Drizzle with dressing and serve.

Braised Chicken & Greens over Rice

Ingredients:

6 chicken hindquarters, drumsticks cut from thighs and scored with a knife (for faster cooking)

1 T & 1 t salt

2 t pepper

½ head garlic, cloves peeled & rough chopped

1 yellow onion, sliced

2 tomatoes, diced

2 T oil

1½ pounds mushrooms, sliced

1 T salt

1 t pepper

2-3 bunches assorted greens, chopped

1 yellow onion, sliced

1 head garlic, peeled and sliced

3 tomatoes, diced

2 C rice

Water (to cover rice, see instruction #7)

2 T salt or TT

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 375.

2. Season chicken with salt and pepper.

3. Heat a sauté pan over high heat, add 2 T oil and heat up. Add chicken and brown well.

4. Add 2 tomatoes, then transfer to a baking dish and cover partially. Put in the oven and cook 45 minutes.

5. Meanwhile, heat another sauté pan over high heat, add 2 T oil and add mushrooms when oil is hot, brown well.

6. Add greens, onion, garlic and 3 tomatoes. Cook 15-20 minutes over medium heat, stirring occasionally.

7. To cook rice, rinse under running water in strainer, the put in saucepan and cover until water is up to your first knuckle when fingertip is touching the rice. Add salt until water tastes salty as rice should taste. Bring to a high simmer, then cover and reduce heat to low, cook 20 minutes.

8. Assemble and serve.