Author: cia

Chicken with Homemade Za’atar

Thanks to Christopher Kimball’s free Milk Street recipes every Tuesday, I always get an idea of what I can make for dinner that week. Za’atar is a Mediterranean spice blend that a lot of people use to grill meats. I was craving that grilled flavor, but because I don’t own a grill and I don’t really want to turn the oven on when it’s 90 degrees outside, I wanted some thinly-sliced meat that will cook through fast.

The Arabic word za’atar also means “thyme”, but I didn’t have it handy so I skipped it in my own version and just made do with what I had in my pantry. The cumin made the chicken very earthy while the sumac added that lemon tartiness that lightened up the whole meal. I really liked the parsley-scallion salad idea here–I never thought I can make a “salad” out of 2 simple ingredients. It was the perfect match to this very flavorful chicken.

Ingredients:
For the za’atar:
1 tbsp sumac
1 tbsp cumin, grounded
1 tbsp sesame seeds
1 tbsp oregano
1 tsp salt

3 boneless chicken breasts, thinly sliced
3 tbsps flour
a handful of parsley
2 scallions, chopped
1 tbsp lemon zest
lemon juice
oil, salt, pepper

1. Mix all your za’atar ingredients in a small bowl and transfer to a plate so it’s easier to coat the chicken. Set aside. Put the flour on a different plate and also set aside.
2. Pound the chicken so they’re thinner and faster to cook through. Lay plastic wrap on a chopping block and put the chicken side by side on top of the wrap. Cover with another sheet of wrap. Gently pound with a rolling pin or a heavy knife handle. Pound until the chicken pieces are about half a thumbnail thin.
3. Season the chicken with salt and pepper. Then cover with your homemade za’atar spices; shaking off the excess.
4. Heat a large skillet and add some oil until shimmering. Now cover the spiced chicken pieces with flour; also shaking off the excess. Then add them to the pan and fry each side for 3 minutes. Use a grill press if you have one to weigh the chicken down. Do this in batches if your skillet is not big enough.
5. Make your quick salad while cooking the chicken. In a bowl, combine the parsley and scallions, and season with some oil, zest, and lemon juice. Massage with your hands to mix well.
6. When the chicken pieces are golden brown, remove to a plate and top with the parsley salad.

Beef and Chickpea Spring Stew

I can’t seem to get rid of the carrots and celery in my fridge. As I get ready for my big trip to Paris and San Sebastian this year, I need to clear the fridge to avoid as much food waste as possible. What else can I do with carrots and celery besides mirepoix for stews and soups? It’s been raining all week anyway and the sleepy weather calls for a spring stew that’s hearty at the same time.

Chuck is the meat from around the shoulder of the cow; it’s a relatively cheap cut with good flavor and lots of connective tissue and fat, making it a very appealing choice for this stew. I had everything else in my pantry except the meat, but because I didn’t want to overbuy, I opted for loose beef chuck from my neighborhood butcher. Instead of buying them weighed and packaged from the supermarket, I asked for 5 2-inch pieces so that I just had enough for 3 servings.

Ingredients:
1/2-lb of beef chuck, about 5 pieces of 2-inch cuts
1 small shallot, chopped
1 carrot, chopped
3 ribs celery, chopped
a small knob of Parmesan and its rind
1 can of chickpeas, washed and drained
1 box of chicken broth
2 scallions, chopped
a handful of parsley, roughly chopped
1 can of water chestnuts, washed and drained
alfalfa sprouts, for garnish
oil, salt, pepper

1. In a deep skillet, heat some oil. Season beef pieces with salt and pepper, then add to pot to brown all sides.
2. Add shallots and cook until translucent. Add carrots and sauté for a few minutes. Add the celery and the cheese and keep sautéing until flavors meld.
3. Add the chickpeas and enough broth to cover the beef halfway. Cover and simmer for 1 hour, checking often to make sure that it’s not drying up. When the sauce thickens before the beef is cooked through, add just enough broth to keep cooking the meat.
4. When the beef is easy to pull apart with a knife and fork, fold in the scallions and parsley to combine. Add a little more broth if necessary. You don’t want it to be too soupy, but you also don’t want it to be too thick. The cheese should be holding up the dish’s saltiness and umami flavor.
5. Turn off the heat and add the water chestnuts. Mix to warm them with the rest of the stew. Ladle in a shallow bowl and top with alfalfa sprouts.

Related post/s:
This Cuisinart 5-1/2-Quart Saute Pan is deep enough for stews like this

Mandarin-Almond Flour Cake

I can’t even begin to tell you how much citrus-flavored pancakes I’ve been eating in the last few months. It might be the long-awaited spring weather, but all I’ve been wanting is that tangy taste with my fluffy carbs. On Mother’s Day, I had an incredible pistachio almond cake that was also gluten-free; I couldn’t believe how far gluten-free choices have come. I was inspired to do something similar for my niece’s 8th birthday, but with that subtle citrus taste.

Did you know that tangerines belong in the mandarin sub-group? Therefore, all tangerines are classified as a type of mandarin orange, but not all mandarin oranges are tangerines. Got that? The tangerines in the supermarket were a little too wrinkled for my taste, so I opted for a bag of mandarins instead. Their peel is smoother and tighter and lends to easier zesting.

And that’s really the only work you’ll do here. Once you zest all your mandarins and lemon, everything else is a matter of using your mixer and getting everything throughly combined. I burned mine a bit at 50 minutes, so I’m reducing the time here to 40. Feel free to add sliced blanched almonds to your batter. I had them on hand, but totally forgot to use them!

Ingredients:
5 mandarins, throughly washed and wiped dry
1 lemon, throughly washed and wiped dry
4 eggs
1 cup sugar
3 cups almond flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 small knob of butter, room temperature
confectioner’s sugar for dusting

1. Using a fine grater, grate all the mandarins for their zest. Do the same for the lemon. Set aside.
2. Using an electric mixer, beat the eggs and sugar until light and creamy. Fold in the almond meal, both zests, baking powder. Mix until well combined.
3. Coat the bottom and sides of a 9″ spring form pan. Pour the batter and try to even out with a spatula.
4. Preheat oven at 350º. Bake for 40 minutes, or until lightly golden and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. If the cake is browning too fast, cover loosely with a sheet of foil. Cool on a rack for 10 minutes, then remove from the pan to finish cooling. Dust with confectioner’s sugar.

Related post/s:
The Microplane Classic Zester and Grater is one of my most used tools in my kitchen

D’jaj Souiri, or Moroccan Chicken Tagine with Eggs

What do you do when you have enough farm eggs to last you for a few weeks? You have 2 eggs for breakfast everyday of course, but you also have eggs for dinner.

This tagine, d’jaj souiri, is different from your traditional Moroccan tagine because it has a more Spanish influence: the eggs like a tortilla, or a Spanish omelet.

Ingredients:
3 chicken legs
1 white onion, chopped
saffron threads
1 cinnamon stick
5 eggs
1/4 tsp cinnamon powder
1/4 tsp cumin, grounded
juice from 1 lemon
a handful of parsley, finely chopped
paprika
oil, salt, peper

1. Brown the chicken pieces by heating some oil in a deep, large skillet and then adding and cooking them until they are golden brown on both sides. Remove them to a plate.
2. Using the same skillet, add a little more oil. Saute the onions, add saffron, and the cinnamon stick. Season with salt and pepper and then add 4 cups of water.
3. Add the chicken and turn up the heat to boil. And then cover and turn down the heat medium-low. Let simmer for 25 minutes.
4. In the meantime, beat the eggs in a bowl and season with cinnamon, cumin, salt, and pepper.
5. Uncover the skillet and turn the chicken over. Continue to cook, uncovered, to thicken the sauce.
6. Stir in the parsley and lemon juice. Pour the beaten egg all over the chicken and let it set, about 5 minutes. Sprinkle with paprika.

Leftover Healthy Vegetable Bowl

I don’t have measurements for this recipe because it truly is a leftover bowl of whatever I needed to use up in the fridge. The only thing I bought is the sweet potato.

Ingredients:
sweet potato
red cabbage
broccoli
scallion
sprouts
quinoa
carrot
avocado
lemon juice
oil, salt, pepper

For the dressing:
2 garlic cloves
a small knob of ginger, peeled and sliced
turmeric
cider vinegar
maple syrup
salt, pepper

1. Preheat oven at 425º. Wrap the sweet potato in foil, place on a cookie sheet, and bake for about 50 minutes, or until it’s fork tender. When it’s cool enough to handle, peel, and chop in smaller pieces.
2. Marinate the red cabbage in a little lemon juice, salt, and pepper and set aside.
3. Make the dressing now and set aside. Blitz everything and season to taste. It should be a little more tangy than sweet.
4. Peel the carrot and continue to use the peeler to shred the meat onto your salad bowl.
5. Toss the broccoli florets in oil, salt, and pepper, and add to the cookie sheet to bake with the sweet potato for 20 minutes.
6. Cook the quinoa according to package instructions. Fluff with a fork and transfer to your salad bowl.
7. Assemble and complete your salad. Add sliced avocado, scallions, and sprouts. Drizzle the dressing all over.