This is true end-of-summer fare. A batch of pesto from the basil that’s growing gangly in the garden. (Try our zippy Asian Pesto, Basil-Mint Pesto or Spicy Sage and Parsley Pesto.) A spatchcocked (butterflied) chicken cooked (relatively) quickly on the grill, since the days are shorter now. Which is good. I like saying goodbye to a season with a taste of all I love about it — and this grilled chicken recipe has it.
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These chicken thighs come together without much fuss, but the honey and balsamic vinegar give them a surprisingly complex depth of flavor … not to mention a beautiful golden-bronze hue.
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Alison and I got to talking about chicken the other day and were reminiscing how, when she was my editor at Cooking Light, readers couldn’t get enough of stuffed chicken breasts. And then we remembered why. They’re moist and tasty, quite elegant-looking, and cook faster than you’d think. Because they’re “beefed up” by the stuffing, you can easily serve four with only two breast halves.
2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1/2 pound mushrooms, chopped
1/4 cup finely chopped shallot
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 sprigs thyme
1/4 cup white wine
Juice from 1/2 lemon
Salt and pepper to taste
2 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
2 slices Swiss or ementaller cheese, each sliced in half
4 thin slices prosciutto
1/4 cup low-sodium chicken broth
Heat a large saute pan over medium-high heat and swirl in 1 tablespoon oil. Add mushrooms, shallot, garlic and thyme, and saute 5 minutes or until mushrooms are golden brown. Pour wine into pan and scrape up any bits stuck to the bottom. Cook 2 minutes or until liquid has evaporated. Stir in lemon juice, season with salt and pepper, remove thyme stems and transfer mushrooms to a bowl. Wipe out the pan.
Holding a sharp knife parallel to the cutting board and starting from the thick side of a chicken breast half, slice the chicken horizontally right down the middle so that it opens like a book (I like to “open” the flap about halfway in and then carefully continue slicing towards the center until the breast lays flat). Give the thick edges a few hits with your palm to flatten them out to an equal height (don’t worry, the chicken won’t bite–just wash your hands afterwards). When you’re done, you should have a fat, heart-shaped chicken breast half at a uniform thickness of about an inch. Repeat with the other chicken breast half.
Layer the cheese and then the prosciutto evenly on top of the chicken breasts. Mound half of the mushrooms on one side of a chicken breast and press the mound down gently with your hand. Fold the other side over the mushrooms and push two wooden toothpicks through the far edges to help keep them together. Repeat with the other breast. Lightly salt and pepper both sides.
Heat the skillet once again over medium-high heat and swirl in the remaining olive oil. Carefully place chicken breasts in pan. Cook for 3 minutes on one side, then turn (keep the seam side down in the pan so the stuffing doesn’t fall out–tongs work great) and cook 3 minutes on the other. Pour chicken broth into pan, reduce heat to medium-low, cover and cook for another 6 minutes, or until chicken is cooked all the way through.
To serve, transfer chicken to a cutting board with tongs and cut each breast in half. Turn up the heat on the pan and scrape up any bits stuck to the bottom. Place one portion of chicken on each plate and drizzle with pan sauce.
Serves 4
It’s inevitable. As people learn more about where their food comes from and start to shift their buying habits from whatever’s on the shelf to more deliberate, sustainable choices, they run up against a wall. Where do I find the foods I can feel good about? Happily, in many communities, local food now offers pasture-raised chicken, grass-fed beef, and sustainably raised pork.
Farmers’ markets, CSAs and even community gardens abound these days, offering an abundance of fresh, seasonal produce. From December, 2001 to July, 2005, the number of reported CSA farms rose from 761 to 1,144, an increase of roughly 50 percent. And here’s some more good news: There’s a burgeoning movement on the meat front too.
A growing number of CSA farms are expanding beyond produce to offer meat, poultry and eggs from the pasture. Part of the reason is just smart business; farmers are diversifying their product mix. Another driver for many farmers is the desire to create the closed-loop system that agriculture was meant to be.
What do I mean by that? To explain, I’ll borrow an illustration that Wes Jackson of The Land Institute used when I saw him speak at a conference a couple of years back. He popped a slide of Norman Rockwell’s “Visit From a County Agent” illustration up on screen and then articulated how it encapsulated all the elements that make agriculture work.
Right off the bat, you can see that there are a variety of animals in the photo, and each has its purpose. The cats catch the mice. The dogs ward off predators. The chickens lay eggs and produce poultry. The cows produce milk and meat.
But that’s just the surface. Jackson also pointed out that the chicken and cows were essential for more than just their eggs, milk and meat. Their manure was the gold the land needed to grow the crops that fed the livestock and the family.
There’s your closed loop. Waste from the animals to fertilize the fields to grow the crops to feed the livestock and the family … and on back around again. Compare that to monoculture crops and feedlot cattle—the two ends of the spectrum in a ruptured farming system—where synthetic fertilizer must be purchased to grow the crops, and excess waste from cattle creates toxic cesspools.
If you’ve read Michael Pollan’s Omnivore’s Dilemma or watched FRESH or Food, Inc., the concept of a closed-loop farming system isn’t new to you (nowadays we call it polyculture). What is new, to bring us back around to the topic of this post, is the fact that it’s inspiring more and more small farmers to expand beyond just crops.
Some, like Dearing Country Farms in Illinois, have expanded their CSA produce offerings ($330 for roughly five months of produce) to eggs and chickens ($700 for produce plus a chicken and a dozen eggs each week). Others, like Oregon’s Inspiration Plantation’s “CSP” (Community Supported Pasture), focus strictly on meat; in this case, chicken, turkey, lamb and pork.
As rosy at it may seem to jump into a meat CSA, there are challenges for both farmer and consumer. The first is the added complication and cost of processing; in order to be sold commercially, meat must be processed in a USDA-certified facility. Second is the fact that meat is highly perishable and must be stored—and sold—frozen. Third is a matter of scale: A cow is a lot larger than a head of cauliflower. What’s easiest for the farmer, to sell a side of beef, for instance, is not the most convenient for the customer … unless you happen to have a very large, empty freezer and a penchant for cooking nose to toes. But I’ve found that that’s changing. Most of the meat CSA options I run across nowadays focus on primal cuts and sausages.
So where, you ask—you plead—can you find a meat CSA? The best source I’ve found for direct-to-consumer meat is www.eatwild.org. You have to cull through the listings in each state to find those near you, but it’s worth it for the range it offers. Other resources are www.localharvest.org and www.eatwellguide.org.
Don’t forget one of the major benefits of joining any CSA … to get to know the people who grow, or in this case raise, your food. Who knows, maybe they’re fans of Norman Rockwell.
When I worked in the travel industry, I used to randomly jet off for the weekend on my own. One time, during an especially long New York winter, I went to Miami. What I remember most vividly aren’t the beaches, but a dish of arroz con pollo I had sitting at the counter at a Cuban diner my friend Luisa had told me about. I set out to replicate the flavors in this classic chicken casserole here, substituting millet–a bouncy little whole grain–for the rice. Ah … now if only I could replicate those travel benefits!
1 tablespoon cumin, divided
1 tablespoon oregano, divided
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 whole chicken (4-5 pounds), backbone removed and cut into 8 pieces
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon olive oil, divided
1 large onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, smashed and coarsely chopped
1 large red bell pepper, diced
1 (14-ounce) can diced tomatoes, drained
1 (12-ounce) bottle of beer (I used Shiner Bock)
2-1/2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1 bay leaf
1 tablespoon ground annatto*
1-1/2 cups millet
2 cups frozen peas
1/2 cup large pimento-stuffed green olives, sliced crosswise
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
In a small bowl, mix together 1 teaspoon cumin and 1 teaspoon oregano with a generous pinch of salt and black pepper. Sprinkle chicken pieces with spice mixture.
Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil over medium-high heat in a Dutch oven and brown the chicken on all sides in two batches, about 5-8 minutes per batch. Transfer chicken to a plate as done. Pour off all but 1 tablespoon of fat and add onion, garlic and bell pepper to the pot. Saute 5-8 minutes, until softened and translucent.
Pour tomatoes, beer and chicken broth into the pot, and add the remaining 2 teaspoons of cumin and 2 teaspoons oregano along with the bay leaf, annatto and another pinch of salt and pepper. Bring to a boil and nestle the chicken legs and thighs into the liquid. Cover and transfer to the oven. Cook 10 minutes.
While chicken is cooking, heat the remaining 1 teaspoon olive oil in a separate small skillet over medium heat and toast the millet for 3-4 minutes, until fragrant and a shade darker.
After the dark meat has cooked 10 minutes, take the pot out of the oven, uncover and scrape in the millet. Stir well and nestle the rest of the chicken into the liquid in as close to a single layer as you can get it. Cover and cook another 30 minutes.
Remove the pot from the oven and uncover. Scatter the frozen peas and olives on top, cover and let rest for 10 minutes before serving.
Serves 10
PS — I like to squeeze a lime onto both this dish and the beer I’m drinking with it.
* Annatto powder comes from the achiote seed and is slightly sweet, slightly bitter. It’s also what gives this dish its golden hue. You can find annatto powder (you could also use the same amount of achiote paste) in the spice section of your grocery store, or in Mexican markets. If you can’t find it or don’t want to buy it, no worries. Your millet just won’t be as gold.
If sugar snap peas aren’t in season, green beans or broccoli will sub just fine in this easy chicken stir-fry. Be sure to leave enough room in the pan to let the chicken sear … this dish is all about layering flavors.
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This recipe works wonders with the Valu-pak of frozen chicken thighs you bought last month at Costco (or was that me?). If you don’t have smoked paprika on hand, just use a twist of freshly ground black pepper. Or experiment with other combinations of spices in your pantry. Serve over brown rice, whole wheat couscous or bulgur to soak up the flavorful juices.
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
3 pounds chicken thighs and legs
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1 tablespoon smoked paprika
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 cup onion, thinly sliced
1/4 cup sherry vinegar
1 (14-ounce) can diced tomatoes (I recommend Muir Glen)
1 cup chicken stock
2 (14-ounce cans) chickpeas (garbanzo beans), rinsed and drained
Place flour in a plastic zip-top bag. Sprinkle chicken with salt, pepper and paprika, and drop half in the flour. Seal bag and shake until well coated. Remove, shake off any excess and transfer to a plate. Repeat with remaining chicken. Heat oil in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add chicken to pan and brown well on all sides, working in batches if necessary so you don’t overcrowd the pan, about 6 minutes total per batch. Remove from pan and set aside.
Add onion to Dutch oven and sauté 4-5 minutes or until tender and slightly browned. Pour in vinegar, scraping pan to loosen browned bits on the bottom, and cook 1 minute or until liquid evaporates.
Add tomatoes and chicken stock to pan. Stir in chickpeas and bring to a boil. Place chicken on top of chickpeas and sprinkle with an additional pinch of salt and paprika. Cover, reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer for 40 minutes or until chicken is cooked through and chickpeas are tender.
Serves 8
Any Gewurztraminer left over from Thanksgiving will go beautifully with this creamy, spicy, aromatic pumpkin curry. If you have a lime tree, crumple up a leaf and throw it into the curry as it simmers (then discard)—it will perfume the dish, much as kaffir lime leaves do. Serve over rice.
1 tablespoon Canola oil
2 yellow onions, thinly sliced
1 tablespoon minced ginger
2 cloves garlic, minced
1-3/4 cup light coconut milk
1 tablespoon yellow curry powder
2 tablespoons red curry paste
1 cup low-sodium chicken stock
2 tablespoons fish sauce
1 tablespoon sugar
6 cups pumpkin, peeled, seeded and cut into 1-inch cubes
1-1/2 pounds chicken thighs, cut into bite-sized pieces
1 red bell pepper, seeded and thinly sliced lengthwise
2 tablespoons lime juice
1/2 cup cilantro, finely chopped
Heat vegetable oil in a wok or large, deep-sided skillet over medium-high heat and sauté onion for 10 minutes, until deep golden-brown. Add ginger and garlic, and sauté 1 minute, until fragrant.
Pour in 1/4 cup coconut milk and stir in both curries until blended. Add remaining coconut milk, chicken stock, fish sauce and sugar. Add pumpkin chunks and bring to a boil. Lower heat to medium to retain a vigorous simmer and cook for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Add chicken and pepper and bring back up to a simmer. Cook for another 10 minutes, until chicken is cooked through and pumpkin is tender.
Stir in lime juice and top with cilantro.
Serves 6
I’ll admit it: When it comes to making roast chicken, I’m lazy. There are techniques that have you rotating the bird every few minutes so that it turns browns evenly, but I like to pop it in the oven and not think about it again (aside from swooning over the scent) until the timer goes off for good. And good—very good—is what we’ve found this bird to be. You don’t have to use an organic, free-range chicken, but we’ve found that it pays off in both flavor and juiciness.
1 (3-1/2 pound) good-quality chicken (take this to mean what you like: free-range, locally-raised, organic . . . just preferably not a brine-injected, mass-produced one)
Sea salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
8 thyme sprigs
1 lemon, halved lengthwise
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
Gently work your fingertips under the breast, leg and thigh, and rub meat with salt and pepper (I like to fill a separate little ramekin with a mix of salt and pepper to do this so I don’t get my pepper grinder all chicken-y). Sprinkle more salt and pepper on top of skin and in cavity. Stuff the thyme sprigs under the skin and the lemon halves into the cavity.
Roast on a V-rack in a roasting pan, breast side up, for 60-75 minutes, until the legs pull away easily and the juices run clear. Let chicken stand at room temperature for 15 minutes (tent it with foil to keep it warm) before carving.
Serves 4
To me there’s something beguiling about a bronzed grilled chicken leg, and these most certainly fill that bill. Serve with fresh, cool, creamy (easy) Romaine Slaw for a nice contrast of tastes and textures. These grilled chicken legs are stunning picnic or potluck fare. You don’t have to tell anyone how easy they are to make!
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