Chestnut Honey Mustard Marinade

Chestnut Honey Mustard Marinade

Our mustard made with chestnut honey from Italy makes a perfect glaze for roasted or grilled meats or fish.  Combine ¼ cup Chestnut Honey Mustard, 2 Tbsp. orange juice and 1tsp. chopped garlic. Brush on meat or fish and marinate 4 hours or overnight in refrigerator. Roast or grill meat until done.

Buon appetito! copyright 2011 Alisa Barry

Chicken Tagine with Pumpkin + Chickpeas

CHICKEN TAGINE WITH PUMPKIN AND CHICKPEAS
A tagine is a traditional stew and cooking pan from Morocco.

Ingredients:
6 large whole chicken legs (with thighs), skins removed.
2 tsp. cumin, crushed seeds or powder
2 large onions, peeled and quartered
2 Tablespoons butter
1 Tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
coarse salt + pepper
3 garlic cloves, sliced
1 cup pumpkin pesto or 1 cups organic pumpkin puree.
pinch of ground cinnamon
1 Tablespoon chopped Italian parsley
2 cups chicken stock
1 cup cooked chickpeas


Season the chicken legs with salt and pepper. If using cumin seeds, toast the seeds over medium heat just until you smell the flavors releasing. Crush in a mortar + pestle or with the bottom of a heavy pan. Sprinkle the cumin over the chicken. Set the aside.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. In a skillet over medium heat, saute the onions in butter and olive oil until softened. Season with salt and continue cooking until the onions are cooked, about 10 minutes. Add the pumpkin pesto, garlic, cinnamon and parsley. Stir until blended. Remove the mixture from the pan and place in a large tagine cooker.

Arrange the chicken legs over the mixture in one layer, skin side up. Add the chicken stock.
Cover the tagine and bake for 20 minutes, or until the liquid is bubbling. Reduce the heat to 175 degrees. Add the chickpeas and continue cooking for another 30 minutes, or until the chicken legs are tender to the touch of a fork.

Serve the chicken tagine over Sardinian Fregola.

Serves six.

Buon appetito! copyright 2011 Alisa Barry

Tuscan Lemon + Rosemary Chicken under a brick

The Italians love to grill over hardwood. In the summertime, they typically cook over an open fire pit just off the kitchen. In the winter, they place a grill in their fireplace. {I have never seen a gas grill in Italy!} . One of the most interesting grilling techniques I have seen in Italy is cooking poultry under a brick. The Italians call this method of cooking under a brick "al mattone". Whether you use an actual brick or not is not important. The idea is to flatten out the chicken so the skin gets a nice crispy texture and the meat cooks fast and stays tender, juicy and moist. It's really easy from start to finish and a great staple for the seasonal summer menu repetoire.

TUSCAN LEMON + ROSEMARY CHICKEN

1 whole chicken, preferably organic + free range
4 wedges preserved lemons
4 sprigs of fresh rosemary, needles removed from stem
4 cloves fresh garlic, peeled
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 Tablespoon crushed pepperocini chili flakes
1/2 Tablespoon sea salt
1/8 Tablespoon cracked black pepper

Cut the chicken lengthwise through the breast bone {versus down the back} or have your butcher prepare it for you. {The butchers at Whole Foods are great at these kinds of things and are usually very glad to help.} To prepare the marinade for the chicken, place the lemons, garlic, rosemary and olive oil in a blender. Blend the ingredients on low speed, just until coarsely chopped. Refrigerate until ready to use. {This can be prepared up to 3 days in advance.}



To prepare the marinated chicken, open up the chicken and place in a shallow platter,skin side down. Rub the chicken with 1/3 of the marinade. Season with 1/2 of the chili flakes, salt, pepper. Turn the chicken over and rub the remaining 2/3 marinade over the chicken to coat the skin. Season with the rest of the chili flakes, salt and pepper. Cover with plastic wrap and marinate in the refrigerator for a few hours or overnight.



When ready to cook, prepare your fire for the grill. The fire should be hot, but the flames should have subsided.
Place flattened chicken on grill, skin side up. Make sure it is placed on a lower heat side of the grill, as you don’t want the chicken to burn before it is thoroughly cooked.
Top with tinfoil covered bricks {you will need about two} or a heavy weight lid or ceramic platter to flatten the chicken. {a cast iron pan will work nicely}.



Cook about 8-10 minutes. Carefully remove bricks, turn the chicken over and cook on the other side, placing bricks back on top of the chicken. Cook for an additional 8-10 minutes. The skin should be lightly charred and the chicken should be flattened. Test the temperature at the thigh if you are unsure about the doneness. The temperature should be about 160 degrees.




Carefully remove from the grill and let rest 5-10 minutes. Cut into pieces and serve with fresh lemon wedges.

Serves 4.

NOTE:
I especially like cooking this recipe over the hard wood Tuscan grill because it add so much flavor to the dish. The high heat creates a crispy-textured skin. The hard wood adds lots of flavor throughout the entire chicken. This is a great recipe for easy entertaining, too. {p.s. great father's day gift!}




Buon appetito!
copyright 2009 Alisa Barry

Time to get back into the kitchen

It has been raining furiously for the past few days, and I couldn't be happier. I love a downpour and darkened sky- it slows me down and makes me want to nestle somewhere cozy where I can hear the heartbeat of the rain on the rooftop.
It also brings me back into the kitchen. It has been a busy summer and I haven't spent as much time cooking as I wanted to. Like the seasons, sometimes we need to stop for a rest or to slow down to let new ideas simmer.

Fall is a perfect time to let life take a more abbreviated pace.
It is a time of stews and cobblers, roasts and root vegetables. It is a time to let the oven do most of the work.
Slow cooking. Cooking slowly.

One of my favorite fall dishes is a simple roasted chicken. I love starting the feast by basting the liver in butter until it is cooked, but still rosy pink on the inside. It is like a secret treat before the main meal. It reminds me of watching my mom make broth from the "goodies" harvested from inside the cavity. One of the many techniques she learned from her European mother that was later passed down to me. These days, you may have noticed at your favorite local restaurant, innards are definitely "in". Nose to tail, girth to giblet. But I digress.....

I am also dreaming of slow-roasted short-ribs. {PS: you must try some deliciously tender short ribs at my favorite local gastro pub Holeman & Finch}. And hearty soups and stews. One pot casseroles. Oven to table goodness. Light a fire and let it roar. Pour yourself a nice glass of red wine. Crank up the oven and join me in the kitchen.

Here is a recipe to get your taste buds ready for the fall harvest offerings. No innards here, just a celebration of this season's harvest root vegetables with inexpensive chicken thighs.

ROASTED ROOT VEGETABLE STEW WITH CREAMY ARTICHOKE LEMON MASHED POTATOES

1 wedge of preserved lemon
3 parsnips
2 carrots or bunch of baby carrots
1 medium yellow onion
1 cup butternut squash or sweet potato pieces { use peeled vegetables, cut into 1/2 chunks}
3 Tablespoons olive oil
fresh thyme sprigs
1 cloves garlic , crushed
6-8 boneless chicken thighs
1/2 cup flour
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 tsp. citrus fennel aromatic savory salt
1 cup Marinated Chickpeas with Garlic and lemon
2 cups chicken or vegetable stock or broth
1 cup Artichoke Lemon Pesto

Rinse the lemon wedge and remove the pulp and seeds with your thumb or back of a paring knife. Cut the wedges into thin crosswise slices. Peel and cut the parsnips into 1/2 inch pieces. Scrub the carrots clean and cut into 1/2 pieces or remove the green fronds from the whole baby carrots, leaving about 1/2 inch of green stem at the top. Cut the onion into half moon slices.



Toss the lemon and vegetables with oil, 1 teaspoon wild oregano salt and 1/8 teaspoon cracked black pepper. Place on a sheet pan. Add the garlic cloves. Sprinkle with sprigs of fresh thyme. Bake in a 350 degree oven for about 30-40 minutes, until the squash or potato can be pierced with a knife. Remove from the oven when done.

To prepare the chicken, mix the flour, cinnamon and savory salt. Dredge the chicken thighs in the flour mixture. Heat 3 tablespoons of butter and 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large saute pan just until melted and foamy. Add the chicken thighs and cook on both sides just until browned. Remove the chicken from the pan. Deglaze the pan with the chicken broth. Stir in the artichoke pesto.



Add the chicken. Place the roasted vegetables with the chickpeas in the pan.Season to taste. Continue to cook over medium heat until chicken is cooked and sauce is thick. Spoon over warm artichoke mashed potatoes.





* To make the artichoke mashed potatoes, simply add artichoke lemon pesto to your favorite mashed potato recipe and enjoy!

Serves four.


Buon appetito!
copyright 2008 Alisa Barry

Sweet Pimenton Paprika

Pimenton Dulce of Murcia by El Ruisenor

I am inspired by ingredients. Today, while browsing the isles of my local Crate & Barrel, I stopped dead in my tracks at a most beautiful sight. It wasn't the impressive hurricane lamps or the beautiful teak vases. It was Pimenton Dulce.
Pimenton Dulce, or sweet pepper paprika, is a wonderful spice condiment typically used in Spanish dishes. The best pimenton dulce originates from Spain where sweet capsicum red peppers are said to be dried and smoked over burning branches of oak. That process gives the paprika its aromatic smell and flavor.

Needless to say, I couldn't resist and quickly planned my trip to the market to survey the local fresh produce and proteins that might complement the dish. Here is the recipe that made itself, all from a few sprinklings of a delicious spice from Spain.

Pollo Dulce with Golden Peppers and Sweet Jasmine Rice
2 Tablespoons olive oil
6 boneless, skinless chicken thighs
2 heaping Tablespoons of Pimenton Dulce
A generous sprinkle of sea salt

Rub the pimenton dulce liberally over the front and back sides of the chicken thighs. Sprinkle with the sea salt.
Heat the olive oil over medium high heat and sear the chicken just until lightly browned , about 1 minute per side.
Remove from the pan and set aside. Deglaze the pan with 1 cup chicken stock and scrape up the bits on the bottom of the pan. Remove to a bowl and set aside.

2 Tablespoons olive oil
1/2 pound golden bell peppers [about 2} seeds removed and cut into strips
1/2 pound Vidalia or sweet yellow onion, peeled and cut crosswise into thin half-moon slices
1 clove of garlic, cut into thin slices

In the same pan, heat olive oil over medium heat. Saute the onion, peppers and garlic just until soft, but not browned. Add the parsely and 1/2 cup dry white wine and reduce liquid by half.

2 Tablespoons chopped italian flatleaf parsely
1 cup of San Marzano whole canned tomatoes and juice
1 cup Bella Cucina Sweet Pepper pesto {a bit of a shameless plug, but certainly optional}
1 cup chicken stock
1 Tablespoon Italian flat leaf parsely, chopped
* you can skip all the ingredients after the chicken and simply add a jar of Bella Cucina Sugo Alla Peperonata {another plug!}

Add the tomatoes {breaking them up slightly with a knife}, sweet pepper pesto, reserved pimenton broth and the chicken stock. Layer the chicken thighs on top and bring to a light boil. Cover and simmer over medium low heat until the flavors marry, the sauce thickens and the chicken thighs are tender and cooked completely. This will take about 1- 1/2 to 2 hours, for the best flavor.
Serve over aromatic steamed Jasmine Rice. We like the organic kind from our friends at Lotus Foods {www.lotusfoods.com}

Serves 4.

Buon Appetito!
Copyright 2008 Alisa Barry