FIGS AND CHICKEN "MARRIED-PEOPLE-STYLE"

One of Sherry’s co-workers offered her some fresh figs, which turned out to be about a gallon of them!  She planned to make a lot of the World-Famous Figs, Stuffed with Goat Cheese and Wrapped in Prosciutto, but also thought that the figs would be great mixed with whole wheat couscous (Maftoul is a good substitute), eggplant, chickpeas and spices.  So what to make as a main course?

She decided that the main course should be what I called “Married-People” chicken, because to make it flavorful, you have to “get under the skin” – just like in real life!!  As with all great relationships, this meal came out memorable and yummy.

CHICKEN THIGHS, MP STYLE

1.   Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees.

3-4 chicken thighs, skin-on

2.   Gently lift the skin away from the thighs, to make a pocket.

1 whole knob, garlic

Olive oil

1 bunch fresh oregano, leaves only

Kosher salt

Hot paprika

1 lemon, thinly sliced

3.   Pulverize the previous 5 ingredients in a blender or food processor. Place under the skin of the thighs, along with thinly sliced pieces of lemon.

1 onion, sliced

Smoked paprika, hot paprika (or just smoked paprika)

½ lb. green olives (preferably Mediterranean)

¼ cup white wine

4.   In a baking dish large enough to hold the chicken thighs, place a layer of the sliced onion.  Place the stuffed thighs on top of the onion layer.  Sprinkle the olives, white wine and paprika over the chicken.  Bake for 1 to 1 ¼ hours, until done.

5.   Serve with Couscous Figs, Eggplant, Chickpeas. Recipe Follows:

Israeli Couscous Salad with Grilled Eggplant and Chickpeas

1 medium sized eggplant, cut into half and thinly sliced
3 tbsp olive oil

1/3 lb. prosciutto, cut into strips and fried in a saucepan

1 cup whole Wheat Israeli couscous 

1 1/4 cups broth or water, heated to boiling

2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

1 tsp cayenne
pinch of salt

1/4 cup fat free feta
1 can (15 oz) drained chickpeas
small handful pistachios or pine nuts, toasted
1 tsp dried or fresh mint, chopped 

5-10 fresh figs, cut into quarters small bunch fresh mint
olive oil


Heat a grill on high, brush the eggplant slices with olive oil and sprinkle with salt. Grill on both sides until tender. Set aside.

Saute couscous in 1 Tbsp. Olive oil until toasted, add broth/water, add cumin, cinnamon, cayenne, mint and pinch of salt. Simmer 10 minutes, then turn off heat and let sit until all liquid is absorbed.  Set aside for 3 minutes then use a fork to separate and mix the couscous.

Fry up the prosciutto strips and add them to the salad.
Add in the chickpeas, nuts and figs. Chop the fresh mint and in as well. Toss to mix and finish with a dash of olive oil. Sprinkle feta on top (liberally).  

Arrange the salad on a plate with the grilled eggplant (eggplant can be chopped and mixed in as well) and serve.

SOMETIMES, THE FISH MARKET HAS SURPRISES

Blackened Catfish Fillets

For a city on the coast, San Francisco has surprisingly limited fresh fish selections in conventional supermarkets.  Salmon fillets, pacific snapper, and several “previously frozen” selections (tilapia, tuna, scallops) are the norm, and they seem to change little over time.  Dungeness crab occasionally shows up fresh for a week or two, but that’s it.  Luckily, we are near a couple of Asian markets, and they are bursting with fresh (and recently caught) whole fish and fillets. Several types of bass, cod, snapper, mackerel, salmon, and other exotic fish (Cobia, Idiot’s Cod, Yellowtail) are always available, with other fish changing as the seasons change. This week has fresh sturgeon available, for example.

However, finding fresh fish fillets is a little more difficult, as most of the fish is either whole or cut into steaks.  We love the Swai (Basia), a sweet fairly-firm white fillet that is routinely available, and cook it with a spicy batter, or with capers, wine, garlic and sun-dried tomatoes.  But last week, I discovered some freshly-made catfish fillets in the offerings, and decided that we needed to try them.  (As it turned out, the fillets were available only that day!)  Sherry suggested that we dust the fish with a spice mix and “blacken” it.

Blackening fish means to coat the fish with spices, then cook the fish on high heat for a short period of time in a light amount of butter or oil.  I made up the following spice mix, cooked the fillets, and we had an incredibly wonderful meal, with sautéed wilted spinach and garlic.

Spice Mix (you can adjust or omit spices as you wish):

2 Tbsp. paprika

2 tsp. salt

2 tsp. garlic powder

2 tsp. black pepper

1 tsp. basil

1 tsp. oregano

1 tsp. thyme

1 tsp. onion powder

1 tsp. cayenne

1 tsp. smoked paprika

2 catfish fillets

2 Tbsp. canola oil

Directions:

1.    Put all spices in a bowl, and mix well.

2.    Rinse fillets in cold water.  Pat dry with paper towels.

3.    Rub fillets on both sides with spice mixture.

4.    Heat oil in skillet until very hot

5.    Add fillets.  Cook 2 minutes per side.

6.    Serve.