Sweet • Sour • Savory

Food blog on scandinavian style food done right.

Poultry

Grilled Sesame Chicken

BBQ, Dinner, Meats, PoultryTove Balle-PedersenComment
Grilled Sesame Chicken

Grilled Sesame Chicken

Chicken is one of my favorite things to throw on the grill. For the longest time I have been making beer can chicken, but for an easy weeknight dinner for two persons, I'll always end up with leftovers. Not that leftovers is a bad thing, It makes for an easy dinner the next day. 

I think I have had a chicken leg overload during the time I was single and studying. The chicken legs was a cheap meal and easy meal to make. One thing is sure, I haven't been roasting or grilling for years. This was not fair to my husband, he loves the dark meat from chicken.

This recipe for grilled sesame chicken, taught me to love chicken leg dinners again. The spice mixture and the crispy chicken skin is so so good. 

Serves 2.

Ingredients:

  • 1 tablespoon dried oregano
  • 1 tablespoon minced fresh thyme leaves
  • 1 tablespoon minced fresh rosemary
  • 2 tablespoons sesame seeds
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 lime, the zest 
  • 1 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for serving
  • 3 medium cloves garlic, minced 
  • 2 whole chicken legs 

Directions:

Combine oregano, thyme, rosemary, sesame seeds, lime zest and salt in a small bowl. In a Mortar and pestle combine  the spices with olive oil and garlic until it forms a paste.

Pat chicken dry with paper towels. Using your hands, rub the herb paste evenly all over the surface of chicken, working it into every nook and cranny.

Preheat the grill for about 10 minutes. Grill the chicken skin-side up at indirect heat for about 25-30 minutes. Then turn up the heat or move over direct heat and grill for another 5-10 minutes, until well done. Chicken should be cooked well done to 165-170℉ or 75℃.
Transfer chicken to a cutting board and allow to rest for 5 to 10 minutes before serving.

Enjoy!

When grilling:

You need 2 of everything

  • 2 tongs, one for raw meats, another for cooked meat
  • 2 plates, one for raw meats, another for cooked meat
  • 2 marinades, one bowl for marinading and another for basting
  • use separate cutting boards for raw vegetables, raw meat and cooked meat and vegetables
  • don't leave food out, keep your food cold.

Red Curry with Seared Duck Breast

Dinner, Meats, PoultryTove Balle-PedersenComment
Red Curry with Seared Duck Breast

Red Curry with Seared Duck Breast

In Denmark we often had curries, but I have never had fresh bamboo shoots before moving to the States. Knowing how good fresh poached bamboo shoot tastes, I will never go back to the ones you can buy canned in the stores. They don't have the soft texture and sweet taste.

This is my take on a red duck curry.

Serves 2-3

Ingredients:

  • 1 duck breast, seared and roasted
  • 1 red or yellow pepper
  • ½ fresh poached bamboo shoot, thinly sliced (can be substituted with canned bamboo shoot)
  • 1 can baby corn (or fresh), cut bite sized 
  • 150 g mushrooms, sliced
  • 1 can coconut milk
  • 1 teaspoon sugar
  • 1 teaspoon fish sauce
  • 1 handful sweet basil leaves
  • 8 lychee fruits
  • 1 jalapeño, sliced thinly for topping
  • vegetables oil for cooking

Curry Paste:

  • 2 dried red chili peppers
  • 1 fresh red chili pepper
  • ¼ red onion
  • 3 teaspoons lemongrass (minced or paste)
  • 1-inch (3 cm) ginger, peeled and sliced
  • 4 garlic gloves
  • 7 black peppercorns 
  • 3 teaspoons ground coriander
  • 1 teaspoon cumin
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon fish sauce
  • 1-2 teaspoons sugar

Directions:

Make the curry paste, by blending all the ingredients in a mini blender until you have a smooth paste. 

Chop all the vegetables in bite sized pieces, and set them aside. 

Heat some vegetable oil in a wok, add the curry paste and cook until fragrant. Add vegetables, a little at a time, so the wok don't cool down. 

Add sugar, coconut milk and fish sauce. Let the sauce thicken a bit while simmering. Season the sauce with fish sauce, pepper and sugar.

Just before serving, add the lychee fruits and basil leaves.

Serve the curry over rice and thinly sliced duck breast.

Enjoy!

 

Seared Duck Breast

Christmas, Dinner, Poultry, MeatsTove Balle-PedersenComment
Duck Breasts

Duck Breasts

In Denmark we have roasted duck for holidays like Christmas, but duck breasts is a great cut of meat, that works great in a lot of dishes. I love seared duck breast on a nice salad with blue cheese, berries or with a bunch of steamed vegetables. The possibilities are almost endless.

Serves 4

Ingredients:

  • 2 duck breasts
  • salt

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 400℉ (200℃).

Using a sharp knife, score skin in ¾-inch diamond pattern (do not cut into flesh). Sprinkle with a good amount of salt.

Place the duck breasts skind-side down in a cold skillet. Place the skillet over medium heat. The duck fat starts to render and will add enough fat to cook the breasts. This process will add to the crispiness of the skin. Cook the breasts like this for about 5 minutes. Turn duck breasts over and put the skillet in the preheated oven until to desired doneness, about 6-12 minutes depending on size and desired doneness.

Transfer to work surface, cover with foil to keep warm, and let rest 7-10 minutes. Thinly slice duck, and serve on a salad, curry or with all the christmas trimmings as Caramelized potatoes, pickled red cabbage.

Chicken with Mustard a la David Lebovitz

Dinner, Meats, PoultryTove Balle-PedersenComment

We eat a lot of chicken in my family. Chicken is very easy to change up with different flavorings, and different cooking methods. So when I got David Lebovitz's cookbook, My Paris Kitchen, the first dish I had to try was "chicken with mustard." 

The flavors of this dish blew me away. I thought the Dijon mustard would give the dish a strong flavor, but oddly enough the flavors was very mellow. I think we have another family favorite here. It is actually perfect for a weeknight dinner. We served it with pasta and quick butter-roasted carrot coins.

Serves 4-6

Ingredients:

  • 140 g Dijon mustard

  • ¼ teaspoon smoked paprika

  • freshly ground black pepper, to taste

  • ½ teaspoon sea salt or kosher salt (optional)

  • 4 chicken thighs and 4 drumsticks (8 pieces total), bone-in, skin-on

  • 100 g (2-3 slices) smoked thick-cut bacon, diced

  • 1 small onion, finely diced

  • 1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves + some for garnish

  • a little olive oil, for the pan

  • 240 ml (1 cup) white wine, non-oaky

  • 1 tablespoon grainy mustard (I used Maille Old style whole grain dijon mustard)

  • 3 tablespoons Dijon mustard

  • 3 tablespoons crème fraîche

Directions:

Mix the 140 g Dijon mustard with paprika, salt and black pepper in a bowl. Toss the chicken pieces in the mustard mixture, making sure you get mustard in between chicken and chicken skin. Set aside, while you tend to the bacon and onion.

Chop onion and dice bacon. Heat sauté-pan or Dutch oven and add the bacon. Cook the bacon until it just starts to get brown. You are not looking for crispy bacon bites, you need them to stay soft. Remove the bacon from the skillet and let it drain on a plate lined with paper towels. Remove all bacon fat but 1 tablespoon. Add onion to the pan and cook until soft and translucent. Add the thyme and cook for another few minutes. Put the onions on a large plate, with the drained bacon.

Add a little olive oil to the skillet, if necessary, brown the chicken pieces in a single layer. Be careful not to overcrowd the pan, because this will cause the chicken to steam and not brown, it's better to work in batches. Get a good color all over the chicken. This will help develop the flavor in the dish.  Place the chicken pieces on the plate with onions and bacon. Add the wine to the pot to deglaze it. Scrape of the dark bits of the bottom. Return the chicken, onion and bacon to the pan, and cook it covered for about 15-25 minutes, Check the doneness of the chicken by inserting a knife into the meat next to the bone. You want the juice to come out clear, if red, keep cooking for a few more minutes.

Remove pan from the heat and transfer the chicken to a platter and stir the remaining 3 tablespoons Dijon mustard, the grainy mustard, and the crème fraîche into the sauce. If the sauce has reduced and is quite thick, you can thin it with a little warm water, adding a teaspoon or so at a time. Pour the sauce over the chicken, sprinkle chopped parsley over the top, and serve.

Enjoy!

The Danish version:



Kylling i Sennep a la David Lebovitz



Ingredienser:

  • 140 g Dijon sennep

  • ¼ tsk røget paprika

  • friskkværnet sort peber, efter smag

  • ½ tsk salt

  • 8 stykker kylling med ben og skind, jeg bruger overlår, men underlår duer også

  • 100 g bacon I tern

  • 1 løg, hakket

  • 1 tsk frisk timian blade + lidt til pynt, Jeg bruger 4-6 hele kviste

  • lidt oliven olie til stegning

  • 2½ dl hvidvin

  • 1 spsk grov sennep med tydelige sennepskorn så som Maille grov mild sennep

  • 3 spsk Dijon sennep

  • 3 spsk crème fraîche

Fremgangsmåde:

 

Bland sennep, paprika, salt og peber i en skål. Kom kyllingestykkerne ned i blandingen. Masser senneppen over hele kyllingen, også ind underskindet. Lad kyllingen stå og marinere imens du forbereder det næste.

Hak løg og bacon i tern. Start med at stege bacon i en tykbundet gryde. Baconen skal kun lige tabe fedtet, og lige have taget lidt farve, det er ikke meningen at det skal blive alt for sprødt. Lad baconen dryppe af på et stykke køkkenrulle. Brug bacon fedtet til at stege løgene bløde i, kom timianen i sammen med løgene. Tag løgene op af gryden.

Kom evt. lidt olivenolie i gryden og brun kyllingestykkerne godt af. Gør det gerne af flere gange for ikke at koge kyllingen. Bruningen er med til at skabe en god dybde til retten. 

Tag kyllingen op af gryden, og deglace den med vinen. Kom alle ingredienserne tilbage i gryden, og lad retten simre i 15-25 minutter, indtil kyllingen er nok.

For at færdiggøre retten tilsættes den grove og dijon sennep og creme fraichen. Hvis sovsen er for tyk, tilsæt lidt vand. Hvis sovsen er for tynd, så jævn den med en lille melbolle.
Server kyllingen med kartofler og lidt gulerødder.

Velbekomme!

Salad with Orange and Poppyseed Dressing

Dinner, Lunch, Poultry, SaladTove Balle-PedersenComment
Salad with Orange and Poppyseed Dressing

Salad with Orange and Poppyseed Dressing

I have had enough of christmas food for this year. Three days with pork roast and roasted duck, is more than enough, but then again, I don't want to throw perfectly good food away. The last few days I have been craving a lighter dinner, and tonight we had this colorful salad with an orange-poppyseed dressing. This kind of foods makes me and my stomach happy. The sweet but tangy dressing pairs perfectly with the fresh fruit, the cheese, avocado and chicken. The poppyseeds and almonds gives the salad a great texture. 

Serves 2

Ingredients:

Salad:

  • 4-5 big handful mixed baby greens or baby spinach 
  • 1 large or 2 small chicken breasts, grilled
  • 1 avocado, diced
  • 1 handful sliced almonds, toasted
  • fresh berries
  • 2 small slices or 3 tablespoons crumbled cheese (blue cheese, feta or goat cheese)

Dressing:

  • 2-3 tablespoons olive oil
  • 2-3 tablespoons canola oil
  • 2 orange, the zest of 1 and the juice from 1½ orange
  • 2 tablespoons fresh squeezed lemon juice
  • 2 tablespoons honey
  • 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
  • 1 pinch salt
  • 1 tablespoons poppy seeds

Directions:

Dressing:

Put all the ingredients in a shaker, and shake the dressing until emulsified, refrigerate until serving.

Salad:

Place the greens in a salad bowl and arrange the rest of the ingredients on top. Dress the salad with the dressing just before serving. 

Enjoy!