Roasted Tomato And White Bean Stewed Chicken With Apricot Pine Nut Cousous Recipes

CHICKEN TAGINE WITH APRICOTS AND SPICED PINE NUTS

Steps:

• Make tagine:
• Cut out and reserve wings and backbone from chicken. Cut breast in half through bone, then cut off legs and cut to separate into thighs and drumsticks (for a total of 6 serving pieces, not including wings and backbone). Pat chicken pieces dry and sprinkle with 1 teaspoon salt.
• Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a 12-inch heavy skillet over medium heat until it shimmers, then brown chicken breasts, skin sides down, without turning, 5 minutes. Transfer to a plate. Brown thighs and legs, turning once, 8 to 10 minutes, transferring to plate. Brown wings and backbone in same manner.
• Cook shallots in butter with remaining tablespoon oil in a 5- to 6-quart heavy pot over medium heat, stirring frequently, until soft, 8 to 10 minutes. Add garlic, ginger, turmeric, and paprika and cook, stirring, 3 minutes.
• Add chicken with any juices from plate, saffron (if using), and 1/2 teaspoon salt to shallot mixture and turn chicken to coat. Add water and bring to a boil, covered, then cook at a bare simmer, covered, 30 minutes.
• Turn chicken and add orange preserves, cinnamon stick, thyme, cilantro sprigs, and apricots. Simmer, covered, 10 minutes. Uncover and simmer until chicken is very tender, 10 to 15 minutes more.
• Brown pine nuts while chicken cooks:
• Heat oil in a small heavy skillet over medium heat until it shimmers, then stir in pine nuts, turmeric, paprika, and cayenne (if using) and cook, stirring frequently, until nuts are lightly browned, 1 to 2 minutes (watch carefully; they burn easily). Transfer to a small bowl.
• To serve:
• Transfer chicken to a platter and keep warm, covered. If sauce is not thick, boil, stirring occasionally, until reduced to about 1 cup. Discard herb sprigs, cinnamon stick, wings, and backbone. Stir in chopped cilantro and spoon sauce over chicken. Sprinkle with nuts.
• What to drink:
• Chateau Reynella McLaren Vale Grenache '04

APRICOT CHICKEN I

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Place the chicken pieces in a 4 quart casserole dish. Mix the soup mix, dressing and jam together, and pour over the chicken.
• Cover dish and bake for 1 hour in preheated oven.

STEWED CHICKEN

Steps:

• For the chicken: Season chicken with salt, pepper, thyme and garlic. Heat two tablespoons of oil in large frying pan over moderately high heat. Brown chicken, turning pieces once, about 4 minutes per side. Add a few teaspoons of water to skillet. Repeat a few times and then add watered flour to make a gravy. As chicken browns, add onions, cover pan and simmer on low heat for 10 to 15 minutes so chicken will stew. (Typically back home in Belize onion was the only vegetable used with the chicken, however many Belizians that are now in the Unites States add bell pepper and tomatoes to this dish.)
• For the rice and beans: Clean beans and check for stones. Put beans in a stockpot with water to cover, thyme, onions, garlic and pepper. Do not add salt at this time because the beans will turn hard. Cover and cook over moderate heat for 1 hour, stirring every 10 minutes and adding a little water if necessary. Cook until beans have softened. Add salt, coconut milk and uncooked rice. Cover and barely simmer over low heat (milk may easily burn) for 10 to 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.

EARLY AUTUMN ROASTED VEGETABLES WITH COUSCOUS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
• In a colander toss the eggplant and zucchini with about 2 teaspoons salt, and let drain for about 30 minutes. In a large bowl, combine together the remaining ingredients except the fresh tomatoes with the olive oil. Add the eggplant and zucchini to the bowl and transfer to a large roasting pan arranging in 1 layer. Place in a preheated oven. Occasionally turn vegetables for even browning, after 30 minutes add fresh tomatoes continue cooking for another 15 to 30 minutes or until vegetables are tender. Serve hot or cold, garnish with fresh chopped herbs.
• Crumble saffron in a small dish with 1/2 cup of water to dissolve. In a saucepan bring chicken broth to a boil. Add saffron in water and oil, heat for 1 minute. Stir in couscous, currants or raisins, and almonds remove from heat. Cover and let stand for 5 minutes. Fluff the couscous with a fork before serving.

LEMON-PAPRIKA CHICKEN WITH CHICKPEAS AND COUSCOUS

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 375˚ F. Whisk the lemon juice, tomato paste, 2 tablespoons olive oil, the paprika, thyme, garlic and 1/2 teaspoon each salt and pepper in a small bowl. Pat the chicken dry with paper towels; season with salt and pepper. Rub the chicken with 3 tablespoons of the lemon-paprika mixture to evenly coat.
• Heat the remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large ovenproof skillet over medium-high heat. Add the chicken and cook until browned on one side, about 5 minutes. Meanwhile, remove 3 tablespoons liquid from the can of chickpeas and transfer to a medium bowl. Drain and rinse the chickpeas. Add to the bowl with the chickpea liquid and add the remaining lemon-paprika mixture and the bell pepper; toss. Flip the chicken and scatter the chickpea mixture around the chicken, scraping any liquid into the pan. Transfer the skillet to the oven and roast until the chicken is cooked through, 8 to 12 minutes.
• Meanwhile, cook the couscous as the label directs. Fluff the couscous with a fork.
• Remove the chicken to a plate. Add the couscous to the chickpea mixture and stir together to absorb the pan sauce; season with salt and pepper. Slice the chicken and divide among plates along with the couscous-chickpea mixture. Top with the parsley and serve with lemon wedges.

APRICOT CHICKEN WITH WHITE BEAN PUREE AND ARUGULA

Steps:

• Pat the chicken breasts dry. Using a sharp knife, slice each chicken breast half into two horizontally so you have 4 cutlets. Sprinkle the chicken with salt and pepper.
• Place a large skillet over medium-high heat and add 3 tablespoons oil. When the oil starts to shimmer, add the chicken, 1 garlic clove and 1 sprig thyme and cook until the chicken is golden and opaque, 2 to 3 minutes per side. Transfer everything to a plate, tent with foil to keep warm and set aside.
• Return the skillet to medium heat and add the apricot preserves, broth, 1 tablespoon vinegar, 1 tablespoon mustard, 1 garlic clove and the remaining fresh thyme sprig. Season with salt and pepper. Whisk together the mixture and cook until the sauce is smooth. Reduce the heat to low as you prepare the white bean puree and arugula.
• Make your bean puree. Put the cannellini beans, remaining garlic clove, lemon juice and lemon zest in a food processor. Add in 1/4 cup olive oil and pulse until smooth and creamy. Season with salt and pepper. If the bean puree isn't as creamy as you want, add 1 tablespoon water and pulse again. Set aside.
• Chop the pistachios and set aside.
• Whisk together the remaining 1 tablespoon vinegar and remaining 1 teaspoon mustard in a medium bowl. Whisk in the remaining 1/4 cup oil. Add the arugula and toss until coated with the dressing. Season with salt and pepper to taste and set aside.
• Return the chicken and any juices on the plate to the skillet with the sauce. Increase the heat to medium. Cook until the chicken is cooked through, 2 to 3 minutes more, flipping the cutlets halfway through.
• To serve, dollop and swoop some bean puree into a shallow bowl or deep plate. Slice a chicken cutlet and place it on top of the bean puree and top with the sauce. Place some arugula next to the chicken. Sprinkle everything with the chopped pistachios and drizzle with olive oil. Repeat with the remaining puree, chicken, arugula and pistachios. Enjoy!