My dutch oven has been seeing a lot of action lately.  I suppose it’s just that time of year when you want to dig your heaviest pot out of the back of the cabinet and fill it up with wonderful ingredients and allow it to simmer away until its contents are tender, rich, and filling.  But what I love even more about these one-pot wonders is how forgiving the recipes are, which might explain why there’s as many versions of chicken cacciatore as there are cooks.  Although definitively Italian in origin, you’d be hard pressed not to know a soccer mom with a crock pot that doesn’t have her own take on this.

But back to those Italians.  Pollo alla cacciatora translates to hunter’s style chicken.  For that reason, I like my cacciatore sauce to be thick and rustic, paying tribute to vegetables and herbs that might have been foraged back in the day.  I skip the French mirepoix, no carrots or celery needed, and instead opt for some lovely Italian themed ingredients.  Sliced garlic cloves, red peppers, San Marzano tomatoes, capers, lots of fresh basil, and a crisp pinot grigio.  Ok, I made myself hungry again.

Pollo alla Cacciatora  (Chicken Cacciatore)
Serves 4-6

1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp butter
1/2 cup AP flour
1 whole chicken (5-6lbs), butchered into pieces (or about 8 whole chicken thighs)
1 onion, sliced
1 red bell pepper, sliced lengthwise
1-12 oz pack of mushrooms, cut into thick slices
2 sprigs of fresh thyme
4 cloves of garlic, sliced thinly
1 cup white wine, preferably Italian
1 26-oz can of whole or chopped San Marzano tomatoes
1/2 tsp dried pepper flakes
2-3 tbsp drained capers (go for 3 is you like them)
A large handful of basil, chopped
Parmesan cheese for topping

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

If you’re butchering a whole chicken, I recommend prepping two thighs, two drumsticks, and splitting the two breasts in half so that you end up with 8 similarly sized pieces total (freeze the wings, back, and innards to make nice stock in the future).  But if you’re a family that fights over the dark meat, go ahead and make this dish just with the thighs.  Either way, keep that skin on and the bones in, even if you plan to remove the skin when you eat.  The skin protects the meat through the long cook time, keeping it tender and preventing it from drying out.  Season your chicken well on all sides with salt and pepper, then dredge lightly in flour, shaking off the excess.

In a dutch oven, heat 1 tbsp olive oil plus 1 tbsp butter over medium-high heat.  Brown the chicken in two batches, about 4 minutes per side until the chicken is well browned and the skin is crisp.  Set aside.

Grab those lovely sliced onions, peppers, mushrooms and the fresh thyme and drop them into the drippings.  Saute for 3-4 minutes until they begin to soften and pick up the browned bits from the bottom of the pan.    Now add the garlic and saute an additional 2 minutes, just to take the raw bite out of it.  Go ahead and add some seasoning to the dish right now: a healthy pinch of salt and a good grind of black pepper.

Pour in the wine, taking time to scrape the sides/bottom of the pan to pick up any more bits, and simmer just to let some of the alcohol burn off, about 3-4 minutes.  Now dump in the tomatoes.  If you’re using whole tomatoes, you should either chop them, or get into the rustic spirit by squeezing them whole straight into the pan. Either way, be sure to add all that wonderful juice as well.  Stir in the red pepper flakes and capers, then return the chicken to the pan, along with any juices that have accumulated while resting.  Bring the whole thing to a simmer.

When the dish is simmering, cover tightly and place into the oven.  It will only take 20-30 minutes to cook the chicken through, but I like to let this slowly simmer for at least an hour until the sauce has thickened, the chicken is very tender and the dark meat is beginning to fall off the bone.  If you’ve got a full hour and a half, go for it.  The dish will only get more flavorful.  Just check on it every 30 minutes to give it a stir to make sure nothing’s sticking or getting too dark on the bottom.

While the chicken’s in the oven.  Prepare your side dish.  We served ours over top some lightly buttered spaghetti squash that we quickly steamed in the microwave.  But this dish is delicious served over everything from egg noodles, linguine, creamy polenta, or even parmesan smashed red potatoes.

When the chicken comes out of the oven, stir in most of that chopped basil, reserving a little to top each plate.  Check the sauce for seasoning.  Mine needed a little more salt and pepper and just a touch of sugar to help bring out the tomatoes’ natural sweetness.  Pile a piece or two of chicken overtop your carb of choice and dress with lots of sauce, grated parm, and a touch more of basil.  Bellissimo!

If you’re cooking for two, I recommend taking some effort out of your leftovers.  Wait til the chicken cools down, then shred it by hand, discarding the bones and skin and return the meat to the sauce.  Stir to combine then scoop it over top your leftover pasta and dream about it all the way until lunch tomorrow.

Oh home sweet home.  For some reason I get the most homesick during the spring and fall.  Probably because there’s such a disconnect here in LA from actual seasons.  So to hold me over until my Christmas visit, I pull out some classic Robson family recipes.  My papa is a master of concocting beautiful one pot dinners… goulash, chicken ala king, stirfrys, and this marvelous orange curry.  I learned from him at a young age about creative freedom in the kitchen:  the joy of experimenting with unfamiliar cuisines and exotic spices and being bold and fearless in your cooking.  This recipe has all of these things with a couple minor Gwen tweaks, like swapping in fresh herbs, whole spices, and toasting the nuts pre-cooking for maximum flavor.  It’s a great dish to cozy up with particularly on a chilly fall evening.  Or at least as chilly as LA can get.  Happy November everyone!

Keith’s Orange Curried Chicken over Rice
Makes 4 dinner servings

A whole chicken (3-4lb), cut up
1 sweet onion, diced
2 tbsp butter
1/4 cup raisins
1/2 cup cashew pieces, toasted
1 apple, peeled and diced
2 1/2 tsp curry powder
A touch of freshly grated nutmeg
4 fresh sage leaves, finely minced or 1/2 tsp dried sage
1 packet chicken bouillon
1/2 cup frozen orange juice concentrate, defrosted or 2 cups OJ simmered over low heat until reduced to 1/2 cup
2 tsp cornstarch dissolved in 1/8 cup reserved broth
3 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped
1.5 cups jasmine or basmati rice
4-5 cups reserved broth

Start by breaking down the chicken.  Place in a large stock pot and cover with water.  Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce to a simmer over medium-low for 7-10 minutes, until chicken is just cooked through and broth is gently flavored.  Remove chicken and reserve broth.    Allow chicken to cool 20-30 minutes, then shred the meat by hand into bite-sized pieces, discarding bones and skin.

In a large saucepan, combine 1 1/2 cups rice with 3 cups reserved broth.  Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low and allow to steam for 20-25 minutes until all the liquid is absorbed.  Turn heat off and allow rice to stand covered for at least 10 minutes.  Fluff with a fork before serving.

While rice is cooking, return your broth pan to the skillet over medium-high heat.  Melt butter, then saute onion until tender, about 7 minutes.  Add in apples, raisins, cashews, chicken, curry powder, nutmeg, sage, bouillon, and season generously with salt and pepper.    Saute 5-6 minutes until the fruit starts to get some color.

Pour in 1 1/2 cup reserved broth and the orange juice concentrate and bring to a simmer. Add the cornstarch slurry and cook 1-2 minutes, allowing the sauce to thicken.  Remember to taste again at the end and adjust your salt and pepper seasonings accordingly.  Right before serving, stir in fresh parsley.

Serve in a bowl over the warm rice and dig in.

It actually rained in LA today.  Seriously?  This came as an extra shock to Firat and I after our 95 degree weekend in Cabo.  So when dinner time rolled around we were looking for something warm and comforting and also wholesome to make up for our weekend of indulgence. So we figured, hey, let’s pick up a rotisserie chicken from Yummy and some veggies.  Alas, everyone else in Playa Vista had the same idea and our no-fuss dinner plans were foiled.  But have no fear, inspiration struck exactly when it was needed.

I’ve been known to whip up some spaghetti squash on occasion and lately I’ve been dressing it with pesto sauce.  So I took the same concept and prepared it with zucchini noodles.  The bright, sweet flavor of the basil is such a perfect compliment to the fresh, summery zucchini.  I rounded out the meal with some quick chicken paillards.  Let me tell you, not only was the pasta not missed, I truly believe the zucchini elevated the dish with its gentle flavor and crisp al dente texture.  Plus, you get all the comfort of a bowl of pasta with none of the heaviness associated with a carb-heavy meal nor the giant pot of scalding water.  The real trick to making this a weeknight meal is having a mandolin with a julienne blade attachment or a julienne peeler.  That will make extremely quick work out of an otherwise tedious job of slicing the zucchini noodles.

Chicken Paillards and Zucchini Noodles with Pesto Sauce
Serves 2

2 chicken breasts, butterflied open
5 smaller zucchinis, about 2 lbs
1/4 cup homemade pesto
1/4 cup half and half
1.5 tbsps extra virgin olive oil
Salt and Pepper
Freshly grated Parmesan cheese for serving

To make zucchini noodles, run your zucchini through a mandolin with its julienne blade attached.  Alternatively, cut zucchini into slices lengthwise, then stack and slice into thin long strips.  Uniformity is key here to make sure the noodles cook quickly and evenly.

Place a large skillet over high heat and add oil.  Season your chicken well with salt and pepper, then coat in flour.  Cook quickly over high heat, allowing chicken to brown nicely before flipping, about 5 minutes on the first side and 3 minutes on the 2nd.  Remove chicken from pan and set aside.

Reduce heat to medium-high then toss in all the zucchini noodles.  Saute about 4 minutes, tossing the zucchini regularly to ensure even cooking.  Add in the pesto and half and half and stir gently until the sauce is blended and evenly coating the noodles.  Season to taste with salt and pepper.  Allow to cook 1-2 minutes more, just until the zucchini starts letting off some of its water.  For a thicker sauce, remove noodles from pan and allow sauce to continue simmering 1-2 minutes more until reduced.  Place chicken over the stack of noodles, then drizzle the pesto sauce over the dish.  Top with freshly grated parmesan cheese.

You can easily trade out the chicken in the recipe for shrimp, or lose the meat all together and reduce the oil to 1 tbsp, serving as a side dish instead of a main.  Either way, I really hope you give this recipe a go.

Just a quick post tonight. I thought I’d share my recipe from dinner even though I didn’t take many pics.

You see, I’ve had a batch of homemade chicken stock sitting in the freezer, just waiting to be used.  And since I spent so much time on it, I wanted to showcase it in a recipe that would be all about the broth.  Hence the obvious choice, soup.  All it took was Kim talking about soup today and I knew it was time.

This is my take on Italian wedding soup, partly inspired by a Tuscan soup called ribollita, sortof a minestrone thickened with bread with tons of local, cheap vegetables.  And since we’re still getting our CSA veggie delivery we had a plethora of local, cheap veggies on hand.  It basically came down to luscious chicken stock base with delicious, basily chicken meatballs, cannellini beans and lots of healthy, vibrant kale.

Tuscan Wedding Soup
Makes 4 generous portions

For the Meatballs:
1 lb ground chicken
1 shallot, minced
1 clove garlic, minced
1/3 cup grated parmesan cheese
1/4 cup fresh basil, finely chopped
1 egg, lightly whisked
3/4 cup fresh breadcrumbs

For the Soup:
1/2 sweet onion, small dice
1 rib of celery, small dice
1 carrot, small dice
1/2 cup dry white wine
8 cups chicken stock, preferably homemade
2 – 12oz cans cannellini beans, drained
3/4 lb kale, washed and roughly chopped (i like a mix of dinosaur kale and curly kale for this)
Parmesan for serving

For the meatballs, preheat the oven to 400°F.  Combine all the ingredients in a large bowl and mix well to combine.  Season with salt and pepper.   The mixture will be looser than ground beef/pork, but it should still hold together when formed into a ball.  Place meatballs on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and bake for 20 minutes until they begin to brown.  Alternatively, you can cook the meatballs in the soup, if you like them softer and don’t mind their lack of color.  I’ll point out where in the next step.

For the soup, put a large stock pot over medium-high heat.  Saute the onion, celery, and carrot in a few turns of olive oil until softened, about 7 minutes.  Add the wine and cook until its reduced by half or almost fully evaporated.  Add the stock (its a good idea to have this heating up in another saucepan on your stove, so you don’t have to wait to bring this to a boil) as well as the cannellini beans and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Go ahead and check the seasonings on the soup at this point and add some salt and pepper.  Now’s a good time to prep your kale and allow your meatballs to finish browning.  If you’re cooking the meatballs in the soup, go ahead and add them now and bring the heat up closer to a low boil.  They should take about 10 minutes to cook through, then proceed with the next step.

Add the meatballs and kale to the pot.  You might have to add the kale in two batches if your pot is not large enough, but don’t worry, it wilts down quickly.  Bring the soup back to a simmer and allow to cook for at least 10 minutes for the kale to soften.  If you prefer your kale softer, go ahead and simmer an additional 10-15 minutes until its cooked to your liking. Ladle the soup into large bowls.  Top with freshly grated parm cheese and a tiny drizzle of good extra virgin olive oil.  Serve with toasty garlic bread on the side.