Hunter's Chicken Stew
April 13, 2010
I decided to follow a recipe nearly to the letter to experience what it is like to cook from a recipe exactly as it appears sans the midas touch. I cooked pollo alla cacciatora by Jaime Oliver. Result? Amazing. My only modifications were the type of olives, type of wine, and cooking times. This recipe anticipates feeding a tribe but I cooked for two so proportion of ingredients is smaller.
I cooked 2 chicken breasts. To begin, marinate chx in 1/2 bottle red wine, clove crushed garlic, 6 bay leaves, 2 rosemary twigs, s&p and a dash of EVOO. Let sit over night - this is VERY important.
The next day, take chx out of marinade and pat dry with paper towel. Dust with flour and quickly brown chicken on all sides. Set aside. Preheat oven to 350.
Now, for the sauce, use same pan you used for frying chx (use an enameled pot like le creuset). Quickly toast 2 crushed and chopped garlic, then add 6 anchovies, 1 c olives (I used sicilian), and 1 large can of plum tomatoes (crush in pan with spoon). Add reserve liquid marinade (remove old bay leaves and rosemary, replace with fresh ones), and bring to slight boil. Add chx.
Cover with lid and cook in oven for 1 hour. Turn off oven and let rest for 20 minutes. Eat hot with beans or side pasta.
It will knock your socks off!
Stuffed Calamari
December 22, 2009
I decided to attempt a copycat recipe (from a great local northern Italian restaurant) with some calamari I bought the other day. For this recipe you will need 4 calamari tubes (heads of the squid, tentacles removed, and internal parts washed out).
For the stuffing:
- 2/3 c bread crumbs
- 2 minced shallots
- 2 minced garlic cloves
- 1/2 lemon
- handful of minced parsley
- 3 tbsp EVOO
- handful minced olives (green or kalamata)
- 1 tbsp pesto (you can replace this w/more spices and EVOO)
- handful of grated parmesan
Mix the ingredients around in a bowl. The mixture won't be paste, but it should stick together somewhat.
I had a request to add dijon mustard to the mix. I agree. I may alter this and repost.
Take the stuffing and use your hands to fill the calamari tubes. The stuffing expands when coked so don't worry if you can't fill it to the brim. Set aside.
For a simple ragu, set aside sliced 1/2 white onion, 2 tomatoes, chopped, 2 minced garlic cloves, 1 tbsp capers, 1/2 c chopped green or kalamata olives, and some fresh herbs like parsley or basil.
In a cast iron skillet, heat 1/4 c EVOO, and place calamari tubes down, browning each side. When browned, add ragu ingredients, and 1 c white wine. Simmer for 15 minutes, covered. Add s&p to taste.
You should feel free to tinker with the stuffing, but the basics are bread crumbs and EVOO. Eat hot.
Sort of Sicilian Cauliflower
July 14, 2006
After attending a garden party recently, I just couldn't resist asking the host for her cauliflower salad recipe. Cauliflower, that beautiful creamy floret, was bathed in a lemon parsley pesto and then dotted with sicilian green olives. While my host gave me the ingredients, I didn't ask for the exact portions, so I made them up (as usual). Feel free to tinker with this dish, serving it warm or cold, and adding different herbs if you have them.
You will need:
- 1 head of cauliflower, washed and cut into small pieces
- 1 lemon, juiced
- 1 clove garlic
- 1 chile piquin
- 1/2 bunch of Italian parsley
- 1 shallot or 1/4 white onion
- 8 large green olives for the pesto and 10 for the salad roughly chopped (I used green sicilian olives, but you can use kalamata too)
- salt & pepper to taste
- 1/2 c of olive oil
Step One: Place the cauliflower florets in a heated stock pot with 1/2 c of water and a pinch of salt. Cover the pan and cook over medium-high heat for 5-7 minutes until cauliflower softens. The texture you are looking for should be slightly crunchy as this is a salad, not a soup mush.
Remove, drain, rinse under cold water and set aside.
Step Two: In a blender, combine the parsley, garlic, chile, onion, 8 olives, and lemon juice. Slowly drizzle in the olive oil until totally incorporated.
Step Three: Bathe the cauliflower in the pesto and add the remaining olives to them. Serve warm or cold with a side of pasta or good bread and a salad.
Labels: cauliflower, Italian parsley, lemon, olives, salad
