This recipe comes from Susana Rangel Gutierrez via Saveur, and boy it is a good one. This chicken was just fantastic. The skin is to die for. The chicken is moist and the cheesy goodness is incredible. As usual, I didn't use the butter substituting olive oil instead. If you can't find Manchego, make sure to get a provolone that has a little sharpness. You definitely don't want a neutral cheese. I also added some sliced green olives that were lying around the fridge.
For serving, I think lime wedges and other taco fixins should be added (chopped onion, cilantro, guacamole, sour cream or greek yogurt, etc).
SERVES 4
INGREDIENTS
1 (4½–5-lb.) chicken
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
4 tbsp. unsalted butter, softened
5 cloves garlic, minced
10 oz. thinly sliced Manchego fresco or provolone
6 oz. white button mushrooms, thinly sliced
1 bunch spinach (about 5 oz.), tough stems trimmed
Salsa verde and tortillas, for serving (optional)
INSTRUCTIONS
Heat oven to 475°. Season chicken with salt and pepper. Slide fingers under the skin of breast to create a pocket. Mix 1 tbsp. butter and the garlic in a bowl; spread over breast meat. Stuff cheese, mushrooms, and spinach leaves into pocket; stuff any excess into cavity. Using a trussing needle and 6' kitchen string, tuck tail inward and sew cavity closed; tie legs together (see How to Truss a Chicken). Place breast side up in a 9" x 13" baking dish; rub with remaining butter. Cook, basting occasionally, until browned and an instant-read thermometer inserted into thickest part of thigh reads 165°, about 1 hour 45 minutes. Let rest 10 minutes before carving; serve with salsa and tortillas, if you like.
Monday, June 2, 2014
Coffee-cured Pork (Pulled Pork Shoulder Tacos)
This recipe by Linton Hopkins via Food and Wine is awesome! My whole family just loved it. Of course there are several ways you can serve this pork, what I did was to make tacos! Lime wedges, greek yogurt (instead of sour cream), salsa, finely chopped shallots, guacamole, and corn tortillas. This really completed the dish and made it special.
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup coarsely ground coffee (½)
1/2 cup Kosher salt plus more for the glaze
One 4-pound, bone-in pork butt
1/3 cup sorghum or molasses
1/3 cup apple cider vinegar
Freshly ground pepper
In a large bowl, combine the sugar, coffee and 1/2 cup of salt. Add the pork and rub the mixture all over. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 12 to 24 hours.
Preheat the oven to 300°. Rinse off the pork and set in a roasting pan. Roast the pork for 6 hours, basting with pan juices, until an instant-read thermometer inserted in the thickest part registers 200°; cover with foil for the last 2 hours of cooking. Transfer the pan to a rack and let rest for 30 minutes. Increase the oven temperature to 500°.
In a saucepan, boil the sorghum and vinegar; season with salt and pepper. Simmer until slightly reduced, 10 minutes. Pour the glaze over the pork and roast for 15 minutes, until glazed. Let cool, then shred the pork.
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup coarsely ground coffee (½)
1/2 cup Kosher salt plus more for the glaze
One 4-pound, bone-in pork butt
1/3 cup sorghum or molasses
1/3 cup apple cider vinegar
Freshly ground pepper
In a large bowl, combine the sugar, coffee and 1/2 cup of salt. Add the pork and rub the mixture all over. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 12 to 24 hours.
Preheat the oven to 300°. Rinse off the pork and set in a roasting pan. Roast the pork for 6 hours, basting with pan juices, until an instant-read thermometer inserted in the thickest part registers 200°; cover with foil for the last 2 hours of cooking. Transfer the pan to a rack and let rest for 30 minutes. Increase the oven temperature to 500°.
In a saucepan, boil the sorghum and vinegar; season with salt and pepper. Simmer until slightly reduced, 10 minutes. Pour the glaze over the pork and roast for 15 minutes, until glazed. Let cool, then shred the pork.
Chickpea Stew
This recipe comes from Sergi Millet via Food and Wine. A solid recipe. As usual I cannot help myself and I had to tweak. I added some celery because I had it in the fridge and needed to use it up. I'm not sure why the recipe tells you to maintain such a small amount of water for pre-cooking the chickpeas. I filled a stock pot about 2/3 full and then let the chickpeas simmer for 2 hours and didn't have to constantly watch to make sure the water level was right. If someone can give me a compelling reason for doing it the way the recipe says, I'd be much obliged.
2 cups dried chickpeas, soaked overnight and drained
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 large onion, finely diced
1 1/2 teaspoons finely chopped rosemary
1 bay leaf
One 28-ounce can Italian tomatoes, chopped, 1 cup juice reserved
1/2 pound soft cooked chorizo, sliced 1/4 inch thick
1 pound spinach, thick stems discarded
Salt and freshly ground pepper
In a medium saucepan, cover the chickpeas with 2 inches of water and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and simmer until the chickpeas are tender, about 2 hours; add more water as necessary to maintain the level. Drain the chickpeas and reserve 1 cup of the cooking water.
In a medium, enameled cast-iron casserole, heat the olive oil. Add the garlic, onion, rosemary and bay leaf and cook over moderate heat until the onion is softened, about 7 minutes. Add the tomatoes and cook over moderately high heat until sizzling, about 4 minutes. Add the chorizo, the cooked chickpeas and their reserved cooking water and the tomato juice and bring to a simmer. Stir in half of the spinach and cook until wilted, then stir in the remaining spinach. Simmer over moderately low heat for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Season with salt and pepper.
MAKE AHEAD The stew can be refrigerated for up to 3 days. Reheat gently.
2 cups dried chickpeas, soaked overnight and drained
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 large onion, finely diced
1 1/2 teaspoons finely chopped rosemary
1 bay leaf
One 28-ounce can Italian tomatoes, chopped, 1 cup juice reserved
1/2 pound soft cooked chorizo, sliced 1/4 inch thick
1 pound spinach, thick stems discarded
Salt and freshly ground pepper
In a medium saucepan, cover the chickpeas with 2 inches of water and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and simmer until the chickpeas are tender, about 2 hours; add more water as necessary to maintain the level. Drain the chickpeas and reserve 1 cup of the cooking water.
In a medium, enameled cast-iron casserole, heat the olive oil. Add the garlic, onion, rosemary and bay leaf and cook over moderate heat until the onion is softened, about 7 minutes. Add the tomatoes and cook over moderately high heat until sizzling, about 4 minutes. Add the chorizo, the cooked chickpeas and their reserved cooking water and the tomato juice and bring to a simmer. Stir in half of the spinach and cook until wilted, then stir in the remaining spinach. Simmer over moderately low heat for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Season with salt and pepper.
MAKE AHEAD The stew can be refrigerated for up to 3 days. Reheat gently.
Falafel
I hate posting recipes that I can't attribute correctly. I apologize to whoever posted this recipe. The flavor was pretty good, but I had trouble with it. The falafel fried up and were pretty good the first day, but the next day when I tried to reheat them, it was like they had a fried "skin" that sloughed off when trying to cut them. Obviously, I did something wrong, but I'm not really sure what. If anyone has any suggestions, please leave a comment. Thank you!
1 15 oz can garbanzo beans
¼ c chopped onion
3 T flour plus more for dredging
2 ½ t salt-free garlic/pepper spice mix
1 t ground cumin
1 t baking powder
½ t salt
2 T packed chopped parsley
oil for frying
Puree beans, onion, flour, garlic/pepper spice mix, cumin, baking powder, and salt until coarse puree forms. Add parsley and process just to blend. Make tablespoon size balls and dredge thoroughly through some flour. Flatten balls slightly.
Pour enough oil into a pan to fill ½ inch deep. Heat to 375 degrees. Fry balls until deep brown, turning once about 3 minutes or so. Drain on paper towels.
Serve with hummus or in pita with other middle eastern fixin’s like baba ganoush, etc.
Makes 18 balls (6 servings 3 balls each), active time: 35 mins, total time: 55 mins
1 15 oz can garbanzo beans
¼ c chopped onion
3 T flour plus more for dredging
2 ½ t salt-free garlic/pepper spice mix
1 t ground cumin
1 t baking powder
½ t salt
2 T packed chopped parsley
oil for frying
Puree beans, onion, flour, garlic/pepper spice mix, cumin, baking powder, and salt until coarse puree forms. Add parsley and process just to blend. Make tablespoon size balls and dredge thoroughly through some flour. Flatten balls slightly.
Pour enough oil into a pan to fill ½ inch deep. Heat to 375 degrees. Fry balls until deep brown, turning once about 3 minutes or so. Drain on paper towels.
Serve with hummus or in pita with other middle eastern fixin’s like baba ganoush, etc.
Makes 18 balls (6 servings 3 balls each), active time: 35 mins, total time: 55 mins
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