Recipes for Cook

Ever wonder what to make with ground chicken besides, chili, meatballs and burgers? I do all the time and when I ask people reply "the same things you would make with ground beef." I get that but I want something different. Thats how this recipe was born. As always you can change this recipe to suit your tastebuds. Other options would be a marsala sauce (with or without the mushrooms), caramelized onion topping, mix in some feta cheese and use greek seasonings, use moroccan seasonings and serve it over couscous, the possibilities are endless.


Italian Chicken Patties and Garlic Wine Sauce

Yields: 6 patties

Ingredients:

1 pound ground chicken
1 10 oz. package frozen spinach, squeezed and drained
1 egg, beaten
1 small onion, finely chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 cloves garlic, minced
approx 1/2 cup breadcrumbs
extra virgin olive oil
2 tbsp butter
salt and pepper
Italian seasoning
garlic powder
1/2 cup dry white wine
1 cup of chicken stock
wondra flour
shredded mozzarella (swiss or fontina would be good too), optional.

Directions:

1. Saute onion and 3 cloves minced garlic in olive oil and set aside to cool. In a large bowl combine ground chicken, drained spinach, Italian seasoning, salt, pepper, garlic powder, egg and breadcrumbs. Mix with your hands to combine all seasonings. If mixture is very wet add more breadcrumbs. It will remain sticky.

2. Preheat oven to 350. Meanwhile, heat oil in a large skillet. Form patties and gently place in oil and let cook until browned, turn over and cook the other side. When all patties are browned place on a baking sheet and continue to cook in oven (to make sure the chicken is cooked all the way)while you make the sauce.

3. Heat 2 tbsp oil and 2 tbsp butter in pan, add 2 cloves minced garlic and cook over medium low heat, (do not burn or garlic will turn bitter). Add wine and let reduce by half, then add chicken stock. Let sauce cook down and reduce. Season to taste with salt and pepper. If you want the sauce to be thicker stir in some wondra flour.

4. Return patties to pan with sauce, turning to coat both sides. If desired, top with some shredded mozzarella and put the pan under the broiler to melt.

I had a little accident with this sauce; I used some fresh paprika peppers from an assortment of peppers I was growing out from seeds we picked up in Hungary a few years back. My assumption was that they were all reasonably sweet peppers. That assumption, it turned out, was quite, quite wrong. At least one of them was a humdinger of a hot pepper. Everybody still thought this was delicious, some of us because of the hot pepper, and some of us despite the hot pepper. Ill have to try it again with a little more attention to which peppers I am using.

As usual, salt will depend on whether your stock was salted or not, but if not, then try about half a teaspoon of it.

4 to 6 servings
1 hour 45 minutes - 30 minutes prep time


3 heads of garlic
2 cups chopped fresh sweet red peppers
8 large (1.5  kilos; 3 pounds) skin-on, bone-in chicken thighs
1/2 cup chicken stock
2 tablespoons flour
1 tablespoon smoked sweet Spanish or Hungarian paprika
salt to taste
1 tablespoon sherry
1 teaspoon honey

Preheat the oven to 400°F. Trim the garlic heads (HEADS, not cloves), and wrap them in foil. Roast them for about half an hour, until tender.

Meanwhile, wash, core and chop the peppers. Thick-walled peppers are best; such as Alma paprika, but Red Shepherd is widely available and should do. Put the peppers in a roasting pan, and arrange the chicken pieces over them.  Pour on the stock, and put them in the oven with the garlic. At this point, the garlic should be ready in 15 or 20 minutes; at that point remove it and reduce the heat to 350°F. (If the garlic isnt quite done, just leave it in until it is, but do reduce the heat.)

Once the peppers are very soft, in about 45 minutes, remove the pan from the oven. Remove all the peppers into a food processor, and as much of the chicken stock as you can as well. Return the chicken pieces to the oven to continue cooking while you make the sauce.

Squeeze the garlic out of the heads into the food processor, and discard the papery hulls. Add the flour, paprika, salt to taste - this will depend very much on whether your chicken stock was salted or not - the sherry, and the honey. Purée until very smooth. Pull the chicken out of the oven again, and pour the sauce evenly over it. Return it to the oven for another 15 or 20 minutes, until the sauce is thickened and bubbly.




Last year at this time I made Vaguely Asian Cabbage Salad.