Showing posts with label saffron. Show all posts
Showing posts with label saffron. Show all posts
Friday, April 18, 2014
SANDRAS MOROCCAN CHICKEN with SAFFRON and PITA TRIANGLES
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| A ethnic dish that has a complexity of flavors, spices, and textures that compliment each other, which you are simply going to love... |
Prep: Marinade 2 hrs. |
Cook: 1 Hr. - 15 Mins.
Posted by Sandra
INGREDIENTS
4 bone-in, skinless chicken breasts
***Marinade
½ teaspoon ground pepper
½ teaspoon cinnamon
2 garlic cloves, quartered
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons olive oil
***Sauce
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 large onion, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
½ teaspoon cinnamon
½ teaspoon fresh ginger, grated
½ teaspoon kosher salt
½ teaspoon ground pepper
1 (15 oz. can) diced fire-roasted tomatoes, drained
¼ cup calamata olives, quartered lengthwise
1 cup low-sodium chicken broth
Pinch saffron threads (soaked in ¼ cup hot tap water)
2 tablespoons honey (for recipe, click here: Sandras Homemade Alaska Fireweed Honey)
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
***Garnish & Serving Options:
2 tablespoons slivered almonds, toasted (for garnish)
2 tablespoons fresh cilantro, chopped (for garnish)
2 to 4 slices of pita bread, each cut into quarters, forming triangles for serving
METHOD
Combine the chicken with the marinade ingredients in a shallow non-reactive baking dish, covered, and leave in refrigerator to marinate for two hours.
Drain the chicken, and pat dry with paper towels, and remove all the garlic pieces (or else they will burn during the following searing process.) Melt the butter and olive oil in a dutch oven over medium-high heat, and add the chicken and sauté, until golden brown on all sides, about 5 to 7 minutes. Remove the chicken to a plate and cover with foil, and set aside.
Meanwhile, place the saffron threads into 1/4 cup of hot tap water, and set aside to let soak for 20 minutes (reserving both liquid and threads). In a small dry and nonstick skillet, toast the pine nuts over low heat, just until fragrant, and set aside to cool.
After chicken is seared, reduce the heat under dutch oven to low, and add the onion to caramelize by slowly cooking, stirring often, until onions are golden brown, about 20 minutes. Add the garlic, cinnamon, ginger, kosher salt, and pepper and cook 1 minute. Add the tomatoes, and cook for 5 minutes. Add the black olives, chicken broth, saffron with soaking water, honey, lemon juice, and the reserved chicken (including any juices the chicken has given off on the plate), and bring to a boil, then reduce heat to a simmer and cover the dutch oven for 20 minutes. Remove the cover and continue simmering to reduce the sauce for another 15 minutes. Taste sauce for seasonings, adding kosher salt and ground pepper, if need be.
Serve the Moroccan Chicken on a rimmed platter, and garnish with toasted almonds and cilantro, including placing pita triangles along the perimeter for sopping up the sauce (BTW: This dish is meant to be eaten with clean fingers and pita bread as your utensils. – Enjoy!
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Tips: For an even heartier meal, you might also wish to serve this dish with couscous, orzo, or steamed rice.
Also, most moroccan recipes call for raisins to be added at the end of the cooking process, although I do not particularly care for them, but feel free if you choose to do so ;-)
Friday, February 7, 2014
Sweet Potato Fries with Saffron Aioli
I had sweet potato fries two times this past weekend. Well, three if you count the ones that I made. Oh, and I ate a different aioli with each batch. Ive learned two important lessons from these meals:
1.) Mayonnaise and sweet potatoes are delicious together.
2.) I look really good next to sweet potatoes. Theres no good explanation for it, its just a fact.
So, feeling inspired (and beautiful), I decided to make my own variation on sweet potato fries. I also made my very first mayo, which I turned into a flavorful saffron aioli. Im basically a God.
First, scrub your potatoes. Or not. Look, you can be as disgusting as you want. No one is watching. After you have/have not washed your taters, its up to you whether you want to peel them. I didnt, as a lot of nutrients are in the skin, plus I feel like the skin allows the fries to hold up better. Again, no one is watching. Whoopsy, did you drop a potato on the floor? NBD, just put it back in the bowl. Thats right...
After you have/have not washed and have/have not dropped it on the dirty floor, cut it into strips. Theres really no rhyme or reason as to how you should cut them, but since Im making fries, I tried to make fry shapes. I like to live life on the edge. On the edge of glory, that is.
In a bowl, drizzle some melted coconut oil (about 1 Tbsp per potato) on the fries, and add a generous pinch of salt and pepper. Mix em around so theyre well-coated and transfer to a cookie sheet. Try to spread them into one layer, with a bit of room.
{Clearly, I did not give them much room.}
Hopefully youve pre-heated your oven to 450 degrees, because otherwise, youre gonna have to wait around for a while before you can pop these bad boys into the oven for 20-25 minutes. Bad planning on your part dude. Bad planning.
While those bake, start making your aioli. I made the decision to make this by hand (read: my arm nearly fell off by the time it was done), but Id recommend using your electric mixer. A food processor isnt a great idea, unless youre planning to double or triple the batch.
Start by soaking a small pinch of saffron in a Tbsp and a half of warm water.
{Thats saffron. Thats all ya need. Its expensive. Its also delicious.}
Do that part first, because youll need it to soak in the water for about 20 minutes.
In the meantime, combine two egg yolks, a small clove of minced garlic, and a quarter tsp of salt in a deep bowl. Then, verrrrrrrrrrrrrrry slowly, like, slow enough you almost dont wanna bother, drizzle 3/4 cup of olive oil into the egg mixture, whisking vigorously all the time. This process will take anywhere from 8 to 15 minutes, depending on whether youre using a hand mixer or whisk.
Once it looks like mayo, and youve added all the oil, add the saffron water to the mixture, along with a squeeze of fresh lemon (dont skip this part), and add a grind of black pepper. Whisk that shit together and then refrigerate your aioli for a few hours before serving.
This is my new favorite snack, paleo or otherwise. You will NOT be disappointed. Well, I guess you might be disappointed, but if you can be disappointed by mayonnaise, you dont have enough to worry about in life. Looks like somebody needs a hobbyyyyyyyyyyy!!!!
*Editors Note: Sweet potato fries are not as crispy as regular fries. Supposedly, you can coat your fries with corn starch before cooking which makes for a crispier fry, but thats not Paleo, so Im going to try using coconut flour next time. If you use either of these, let me know. Think of it like in olden times when the king would have someone taste his food first to see if it was poisoned or not. If you dont die, I expect a full report back.
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