Stuffed Chicken Breasts

Stuffed Chicken Breasts

I have been experimenting with stuffing chicken breasts for years. I wanted to stuff cheese and some kind of vegetables. Most cheeses will melt and disappear during the cooking process, but somehow goat cheese works perfectly, and the flavors from the scallions and bell peppers pair well with the chicken and sage.

Serves 2.

Ingredients:

• 2 chicken breasts
• 3 tablespoons goat cheese
• 5 scallions, finely sliced
• ¼ red bell pepper, diced
• 1 teaspoon water
• 2-4 sage leaves
• 6 slices prosciutto
• 100 ml white wine
• a splash cream, optional

Directions:

 Preheat the oven to 400℉ (200℃).

Mix the goat cheese with scallions, bell pepper and water, so you have a paste. Place a chicken breast on the cutting board. Cut a pocket into the breast horizontally from the side. Place half the cheese mixture into the pocket you just made. Place a sage leave on top of the chicken breast. Wrap 2-3 slices prosciutto round the chicken breast, to lock the mixture inside. Place chicken breast in an ovenproof dish. Repeat with the other chicken breast.

Pour the wine and cream into the dish, and cook the chicken in the oven for 40-45 minutes. 

Serve the chicken with pasta and a nice salad.

Enjoy!

Ginger Chicken

Ginger Chicken

I love clean thai dishes with few ingredients and this it a hit in my book. The ginger is a lovely bright flavor and it pairs perfect with the oyster sauce and the chicken.  It will be back on the menu in my house again soon. Nadia you are a star.

Recipe adapted from Foodfanatic Thai.

Serves 4.

Ingredients:

• 2 chicken breasts, diced 

• 250 g shiitake mushrooms, thinly sliced

• 1-2 onions, depending on size, cut into small wedges

• 4 garlic cloves, minced

• 40 g ginger, cut in thin sticks

• 100 ml (about ½ cup) oyster sauce 

• 100 ml (about ½ cup) chicken stock

• 2 tablespoons fish sauce

• 1 teaspoon palm sugar, or regular sugar

• ½ teaspoon ground white pepper

• oil for frying

• 5 scallions, sliced

• 1 chili, thinly sliced for topping

Directions:

Wash and slice all the ingredients, so you have everything ready to go in the wok/pan. 

Heat oil in a wok, add the garlic just to get fragrant a few seconds, then brown the chicken, while stirring. Add the onions and cook until almost translucent, it takes a few minutes. Add, mushrooms, ginger, oyster sauce, sugar, pepper, fish sauce and stock. Cook for a few minutes until all the ingredients are tender and the chicken is just done. Finally add the scallions, and let then just warm before serving. 

Serve the ginger chicken over rice or cauliflower rice, sprinkle with chili to add some heat.

Enjoy!

Slow Roasted Chicken in Clay Baker

Slow Roasted Chicken in Clay Baker

The clay baker or a Römertopf was a popular item in the late sixties to early seventies. My mom had a clay baker like this, but I have never seen it being used. I think my mom thought that it was a bit of a hassle to soak the clay baker before use. But if she had know that how moist and juicy a slow roasted chicken gets, I'm sure she would have used it. 

The clay baker has got a renaissance in the last few years. You can make a lot of different roasts in it, but you can bake bread in it too.

Avoid drastic temperature changes with a clay baker. Always presoak baker for 30 minutes and always allow to cool before cleaning.

Serves 4-6.

Ingredients:

• 1 large whole chicken
• 1 red onion, cut in chunks
• 6 carrots, cut in chunks
• 6 garlic cloves
• 2 lemons, zested and cut or sliced
• 3 sprigs rosemary
• 4 tablespoons salted butter
• 200 ml white wine
• 800 g fingerling potatoes
• salt

Directions:

Completely submerge top and bottom of the clay baker in water and let soak for minimum 30 minutes prior to cooking. 

Zest the lemon, and mix it with the butter together with the chopped rosemary.

Pat the chicken dry with paper towels. Rub chicken lightly with salt inside and put the chopped up lemon inside too. Gently loosen the skin from the breasts and drumsticks, using your fingers. Rub the butter under the loosen skin, set aside.

Put onion, carrots, garlic, 1 rosemary sprig and the wine in the bottom of the clay baker. Place chicken on top, and rub the chicken with salt. Put lid on the clay baker.

Place clay baker in a cold oven and then turn temperature to 300℉ (150℃). Bake covered for 2 hours, then add the potatoes round the chicken. Cook covered for another 45-60 minutes. If the skin isn’t crispy by now cook the chicken uncovered for about another 15-20 minutes at 430℉ (220℃), until skin is browned and chicken is done.

Remove the chicken from the clay baker at let it stand for 15 minutes before carving.

Drain the liquid into a saucepan, cook it for 10-15 minutes or until reduced to half. You can thicken the liquid if you like it, so you have a sauce. 

Serve the chicken with the potatoes and vegetables and a green salad.

(I'm not using a regular rubber band for my cooking, I use Stretch Cooking Bands. They are easy to use, and easy to remove after cooking.)

Enjoy!

Roasted Chicken with Blood Orange and Mint

Roasted Chicken with Blood Orange and Mint

I keep getting attacked by blood oranges at my grocery store. They keep hopping into my cart. 

So I have to figure out new ways to use them. I have been roasting whole chicken with lemons, so why not use blood oranges? 

I really like the sweet and sour taste this combination gives. The sauce is very thin and can be thickened, but the taste was fantastic.

Serves 4.

Ingredients:

• 6-8 boneless chicken thighs

• few sprigs of mint, torn

• 2 blood oranges, thinly sliced

• 1-2 red onions, cut in chunks

Marinade:

• 3 tablespoons olive oil

• 3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

• 3 tablespoons brown sugar

• 200 ml orange juice (preferably blood orange)

Directions:

Mix the marinade add the chicken to it, and let the chicken marinate for a few hours in the refrigerator.

Preheat oven to 425℉ (220℃).

Place the chicken in an ovenproof dish, add onion, mint, blood orange slices and pour the marinade over. 

Place dish in oven and roast until chicken is browned and cooked through, about 35-45 minutes.

Serve chicken with rice or couscous.

Enjoy!

Duck Rilette

Duck Rilette

I live in Silicon Valley, and right now the biggest thing is Super Bowl 50. Everyone is talking about all thing Super Bowl. The Venues, the concerts, the parties, the fan-experiences, the celebrities and off course the food. Most popular must be wings and guacamole, but I wanted something different. Still going for the salty and meaty, I choose a duck rilette, served on toasted baguette slices. A perfect finger-food paring well with a cold beer.

I hope you all will enjoy your Super Bowl parties, weather you are there for the game, the halftime show or the food.

Ingredients:

• 4 duck legs, I got the legs from Grimaud Farms
• duck fat, enough to cover the legs completely, I used little over 1 lb
• 1 bay leave
• 1 sprig fresh thyme
• 1-1¼ teaspoon salt (you want to use 1 teaspoon salt pr 350 g meat)

Directions:

Place the duck legs, thyme and bay leave in a pot, pour in the duck fat to cover. Let the duck simmer for about 4 hours, until the meat pulls apart from the bones. Let the duck and fat cool, so you can handle the duck with your hands. 

Wash your hands thoroughly and/or use gloves. Pull the meat from the bones, discarding ALL bones and skin. Weigh the meat, to calculate how much salt you need for the seasoning.  You want to use about 1 teaspoon salt pr 350 g meat. 

Put the meat into the bowl of a stand mixer. Season the pulled meat with the salt. Using the paddle beat the meat for about a minute. Add some of the duck fat, you want to saturate the meat, so when squeezing the fat will slowly drip from the meat. You are looking for at paté consistency.  If not using immediately, spoon rilette into clean jars rinsed with a bit of vodka. Cover the rilette with reserved fat from the duck confit. Store covered in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.

Serve the rilette on thin slices of toasted baguette, and top it of with a cornichon. 

Enjoy!