Friday, September 12, 2008
Chicken with Artichokes
It was going to be a leftover night, an amalgam of several meals, but my wife D had just been to the supermarket and was unable to resist a heavily marked down corn fed chicken, that according to the use-buy label, needed to be cooked straight away. Not wanting a roast, I suggested fried chicken, but D wasn't up for that. Then I noticed a couple of likely suspects resting on the table, artichokes.
Just the other day, Lidia Bastianich had demonstrated chicken with artichokes, a wonderful springtime dish. With spring now so evident, with sweet and tender new season spring lamb, broadbeans so tiny they need no peeling, plump spears of local asparagus, why not do a dish that is particularly suited to early spring? Sure there's blossom on the trees, but I take my seasonal cues from the greengrocer.
Okay, I hadn't taken any notes, no matter, it was the idea I was after, a very good one too.
Chicken with Artichokes
(inspired by Lidia Bastianich, serves 4)
1 whole chicken, about 1.2kg or similar in chicken pieces
olive oil
2 medium onions, sliced
4 fat cloves garlic, chopped
2 tablespoons plain flour
1 wineglass dry white wine
juice of 1 lemon
half litre chicken stock
4 artichokes, trimmed, each heart cut in four, dipped in acidulated water
handful black or green olives
salt and fresh ground pepper
Cut the chicken into even sized pieces, keep all the bony bits and dry everything with paper towels. If using chicken pieces, dry thoroughly. Heat some olive oil in a braising pot, large enough to hold everything and brown the chicken in batches, including any bony bits. Remove the chicken from the pot and add the onions, garlic, a pinch of salt and slowly brown till golden. When coloured add the flour and stir in, then pour in the wine, lemon juice and chicken stock. Scrape up all the brown bits from the bottom of the pan, then add the artichokes, olives and season to taste. Place the chicken pieces on top, there should be sufficient liquid to lap their sides. Bring to the boil, lower to a simmer and cook with the lid on for 45 minutes. Serve with rice.
Note: Using a whole chicken will give a better result, the bones give more flavour and body to the braise.
Edited to add: Looks like Martha Stewart liked Lidia's recipe too, you can find the original here. Seems I can't remember the difference between crushed tomatoes and chicken stock.
Just the other day, Lidia Bastianich had demonstrated chicken with artichokes, a wonderful springtime dish. With spring now so evident, with sweet and tender new season spring lamb, broadbeans so tiny they need no peeling, plump spears of local asparagus, why not do a dish that is particularly suited to early spring? Sure there's blossom on the trees, but I take my seasonal cues from the greengrocer.
Okay, I hadn't taken any notes, no matter, it was the idea I was after, a very good one too.
Chicken with Artichokes
(inspired by Lidia Bastianich, serves 4)
1 whole chicken, about 1.2kg or similar in chicken pieces
olive oil
2 medium onions, sliced
4 fat cloves garlic, chopped
2 tablespoons plain flour
1 wineglass dry white wine
juice of 1 lemon
half litre chicken stock
4 artichokes, trimmed, each heart cut in four, dipped in acidulated water
handful black or green olives
salt and fresh ground pepper
Cut the chicken into even sized pieces, keep all the bony bits and dry everything with paper towels. If using chicken pieces, dry thoroughly. Heat some olive oil in a braising pot, large enough to hold everything and brown the chicken in batches, including any bony bits. Remove the chicken from the pot and add the onions, garlic, a pinch of salt and slowly brown till golden. When coloured add the flour and stir in, then pour in the wine, lemon juice and chicken stock. Scrape up all the brown bits from the bottom of the pan, then add the artichokes, olives and season to taste. Place the chicken pieces on top, there should be sufficient liquid to lap their sides. Bring to the boil, lower to a simmer and cook with the lid on for 45 minutes. Serve with rice.
Note: Using a whole chicken will give a better result, the bones give more flavour and body to the braise.
Edited to add: Looks like Martha Stewart liked Lidia's recipe too, you can find the original here. Seems I can't remember the difference between crushed tomatoes and chicken stock.
8 Comments:
I always laugh when one of my blog readers mistakes me for Lidia -- but I'm always flattered, because she is such an inventive, educational, and darned good cook. This recipe sounds delicious, and though it's not spring here, I can probably scare up some artichokes.
Can't resist the heavily marked-down bargains - a supermarket near me regularly marks down cheeses like King Island which are just reaching their peak. I snap them up.
I've tried Martha's version and it is delicious, can't wait to try yours.
This is my kind of dish; simple yet heady, straight-forward flavors, cooked in a single pot ~ just add rice. And chicken is my favorite thing in any season. I can't wait to try it.
I made it with tofu. It's good in a sandwich, thank you.
Hi lydia, everything you said is true. She is one of my favouite cooks, pity is, I've never seen her cookbooks here, would love to add them to the library.
Hi kitchen hand, I'm totally with you. I guess for people who know, there are many absolute bargains to be had. My best was lamb cutlets for 1/2 price.
Hi serendipity, funnily, that was what I meant to cook, so sad getting old! Glad you liked that version, because that's what I'm cooking next.
Hi gigi, you'll love it, so easy to do...as long as you don't mind prepping artichokes. I hate how the discard pile is always bigger than the bits I'm left with!
Hi hypnos, be careful of those mushrooms!
Sounds wonderful - my husband is a huge artichoke fan so this should be right up his alley. And I agree abotu prepping the artichoke - it's the same with broad beans: you look at the pile you are throwing on the compost heap and it's WAY bigger than what you are actually eating!!
Hi jeanne, my wife is a big fan too, so right now, we are both happy. That compost pile really sucks. Was just thinking to do your recipe for broad beans with jamon...so good.
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