Chicken With Eggplant

Chicken With Eggplant

After two weeks of absolutely frigid temperatures and a cyclone bomb of snow I was stir crazy from too many hours indoors. With ice on the ground and wind chills of 5 degrees, it was time to cook a warming, comforting meal. I didn't have much in the way of provisions but managed to put this dish together with what was on hand. Beginning with a recipe from Pierre Franey (on New York Times Cooking) I improvised what turned out to be a delicious chicken stew. The dish will taste even better the next day, so make enough for leftovers. The name may not be inspiring but Chicken With Eggplant tastes wonderful.

4 bone-in chicken thighs

salt and pepper

1 tbl. olive oil

1 large eggplant, cut in medium sized cubes

1 large onion, thinly sliced

1 garlic clove, minced

small can diced tomatoes, with juice

1/4 cup red wine vinegar

1 cup chicken broth

1 bay leaf

1 tsp. thyme

salt and pepper

sprinkle hot pepper flakes

1/4 cup raisins, optional

Add salt and pepper to both sides of chicken. Heat oil in dutch oven and brown chicken for 5 minutes on each side. Remove chicken to a plate.

Add eggplant, onions, garlic to the dutch oven and stir for 1 minute. Add tomatoes with juice, stir. Add red wine vinegar and chicken broth. Bring to a boil. Add bay leaf, thyme, salt and pepper, hot pepper flakes. Return chicken to dutch oven and turn chicken pieces into the sauce.

Cover closely and cook 25 minutes or until chicken is cooked through and vegetables are soft. Stir a few times during cooking.

I served the stew with steamed brown basmati rice and a side salad of sliced avocado and little yellow tomatoes. Other vegetables can replace the eggplant or be added to it (eg. zucchini, peppers, mushrooms). 

Serves 4

Quick Pickled Ginger

This ginger is much better than what you buy in a jar and made without preservatives. It stays fresh in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks. The recipe appeared in the New York Times in the Wednesday Food section.

1 three inch piece ginger, peeled and sliced very thin
1 red radish, sliced (or 1 slice red beet), optional, for color
1 tsp. salt
1 tbl. sugar
3 tbl. rice vinegar

Put all ingredients in a small jar.  Make sure the ginger is submerged. Leave at room temperature for 1 hour. Discard the radish or beet, if using.

Yields about 2 ounces

Cod with Sesame and Ginger

This dish takes little time to prepare but is tasty and elegant. Serve it with your own pickled ginger (recipe follows). I have been going a little nutty (or seedy) with black sesame seeds.  I find away to sprinkle them on top of nearly everything. They look beautiful and add a lovely little crunch. Do get some. They are available in my supermarket with the Asian foods.

4 cod fillets about 6 oz. each (or substitute halibut or other firm white fish)
salt and pepper
1 tsp. finely grated ginger
1 tsp. roasted sesame oil
1 tsp. black sesame seeds
3 or 4 scallions, sliced thin
Pickled ginger to accompany

Season fillets lightly with salt and pepper. Combine ginger and sesame oil in a small bowl and rub the mixture on the fillets. Place the fish in one layer in a baking dish and tightly cover with foil. Let the fish marinate at room temperature for 15 minutes.

Heat the oven to 400 degrees. Bake the fish on the top rack for 10 minutes.  Remove the foil and check to see if the fish is done. Return to the oven for a few more minutes, if needed.

Transfer the fish to plates or a serving platter.  Sprinkle with sesame seeds and scallions and garnish with a few slices of pickled ginger.

NOTE: This recipe appeared in the New York Times Wednesday Food Section. They recommend serving the fish with spinach with ginger and garlic.  I served the fish with brown rice and a salad. If possible, make the pickled ginger.  It does not take long and perks up the meal.

Yoga Cookies

I found Yoga Cookies in Chloe's Kitchen, a vegan cookbook by Chloe Coscarelli. The recipe uses genuine ingredients, not strange substitutes, so the cookies taste good in a healthy sort of way. With walnuts, coconut and chocolate chips as major ingredients, what could be bad?

11/2 cups all-purpose flour or whole wheat pastry flour
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. salt
3/4 cup canola oil
1/2 cup agave or maple syrup
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups rolled oats
1/2 cup unsweetened (or sweetened) shredded coconut
1/2 cup raisins
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips (dairy free for vegan)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.

In a large bowl, whisk together flour, cinnamon and salt. In a separate bowl, whisk oil, agave and vanilla. Add the wet mixture to the dry mixture and whisk until combined.  Using a large spoon or spatula, fold in the oats, coconut, raisins, walnuts and chocolate chips.  Scoop about 1 1/2 tbl. of cookie dough onto the prepared baking sheet and flatten the dough with the palm of your hand.  Continue making about 32 cookies in this way.

Bake for 12-14 minutes until the edges of the cookies are golden.

Makes about 32 1 inch cookies

Note: These cookies make a wonderful treat with little effort. Ms. Coscarelli advises that the dough can be prepared in advance and refrigerated for up to 1 week or frozen for up to 1 month

Dal Take 2- Chicken Lentil Soup

The Bangladeshi Red Lentils I made a few days ago (see previous post) were a hit but the amount made serves 4-5 people and there were only two of us at the table. With lots leftover the next day I had to be creative. Soup is often the answer and that idea worked beautifully.  I had to thin the lentils to make them more soupy so I heated two cups of chicken broth in a saucepan (used 2 of those dry packets) and added chopped celery and carrots to the boiling broth. The lentils went into the saucepan next.  When all was heated I added more of the leftover roast chicken and some cooked rice and simmered all. The result was a delicious, warming chicken lentil soup. 

I toasted whole grain bread slices to go with the soup and made a mixed green salad. The simple meal of repurposed leftovers was a terrific quick winter supper.

Bangladeshi Red Lentils

I love all of Madhur Jaffrey's cookbooks. The one I am reading now is At Home with Madhur Jaffrey: Simple, Delectable Dishes from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka. In her chapter on Dal, Ms. Jaffrey explains that Indians eat dal every day in some form. There are many different kinds, made with lentils, a variety of dried beans, chickpeas or split peas. They are all very appealing to me.  So last night I tried Bangladeshi Red Lentils because I had all the ingredients, red lentils cook quickly and the recipe was simple. The results were delicious. I served it with leftover roast chicken, rice and veggies. We each had a small bowl of dal to spoon over the reheated leftovers. Voila, an Indian twist to plain, old roast chicken. Halved avocados with a bit of dressing served as salad.

1 cup red lentils, washed and drained
1/4 tsp. ground turmeric
1 medium onion, half finely chopped and half cut into fine rings
3/4 tsp. salt
3 tbl. olive oi or canola oil or ghee (clarified butter)
2 cloves garlic, cut into thin slices
2 dried hot chilies, each broken in half

Put the red lentils, 3 1/2 cups water, turmeric and the chopped onions into a medium saucepan.  Bring to a boil.  Cover partially, turn heat to low and cook 45 minutes or until the lentils are very tender. Add the salt and mix in.

Pour the oil into a small frying pan set over medium heat. When hot, put in the sliced onions and stir a few times.  Add the garlic and chilis. Stir and fry until the onions and garlic have turned a rich golden-red color. Pour the contents of the frying pan into the pot with the dal. Stir to mix.

Serves 4-5

Roast Chicken with Sumac, Za'atar and Lemon

I took Ottolenghi: The Cookbook out of the library and was fascinated by the exotic Middle Eastern recipes and spices. Determined to learn more, I bought sumac and za'atar from D'Vine Taste, a wonderful Middle Eastern food shop in my Park Slope neighborhood. The first recipe I tried was a hit. Rosalie, Stan, Alice and Bill came over that night and we all  thought this dish was wonderful. I made a few changes from the original and served rice and a salad with the chicken.

8 chicken thighs
1large red onion, thinly sliced
2 garlic cloves, crushed
4 tbl. olive oil
1 1/2 tsp. ground allspice
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 tsp. sumac
1 lemon, thinly sliced
1cup chicken stock or water
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. freshly ground pepper
2 tbl. za'atar
4 tbl. chopped parsley

In a large bowl, mix the chicken with the onions,garlic, olive oil, spices, lemon, stock or water, salt and pepper.  Refrigerate for a few hours or overnight.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.  Transfer the chicken, and its marinade to a baking dish large enough to hold the chicken pieces lying flat and not touching.  Chicken should be skin side up.  Sprinkle the za'atar over the chicken and onions and put the dish in the oven.  Roast for about 45 minutes, until the chicken is colored and just cooked through.

Transfer the hot chicken and onions to a serving plate and finish with the chopped parsley.

Serves 4

Notes: The original recipe calls for 1 large organic or free-range chicken, divided into quarters. Also, when the chicken is roasting you melt butter in a pan and add pine nuts cooking until the nuts turn golden. Drain the nuts on a paper towel and add them to the chicken when it is done along with a drizzle of olive oil. To my taste, the spices add plenty of flavor and the nuts and extra oil are not needed.