I had absolutely no idea what would happen for dinner. I had taken some leftovers out of the freezer to thaw, but didn't feel very committed to having them for dinner. I didn't really feel much like cooking an elaborate meal. What I really wanted was for dinner to cook itself. Influential as I am, however, I cannot charm dinner into materializing on the table. Yet.
I had some bone-in chicken breasts, though, and thought about roasted chicken. The more I thought about it, the more it appealed to me. So I decided to use a cooking technique popular in the Midwest and on the Eastern Shore of Maryland: broasting. Broasting is actually a patented process that creates a crispy exterior and a moist, flavor-infused interior. It's most commonly associated with chicken. I knew that without the Broaster (a patented pressure cooker/deep fryer), I wouldn't get truly broasted chicken. But I was willing to settle for an approximation of the broasting process. Now, just how to do it?
What I was after was pure delectability, not so much crispness. I wanted a moist, tender chicken breast that had a fairly intensive amount of flavor and I wanted a side dish that would be a true foil for the flavor profile I was developing. What happened was pure alchemy. The chicken breasts were beautifully moist, tender and their parsley-anchovy pesto, enriched with olive oil and heightened by the acid of the sherry vinegar, was smoky and deep thanks to the smoked paprika. The fried polenta was crusty outside, creamy inside and mingled beautifully with the pan juices from the chicken. The poquillo peppers, a last minute inspiration, not only gave this dish a gorgeous shot of color, they echoed the smoky depth of the paprika. I served the chicken and polenta with a salad of spring greens and herbs dressed with fresh lemon juice, Sicilian olive oil, ground pepper and flake salt.
Not knowing what will happen for dinner can sometimes produce amazing results. It really did feel as though dinner cooked itself.
Broasted Chicken Breast with Parsley and Anchovy Pesto
I prepared this in my very small, very old toaster oven. You could use a standard oven as well.
2 bone-in chicken breasts, skin removed
salt and pepper to taste
smoked paprika
EVOO
2 cloves minced garlic
1/3 cup parsley pesto
1/2 Tbs. sherry vinegar
2 Tbs. EVOO
2 anchovy fillets (or substitute 1 to 2 tsp. anchovy paste)
1. Place chicken breasts on a foil-lined baking tray.
2. Make a paste of a little salt, freshly ground black pepper, smoked paprika, EVOO and garlic. Quantities are to your taste, but make sure you have enough EVOO to spread the paste evenly and easily over the chicken breasts.
3. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 to 25 minutes.
4. Make a paste of parsley pesto, sherry vinegar, EVOO and anchovies.
5. Spread the paste evenly over the chicken breasts.
6. Cover with foil and bake an additional 20 to 25 minutes. The chicken should be moist and very tender. Spoon pan juices over chicken and fried polents and peppers (recipe below). Serves 2.
Fried Polenta and Poquillo Peppers
1/4 cup EVOO
1 cup prepared or leftover polenta
salt and pepper to taste
2 roasted poquillo peppers, cut into thick strips
1. In a small skillet, heat EVOO until shimmering.
2. Form polenta in to two thick patties.
3. Brown polenta well on both sides, using salt and pepper to taste. Make sure you develop a nice crust on both sides, reducing heat if necessary. Cover pan slightly to reduce splattering (this also helps to steam-heat the polenta).
4. Add poquillo pepper strips to pan and heat through.
5. Serve friend polenta and peppers with broasted chicken. Serves 2.
What you might want to drink...
I had a bottle of Crios de Susana Balbo Rose of Malbec 2010 (Argentina) chilled and ready to go in the fridge. Although I found the color of this wine a bit off-putting (it's a very bluish pink in the glass), in the mouth, it is very lovely. First-of-the-season cherries on the nose. Lots of strawberry, and very youthful. Clean lines, nicely dry finish. Well-balanced and less than $15 a bottle.
Showing posts with label polenta. Show all posts
Showing posts with label polenta. Show all posts
Tuesday, May 3, 2011
Thursday, April 21, 2011
A bowl of comfort
There is nothing quite like April 15th to strike fear in the hearts of the self-employed and to induce a state of existential anxiety unlike any experienced before (unless you still recall the previous April 15th). I wanted nothing more than comfort. Writing a check with that many digits has a way of reducing me to a toothless, whimpering sub-human being...and I wanted to be soothed. I also felt very much like a peasant, dependent on the land (read: pantry) and my ability to forage (read: find viable ingredients in the refrigerator) for sustenance.
Polenta has always been my first love when I look for comfort in the form of food. Soft, creamy, buttery, gently granular (if you like your polenta coarsely ground), blanketed with an almost obscene quantity of freshly grated Parmesan, Piava, Romano or Asiago, and sometimes prepared with heavy cream for extra richness, I will dream about polenta on the astral plane long after I've lost my ability to sit up and take nourishment or to make coherent and logical sense.
So on this particular night, it was rich, creamy, buttery polenta. And with the polenta was a mushroom ragout, rich with olive oil and fragrant with garlic, tomatoes and herbs. And plenty of grated Piava cheese. And to drink, the lovely, bright, raspberry-jammy and gloriously hibiscus blossom-hued Chateau St. Michelle Nellie's Garden Dry Rose 2007 (Columbia Valley, WA). Silky, soft, and full of fruit, it was a great mid-spring wine to sip on the patio and then to provide inspiration for dinner.
Was I comforted? Between the creamy polenta, the earthy, rich mushroom ragout and the refreshingly dry rose, you betcha.
Mushroom Ragout with Creamy Polenta
1/4 cup EVOO
1 lb. mushrooms, thickly sliced
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
3 cloves garlic, smashed and chopped fine
4 large Roma tomatoes, cored and roughly chopped with their juice (or use 1 cup canned San Marzano tomatoes with juice)
1/2 tsp. dried oregano
1/2 tsp. dried marjoram
1 tsp. dried basil
salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
1 cup dry red wine (or substitute sweet vermouth)
Creamy Polenta (recipe follows)
good quality virgin olive oil, for finishing
plenty of freshly grated cheese (such as Piava, Parmesan, Romano or Asiago)
freshly chopped flat-leaf parsley, for garnish
1. Heat olive oil in a 4 quart pot over medium high heat until rippling.
2. Add mushrooms and brown all over, stirring occasionally.
3. Add onion and garlic, stirring frequently, until coated well with olive oil, being careful not to brown garlic, reducing heat if necessary.
4. Add tomatoes and their juice, oregano, marjoram and basil. Stir well and add salt and pepper to taste.
5. Bring to boiling, add red wine and return to boil, then reduce to a simmer for about 30 minutes while you prepare polenta. Volume of the ragout should reduce by half and sauce should thicken.
Creamy Polenta: Polenta usually comes in a package with directions for preparation. That's a good starting place. In general, the ratio of water to polenta is 3 to 1. Add plenty of butter and salt to the water. Be sure to pour the dry polenta in a steady stream into the boiling water, stirring well to break up lumps (I will often use a large whisk). I like to increase the water to polenta ratio to 4 to 1 for a creamier consistency (sometimes substituting up to 1 cup of heavy cream or half and half for the 4th cup of water), stir a few times and then reduce the heat to very low, cover and let it sit because I'm lazy. I stir a few times while I'm doing other things and then serve with plenty of grated cheese and freshly ground black pepper. I also prefer coarsely ground polenta for its texture in most cases, but when I want comfort, I choose the finer grain.
To serve ragout and polenta, place a generous amount of polenta in a large soup plate. Cover with plenty of mushroom ragout, drizzle with the olive oil of your choice and generously top with freshly grated cheese and chopped parsley. Makes enough for 2 with leftovers.
Polenta has always been my first love when I look for comfort in the form of food. Soft, creamy, buttery, gently granular (if you like your polenta coarsely ground), blanketed with an almost obscene quantity of freshly grated Parmesan, Piava, Romano or Asiago, and sometimes prepared with heavy cream for extra richness, I will dream about polenta on the astral plane long after I've lost my ability to sit up and take nourishment or to make coherent and logical sense.
So on this particular night, it was rich, creamy, buttery polenta. And with the polenta was a mushroom ragout, rich with olive oil and fragrant with garlic, tomatoes and herbs. And plenty of grated Piava cheese. And to drink, the lovely, bright, raspberry-jammy and gloriously hibiscus blossom-hued Chateau St. Michelle Nellie's Garden Dry Rose 2007 (Columbia Valley, WA). Silky, soft, and full of fruit, it was a great mid-spring wine to sip on the patio and then to provide inspiration for dinner.
Was I comforted? Between the creamy polenta, the earthy, rich mushroom ragout and the refreshingly dry rose, you betcha.
Mushroom Ragout with Creamy Polenta
1/4 cup EVOO
1 lb. mushrooms, thickly sliced
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
3 cloves garlic, smashed and chopped fine
4 large Roma tomatoes, cored and roughly chopped with their juice (or use 1 cup canned San Marzano tomatoes with juice)
1/2 tsp. dried oregano
1/2 tsp. dried marjoram
1 tsp. dried basil
salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
1 cup dry red wine (or substitute sweet vermouth)
Creamy Polenta (recipe follows)
good quality virgin olive oil, for finishing
plenty of freshly grated cheese (such as Piava, Parmesan, Romano or Asiago)
freshly chopped flat-leaf parsley, for garnish
1. Heat olive oil in a 4 quart pot over medium high heat until rippling.
2. Add mushrooms and brown all over, stirring occasionally.
3. Add onion and garlic, stirring frequently, until coated well with olive oil, being careful not to brown garlic, reducing heat if necessary.
4. Add tomatoes and their juice, oregano, marjoram and basil. Stir well and add salt and pepper to taste.
5. Bring to boiling, add red wine and return to boil, then reduce to a simmer for about 30 minutes while you prepare polenta. Volume of the ragout should reduce by half and sauce should thicken.
Creamy Polenta: Polenta usually comes in a package with directions for preparation. That's a good starting place. In general, the ratio of water to polenta is 3 to 1. Add plenty of butter and salt to the water. Be sure to pour the dry polenta in a steady stream into the boiling water, stirring well to break up lumps (I will often use a large whisk). I like to increase the water to polenta ratio to 4 to 1 for a creamier consistency (sometimes substituting up to 1 cup of heavy cream or half and half for the 4th cup of water), stir a few times and then reduce the heat to very low, cover and let it sit because I'm lazy. I stir a few times while I'm doing other things and then serve with plenty of grated cheese and freshly ground black pepper. I also prefer coarsely ground polenta for its texture in most cases, but when I want comfort, I choose the finer grain.
To serve ragout and polenta, place a generous amount of polenta in a large soup plate. Cover with plenty of mushroom ragout, drizzle with the olive oil of your choice and generously top with freshly grated cheese and chopped parsley. Makes enough for 2 with leftovers.
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