Chicken with Lemon and Garlic

This quick Spanish stir-fry is perfect as a light dinner or with tapas. I served it with shallow-fried potato cubes napped with a garlic sauce similar to mayonnaise, patatas alioli. Recipe adapted from: Sarah Ainly ed., Around the World in 400 Recipes (London: Hermes House, 2005), 336.   

Serves 2

Ingredients
Boneless, skinless chicken breast	8 ounces	250 grams
Olive oil	2 tablespoons	30 ml
Onion (½ small), minced	2 ounces	55 grams
Garlic cloves, minced	4	4
Pimentón agridulce  (or paprika)	1 teaspoon	5 ml
Lemon juice (1 lemon)	3 tablespoons	45 ml
Parsley, chopped	2 tablespoons	30 ml
Salt and pepper	to taste	to taste

 

Method

Pound the chicken to an even ¼-inch (6 mm) thickness then cut into strips about ½-inch (1cm) wide by 2 inches (5 cm) long. Heat the oil in a frying pan over high heat and sauté the chicken along with the onion, garlic, and pimentón for about 2 minutes or until lightly browned and just cooked through. Toss with the lemon juice, parsley, salt, and pepper. Serve immediately.

Herbed Nuts

Nuts make a wonderful snack. They are full of nutrition and healthful oils. Sadly, most store-bought nuts mixtures are very salty which makes them unsuitable for many people. This recipe from my friend Rachel replaces most of the salt with herbs giving the nuts great flavor without all the salt. She uses olive oil; I used butter. Whichever you use this is a snack worth making.

Ingredients

1 cup pecan halves

1 cup almonds

1 cup walnut halves

¼ cup maple syrup (or part brown sugar)

2 tablespoons melted butter

2 tablespoons finely minced herbs: sage, rosemary, savory, etc.

¼ teaspoon cayenne

Salt and pepper

Method

Preheat oven to 350°F. Toss the nuts with the syrup, butter, herbs, and cayenne. Spread on a baking sheet and place in the hot oven for 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and add salt and pepper to taste. Move around on the baking sheet with a spatula until cooled.

Greek Chicken and Rice

There are millions, probably tens of millions, of recipes on the World Wide Web so finding just what one is looking for is a rather hit-or-miss proposition dependent on the vagaries of search engine algorithms.  A search for something using feta and chicken yielded the inevitable stuffed chicken breasts and this promising looking approach to chicken and rice. The original recipe was a bit rough, written in obviously non-native English and missing a few key steps. But the rave reviews posted by readers suggested it would be worth trying. I made some changes: adding ingredients, omitting others, changing proportions. But I kept the basic technique and the flavors unchanged. The result was wonderful. Do try it.

Ingredients
Boneless chicken breast	2 (about 12 ounces)	2 (about 350 grams)
Onions, coarsely diced	8 ounces	225 grams
Water	about 3  cups	about 750 milliliters
Long grain white rice	5 ounces (1 cup)	150 grams
Feta, crumbled	4 ounces	100 grams
Spinach, fresh or frozen	4 ounces	100 grams
Black or kalamata olives	2 ounces	50 grams
Dried oregano	1 tablespoon	15 milliliters
Olive oil	1 tablespoon	15 milliliters
Eggs	1	1
Lemon juice	1 tablespoon	15 milliliters
Salt and pepper	to taste	to taste

Method

Put the chicken and onions into a suitable pan and cover with water. Bring to a boil then simmer over low heat until the chicken is tender, about 15 minutes. Remove the chicken to a plate to cool and strain the liquid into a bowl. Put the onions into an oven-proof 2 quart (2 liter) casserole with a tightly-fitting lid.

Preheat oven to 350°F (200°C). Add the rice to the casserole along with the feta, spinach, olives, and oregano.  Stir to combine. Cut the chicken into bite-sized pieces and add to the dish. Pour on 2 cups of the broth, season with salt and pepper, and drizzle on the olive oil. Cover and bake in the oven for 30 minutes.

Beat together the egg, remaining cup of broth, and lemon juice. Season with salt and pepper. Remove the casserole from the oven and pour the egg mixture over the rice. Return to the oven, covered, for another 20 to 30 minutes.

Bubble, Squeak, and Oink

Potatoes and cabbage are a natural combination and a staple throughout the British. Each country has its own version: Colcannon in Ireland, Cawl Cennin a Thatws in Wales, Rumbledethumps in Scotland, and the onomatopoeic Bubble and Squeak in England. Traditionally breakfast food made from dinner leftovers, including meat or fish, Bubble and Squeak today it is generally purpose-made without meat.  But it still is an important part of a full English breakfast. In this whimsically named version I have put the meat back into the dish and made it into a one-dish dinner entrée. Clarissa Dickson Wright, co-star of the BBC’s Two Fat Ladies, has three admonitions for making bubble and squeak (from Cooking with the Two Fat Ladies (New York: Clarkson N. Potter, 1996) 97):

“1) There is no substitute for lard or beef drippings – if you object, eat something else.

“2) You need a really heavy frying pan.

“3) The potatoes must be cold before you start.”

Ingredients
Potatoes, peeled and diced	1 pound	450 grams
Lard	2 tablespoons	30 grams
Ham or English bacon, diced	4 ounces	100 grams
Onion, sliced ¼-inch (6mm) thick	4 ounces	100 grams
Cabbage, coarsely shredded	4 ounces	100 grams
Salt and pepper	to taste	to taste

Method

Put the potatoes in salted water and boil until soft, about 12 minutes. Drain and cool to room temperature.

When the potatoes are cold, melt ½ of the lard in a 10-inch (25 cm) cast iron skillet set over medium-high heat. Sauté the ham or bacon until it begins to crisp then add the onions. Continue cooking until they soften, about 3 to 5 minutes. Add the cabbage and stir to coat with the fat then turn the heat to medium, cover, and steam for about 3 minutes or until bright green. Turn the heat back to medium-high and put the potatoes into the skillet. Using a heavy spatula press the potatoes into the fat, mashing them coarsely and mixing them with the meat and vegetables. Season with salt and pepper. Distribute the remaining lard over the top and turn the potatoes over to crisp the other side. Serve immediately.

Serves two as an entrée.

New England Brown Bread

This yeast-free quick bread is popular in New England, hence its name. It is similar to Irish soda bread but the addition of cornmeal and the fact that it is steamed rather than baked suggests a native American influence. Traditionally it is made with whole wheat flour, rye flour, and cornmeal; a mixture known in New England as simply brown bread flour. I replaced the whole wheat with another New England favorite, white buckwheat flour, making it suitable for most people who avoid wheat. Note, though, that it is not gluten-free because the rye flour does contain a small amount of gluten. It is sweetened with molasses or sometimes maple syrup and usually contains raisins, dried currants, or dried cranberries. Most recipes call for milk or buttermilk but I had neither on hand so I substituted watered-down yoghurt.

The hardest part of this recipe is finding a suitable metal coffee can because so many are now plastic and the metal ones tend to be only 10 ounces. Chock-Full-O-Nuts still comes in 12-ounce metal cans. It comes with a peel-off foil inner lid so use a can opener to remove the rim.

Ingredients
Butter for greasing	As needed
Rye flour	3 ounces (½ cup)	85 grams
White buckwheat flour	3 ounces (½ cup)	85 grams
Cornmeal, white or yellow	3 ounces (½ cup)	85 grams
Baking soda	1 teaspoon	5 grams (5 ml)
Baking powder	½ teaspoon	2 grams (2 ml)
Plain yoghurt	2 tablespoons	30 ml
Cold water	About 1 cup	About 250 ml
Dark molasses	4 ounces (⅓ cup)	115 grams
Dried cranberries or raisins	½ cup, approx.	50 grams

Method

Place a trivet into the bottom of stock pot and add water to come about half way up the can. Bring to a boil as you prepare the batter.

Grease the inside of the can with butter. Combine the dry ingredients in a large bowl. Put the yoghurt into a measuring cup and add water to make 1 cup (250 ml). Add the molasses to the liquid and mix well. Stir the wet ingredients into the dry, beating gently. Fold in the dried fruit then turn the batter into the can. Cover with a square of aluminum foil and secure with a rubber band.

Place the can of batter onto the trivet in the boiling water in the stock pot. Cover and either steam over heat just high enough to maintain a gentle boil or place into a 250°F (120°C) oven. (The latter is especially good if you are making baked beans with which to serve the brown bread.) Cook for about 1 hour and 15 minutes then check for doneness with a toothpick. Allow to stand for a few minutes before inverting the can and gently tapping out the bread. Serve hot with butter.

Pickled Pork

In the days before refrigeration small animals like chickens, rabbits, and small game usually were killed and eaten the same day. The meat of larger animals like pigs, however, had to be preserved by curing, drying, smoking, or a combination of those techniques. Many traditional dishes use preserved meats, but they can be difficult to find and often contain unnecessary chemicals. Fortunately it is easy to cure meat safely at home because it can be refrigerated as it cures and when finished. This recipe, adapted from Bruce Aidells’ Complete Sausage Book (Berkley: Ten Speed Press, 2000) 48, makes a product similar to the petit sales used in Louisiana cooking. I use it in place of salt pork in baked beans. It can also be turned into New Orleans’ famous spicy tasso, but that is a different recipe.

A note about curing salts: sodium nitrite has been used for centuries to prevent botulism in meat. In the 1970s concerns were raised that, when cooked, meats cured with sodium nitrites became contaminated with nitrosamines that were suspected of being carcinogenic in large doses. Subsequent studies by the National Science Foundation showed these concerns to be largely unfounded when the salts are used properly. The U.S. Department of Agriculture requires that cures contain 6.1 grams of sodium nitrite per 100 pounds of meat. Because such a small amount is difficult to measure accurately sodium nitrite is sold as 6.25% concentration mixed in ordinary salt. Variously called Prague Salt #1, Instacure #1, or pink salt #1 (because of the dye used to prevent from accidently being confused with plain salt) it is available from any sausage making supply vendor. I bought mine online from The Sausage Maker, Inc. in Buffalo.

Ingredients
Pork shoulder (butt)	5 to 6 pounds	2 to 3 kilograms
Water	2 quarts	2 liters
Kosher salt	10 ounces (1 cup)	300 grams
Sugar	3½ ounces (½ cup)	100 grams
Instacure #1	1½ ounces (7½ teaspoons)	40 grams
Red pepper flakes (optional)	1 teaspoon	5 milliliters
Bay leaves	6	6
Cloves, whole	6	6
Allspice, whole	6	6

 

Method

Cut the pork into 2” chunks of approximately equal size. In a 1-gallon or larger stainless steel, plastic, crockery, or glass container, dissolve the salt, sugar, and curing salt in the water, stirring continuously until completely dissolved. Put the meat into the brine and add red pepper flakes, if using, and the spices. Place a heavy plate or other suitable weight to ensure that the meat stays completely submerged in the brine. Refrigerate for 2 days. To see if the pork is completely cured, cut a chunk in half. The pork should be uniformly pink throughout. If it is not, leave the meat in the brine in the refrigerator for another day. Repeat the test.

Wash the cured meat under cold running water, drain, and store in a covered container in the refrigerator for up to I week. For longer storage, dry the meat carefully and freeze in large freezer bags, removing as much air as possible.

Québécois Pork and Beans

When I was growing up, baked beans were the standard Saturday night fare. My father told of how as a boy in a mostly French Canadian mill town in Connecticut it was his job on Saturday morning to take the bean pot his mother had prepared to the neighborhood bakery where it would cook in the baker’s oven all day. Leftover baked beans are still a Sunday breakfast staple in New England.

Although baked beans are often associated with Boston, the origin of the dish is most likely French, deriving from the cassoulet popular in the south of that country. Unlike Boston baked beans that usually contains only a small piece of salt pork fat for flavoring, Québécois fèves au lard contain a hearty quantity of leaner salt pork known as petit sales, similar to the pickled pork popular in Louisiana. (You can use store-bought salt pork but use less because it is so fatty.) In some parts of the province a partridge or chicken breast is tucked into the beans along with the pork.

A note on soaking: although many cookbooks advise soaking dried beans overnight, authorities differ about whether it is really necessary. Mexicans and other meso-Americans, who were eating phaseolus beans long before the Spanish introduced them to Europe, do not soak them. The theory that soaking reduces any “side effects” of eating beans is thoroughly discredited. So, I never soak dried beans.

Ingredients
Navy beans, dry	1 pound	500 grams
Water	8 cups	2 liters
Pickled pork or salt pork	12 ounces	350 grams
Onion, chopped	8 ounces	225 grams
Mustard, dry	1 teaspoon	5 milliliters
Black pepper, ground (optional)	1 teaspoon	5 milliliters
Molasses*	½ cup (5 ounces)	125 milliliters (140 grams)
Brown sugar*	¼ cup	55 grams

 

* In northern New England and Québec these beans are often made with maple syrup. In place of the molasses and brown sugar use ¾ cup (175 milliliters) of grade B maple syrup, if you can find it, or grade A dark amber.

METHOD

Rinse beans and pick through for any stones or defective beans. Put them into a large pot with the cold water, bring to boil, and simmer over low heat, partially covered, for about an hour. Or cook in a pressure cooker at 15 psi (100 kiloPascals) for 15 minutes. Wait a few minutes before releasing the pressure according to manufacturer’s instruction.

Preheat oven to 250°F (120°C). Drain the beans reserving the cooking liquid, and place them in a bean pot or casserole with a cover (I use a 3-quart enameled cast-iron Dutch oven). Cut the pork into 1-inch (2.5 cm) cubes and add to the beans along with the onions, molasses, brown sugar, mustard, and pepper. (If using store-bought salt pork, leave it whole then slice it when the beans are done.) Pour in enough of the reserved cooking liquid, to cover the beans then fold everything together. Save any remaining cooking liquid in case the beans start to dry and need more liquid.

Cover the pot and bake for 6 to 8 hours. Check occasionally to ensure the beans are not drying out and add reserved liquid or water as needed. Uncover for the last hour of cooking.

Lard

Like many people when I bought a cut of pork I used to trim off as much fat as I could and discard it. But then I relearned something that our grandmothers knew: lard is a very useful fat. I suspect that the main reason lard fell out of favor was the marketing of cheap, shelf-stable shortening made from government-subsidized soy bean or cottonseed oil as more modern and healthy. Of course we know now that hydrogenated shortening is high in trans fatty acids which are not at all healthy. Natural lard contains no trans fat. It does have 39% saturated fat compared with 63% for butter and 14% for olive oil. However, like olive oil it is high in monounsaturated fats, 45% for lard vs. 73% for olive oil (both also contain 11% polyunsaturated fatty acids). So used in moderation lard makes a great addition to your palette of cooking fats. A word of caution: lard sold in supermarkets is usually hydrogenated to extend its shelf life. That also covert some 4% of the fat to trans fats. Don’t buy it!

Making lard is easy. For the small quantities I use I make do with the fat I trim from a pork shoulder or loin. If you want to make larger quantities your best source of pork fat is a local farmers’ market. Just as a meat vendor to set some aside for you.

Preheat the oven to 225° (or you can do it on the stove top). Cut the fat into small cubes, no bigger than 1-inch. Place them in a heavy pot like a cast iron Dutch oven. Cover with water by ½ inch. Bring to a boil on the stove top and put into the hot oven. Render for about 2 hours, stirring from time to time, until the water has evaporated and all the fat has been expressed by the cubes. Remove from the oven and allow to cool a bit but remain liquid. Strain into suitable containers. Freeze any that you do not expect to use for a few weeks. Keep the rest in the refrigerator.

 

Kitchen Cleanliness Tips

Here is a great web site on food safety: http://www.keepingitkleen.com/

Red Beans and Rice

In Cajun country Monday was traditionally laundry day and the day for making red beans and rice. It is said that in the old days a kettle of beans would share the fire with the pot of hot water for washing clothes. Today both laundry and cooking are far simpler but this is still a great dish to have simmering on the back burner of the stove as you do other things around the house. I use a pressure cooker to speed things up a bit but this is still not a recipe you can rush. You can use canned beans in place of dried and save about an hour. Use four 15-ounce cans, drained.

Note: this recipe makes a big pot of beans—enough for eight people. Even if your family is a lot smaller, go ahead and make the full recipe. The beans keep well for a few days in the refrigerator and can be kept frozen for several months. Like most beans, they are actually better after having cooled and been reheated. Make the rice fresh each time, though.

Serves 8

Ingredients
Red beans, dry	1 pound
Water	8 cups
Bay leaves	4
Dried thyme	1 teaspoon
Andouille sausage	½ pound
Ham	½ pound
Onions, chopped	8 ounces
Celery, chopped	4 ounces
Bell pepper, chopped	4 ounces
Cayenne	½ teaspoon or to taste
Oil	2 tablespoons
Garlic, minced	3 tablespoons
Salt and pepper	To taste
Long-grain white rice to serve

Method

Rinse the beans and pick out any small stones or other debris. Put the beans into a pressure cooker along with the thyme, bay leaves, and water. Cook at high pressure (15 psi) for 25 minutes. Let stand for five minutes before releasing pressure. Allow to cool a bit then drain the beans reserving the cooking liquid.  (If you don’t have a pressure cooker, soak the beans overnight and cook for about an hour.) Put 1½ cups of the beans in a food processor along with ½ cup of the cooking liquid. Puree to a smooth paste. Set aside.

Cut the sausage crosswise into ¼-inch slices and dice the ham. (If the sausage you are using is fatty, render it in a separate skillet to remove some of the grease before using.)

Place an enameled Dutch oven heat or other large pot over medium-low heat and add the oil. Sweat the onions, celery, and bell pepper until they begin to express their water and their colors become intense, about 3 to 5 minutes. Add the sausage, ham, and garlic. Cook for a further 5 minutes then put in the beans and their cooking liquid. Stir in the bean puree. If the liquid does not cover the beans, add water until it does. Season with a good grind of black pepper and salt to taste. Simmer, uncovered, for 1½ hours stirring occasionally to prevent sticking. When the beans start to stick to bottom of the pot they are ready. Check the seasoning and adjust accordingly. The beans should be soft and creamy but not soupy. Serve over plain white rice.