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.

A SERIES OF FORTUNATE EVENTS, MADE WITH LEMONS

Last week, we were with Hillary in LA, and she took us for lunch to a family-run Greek restaurant in Larchmont.  They served lemon-marinated potato wedges with the lunch, and it was amazing, so of course we decided to try and make some at home.  The recipe calls for marinating the potato pieces in lemon, olive oil, oregano and stock, then roasting it until cooked, followed by 5 minutes of broiling to seal the outside.

I thought that a great main course to accompany the potatoes would be the Zaatar/Sumac/Lemon roasted chicken made popular by Ottolenghi.  I used chicken thighs, although any bone-in chicken pieces will work.  The key to both dishes is to marinate them in the refrigerator in Ziploc bags for several hours.  Zaatar is basically thyme, sesame seeds and salt mixed together, so if you can’t find Zaatar, make up your own.  The cooked lemon slices in the chicken also go well with the dish. 

We prepared the marinades and dishes in the morning, then went off to see the Fillmore Jazz Festival in San Francisco.  This is a convenient dish to make in the morning, and have it ready to go for dinner.

Enjoy!

ROAST CHICKEN WITH SUMAC, ZA’ATAR, AND LEMON

by Yotam Ottolenghi & Sami Tamimi

Ingredients

·         4 chicken thighs, with bone

·         1 red onion, thinly sliced or chopped

·         4 cloves garlic, crushed 

·         4 tbsp olive oil

·         1 1/2 tsp ground allspice 

·         1 tsp ground cinnamon 

·         1 tbsp sumac

·         1 lemon, thinly sliced 

·         1 cup chicken stock or water 

·         1 1/2 tsp salt

·         1 tsp freshly ground black pepper 

·         4 tbsp za'atar (available at Middle East markets, or mix thyme, sesame seeds and salt)

Instructions

1. In a large bowl, mix the chicken with the onions, garlic, olive oil, spices, lemon, stock, salt, and pepper. Leave in the fridge to marinate for a few hours or overnight.

2. Preheat the oven to 400°F. Transfer the chicken and its marinade to a casserole dish, large enough to accommodate all the chicken pieces lying flat and spaced well apart. They should be skin side up. Sprinkle the za'atar over the chicken and onions and put the pan in the oven. Roast for 40-50 minutes, until the chicken is colored and just cooked through.

3. Transfer the hot chicken and onions to a serving plate and serve.  You can sprinkle on more za'atar and sumac, if you like. 

4. Try serving the chicken with warm pita bread and a garlicky yogurt sauce, made by mixing Greek yogurt with crushed garlic, olive oil, salt, and pepper. 

ELLINIKOS LEMONI PATATAS (GREEK LEMON POTATOES)

Ingredients

·          4 yukon gold or 3 regular potatoes, peeled

·          1/2 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice

·          1/3 cup olive oil

·          2 garlic cloves, minced

·          1 teaspoon dried oregano

·          1/2 teaspoon sea salt

·          1/4 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper

·          1 (14 1/2 ounce) cans chicken broth or 2 cups lamb stock

Directions

1. Peel potatoes and cut them in half (from medium size potatoes, quarter if large).
2. Combine all other ingredients in a gallon size Ziploc bag, and shake to combine.
3. Put all of the potatoes in the bag and let marinate for 2 hours or more.
4. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
5. Put the potatoes and marinade in a large casserole, preferably a glass Pyrex dish, approximately 13 x 9 x 3 oval.
6. Roast for 1hr 10min, turning occasionally.
7. There should be plenty of sauce left over after roasting.
8. You can put these under the broiler for 5 minutes to crisp them up if you prefer.

 

WE NEED TO DO SOMETHING WITH THOSE GRAINS IN THE CLOSET!!!!!

WE NEED TO DO SOMETHING WITH THOSE GRAINS IN THE CLOSET!!!!!

We have collected a variety of grains – quinoa, farro, sorghum, couscous, Israeli couscous, kasha, rice – and while we were out cycling, Sherry decided that we needed to find a way to slowly use them up.  She said: “Why not do something with the quinoa, with caramelized onions, chickpeas, sun-dried tomatoes and spices, and then mix in some feta at the end?”  [Obviously, she was not out of breath during the ride.]  So I accommodated her thoughts, using a bag of a quinoa-bulgur that we picked up at World Market.  Turned out great!

INGEDIENTS

1 cup quinoa-bulgur mix (or just use quinoa)

2 cups water

1 onion, chopped

3 Tbsp. olive oil

1 tsp. cumin

1 tsp. smoked paprika

½ tsp. cayenne

1 tsp. urfa biber [a Turkish smoky pepper] (or just use chipotle chile powder, or more cayenne)

1 tsp. coriander

1 tsp. white or black pepper

1 can, drained and rinsed, garbanzo beans

¼ cup sun-dried tomatoes in oil, julienned or chopped

Feta cheese, crumbled

METHOD

1.    In a saucepan, combine quinoa and water, bring to a boil, cover and simmer for 10 minutes. Turn off heat and let sit 5 minutes.  Fluff.

2.    In a skillet, sauté the onion in oil, stirring regularly, until onion begins to brown. 

3.    Add the spices, and continue to cook the onion, 1 minute. 

4.    Add the drained garbanzo beans, and cook 5-10 minutes, until the beans are beginning to get firm.

5.    Add the sun-dried tomatoes and oil, and cook 2 more minutes. Remove from heat.

6.    In a large bowl, add the quinoa, fluffed, then add the ingredients from the skillet and mix well.

7.    Serve with feta sprinkled over the top of each portion.

MATZO-CRUSTED SWAI

MATZO-CRUSTED SWAI FOR PASSOVER

So, for the second day of Passover, we faced the real important question: “How do we use up ALL this Matzo Meal, that we didn’t use to make 112 matzo balls?”  We decided to make one of our favorite dishes – Pan Sautéed Spiced Swai, but with a matzo meal crust.  One of the spices we use is rosemary, and because it grows wild in the area, we were able to use fresh rosemary.  Dried works just as well.

SWAI

2/3 cup matzo meal

1 tsp. dried thyme

1 tsp. cumin

½ tsp. hot or regular paprika

1 tsp. dried basil

1 tsp. rosemary

2 swai fillets, about 1 pound

4 Tbsp. olive or canola oil

Directions

1. 1.   Mix together the matzo meal and spices.
2. 2.   Rinse off the swai fillets, and dredge them in the meal-spice mixture until well coated.
3. 3.   Pour the oil into a large skillet.  Heat, and add the fillets and cook until browned on each side.
4. 4.   Serve.