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~ Living & Cooking in France

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Category Archives: Chicken

Perfect roast chicken

04 Monday Dec 2017

Posted by Nadia in Chicken, General

≈ 17 Comments

Tags

Chicken, roast, roast chicken, sunday lunch

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I have always maintained that if I had to pick a final meal, it would be roast chicken. I simply LOVE the smell of a chicken roasting in the oven, the taste of the warm, juicy, moist meat, crispy skin…. OOhh, I am getting hungry just thinking about it.

It is very important to start with an excellent quality, organic, free range, chicken and I am very lucky here in the Dordogne as there is no shortage of farms selling directly. This chicken comes from Volaille Dumas – Perigord Noir.

I added 2 thickly sliced potatoes, 1 sliced onion and 1 thickly sliced aubergine to the bottom of my dish and placed the chicken on top.

Serves 3 to 4

Ingredients:

1 Chicken, 2 to 3 kg (5 to 6 lbs)
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 lemon, cut in half
4 to 6 cloves of garlic, peeled
1 onion, cut into quarters
3 tablespoons melted butter
Pinch paprika
Pinch cayenne pepper (optional)
Pinch mixed herbs or herbs de Provence

Preparation:

Remove the chicken from the fridge 30 minutes before you want to cook it, to let it come up to room temperature
Preheat the oven to 200°C/400°F
Remove the chicken giblets
Stuff the chicken cavity with the lemon halves, onion quarters and garlic cloves
Sprinkle with salt and pepper in the cavity
Brush the outside of the chicken with the butter
Sprinkle the paprika, cayenne pepper and herbs on the chicken
Add salt and pepper
Tie the legs together with kitchen string and tuck the wing tips under the body of the chicken
Place the chicken in the roasting dish
About half way through the cooking time, baste the chicken with the juices
Roast the chicken for 1 1/2 hours, or until the juices run clear when you cut between a leg and thigh
Remove the chicken to a platter and cover with aluminum foil for about 10 minutes
Carve and serve
Enjoy!

 

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Harissa sticky chicken

17 Wednesday May 2017

Posted by Nadia in Chicken, General

≈ 19 Comments

Tags

Chicken, harissa, oven baked, roasts

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This is such a simple recipe that takes 5 minutes to prepare yet it tastes like you spent hours cooking it. Perfect summer or winter meal and it can cook in the oven while you are entertaining guests. Delicious served with a couscous and chickpea mixture to absorb all that yummy sauce or simply some pita bread to mop it all up with.

Harissa is a Maghrebi hot, aromatic chili pepper paste, the main ingredients of which are roasted red peppers, Baklouti pepper, serrano peppers, and other hot chili peppers and spices and herbs such as garlic paste, coriander seed, saffron, or caraway, as well as some vegetable or olive oil for preservation. It’s widely used in North African and Middle Eastern cuisines as a condiment, or mixed with water or tomato juice to flavour stews, soups or couscous. In North Africa it’s also sometimes served in a pool of olive oil, into which to dip bread. As it’s strong and pungent, a little goes a long way.

Serves 4

Ingredients:

45g / 3 tablespoons butter
4 tablespoons harissa
4 tablespoons honey
Juice of 1/2 an organic lemon
4 bone-in chicken legs (can use just thighs or drumsticks)

Preparation:

Preheat the oven to 200C / 180C fan / 400F / 360F fan
In a small pan, melt together the butter, harissa, honey and lemon juice
Arrange the chicken pieces in a baking tray or dish
Pour over the harissa mixture
Roast for 45 minutes, basting occasionally with the sauce
Serve with couscous and a green salad or grilled vegetables
Enjoy!

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Poulet Basquaise – chicken with peppers, ham, tomatoes and onions

07 Sunday May 2017

Posted by Nadia in Chicken, General, Stews

≈ 19 Comments

Tags

basque, Chicken, chicken stew, classic french, espelette, one-dish meal, peppers, piment d'espelette, tomatoes

IMG_9136The perfect one-dish meal! Poulet Basquaise is a standard plat du jour in many bistros across France and there must be at least a hundred interpretations of this classic dish. It originates in the Basque country and is traditionally made with a little Bayonne ham. The generic term Bayonne applies to any salt-cured ham that is air-dried for five months. You may use any unsmoked ham such as prosciutto or Serrano if you cannot find Bayonne. The difference between poulet basquaise and many other chicken and tomato stews is that here the onions and tomatoes are cooked separately from the chicken and peppers and the cooked chicken is served on a bed of the tomato and onion sauce. Additionally the dish tastes especially good due to the addition of Espelette pepper. It is a mildish pepper with lots of flavour and not much heat. If for some reason you cannot find ground piment d’Espelette, substitute 4 small, mildly hot peppers such as serrano peppers or use 1/2 teaspoon hot red pepper flakes. As with all spicy recipes, do feel free to adjust the amount of hot peppers to your taste! This dish is typically served with plain, white, boiled rice. It is a great do-ahead dish and tastes even better the next day.

Serves 6

Ingredients:

6 chicken legs (1 1/2 to 2 kg / 3 to 4 lbs)
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Flour for dusting
3 tablespoons plus 2 tablespoons (5 total) rendered duck fat or vegetable oil
4 garlic cloves, peeled and thinly sliced
250g / 8oz Bayonne ham or prosciutto, diced
2 large onions, coarsely chopped
1kg / 2lb red and green bell peppers, cored, seeded and thickly sliced
1kg / 2 lb tomatoes, peeled, seeded and chopped (or 1 large can 750g / 28oz plum tomatoes, drained)
Pinch of sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground piment d’Espelette
Parsley, fresh and coarsely chopped for garnish

Preparation:

Season the chicken generously with salt and pepper and lightly dust with flour
In a large, deep and heavy skillet or dutch oven, heat the oil over moderately high heat
Add the chicken and cook on one side until a deep golden brown, about 5 minutes, then turn the pieces over and brown the other side, about 5 minutes more
Work in batches if to avoid overcrowding the pan
Return all the chicken to the pan
Add the garlic, bell peppers, chillis and ham
Cook, covered, over medium low heat until the chicken is cooked and the peppers are soft, about 45 minutes
Stir occasionally and adjust heat to avoid scorching
Meanwhile in another large skillet, heat the remaining 2 tablespoons oil over medium high heat
Add the onions, reduce heat and cook until very soft, about 5 minutes
Add the tomatoes, sugar and piment d’Espelette
Cook for 30 minutes
Season to taste
(The dish can be made ahead up to this point – reheat both mixtures separately before serving)
To serve, spoon the tomato and onion mixture into a deep platter, cover with the chicken, garnish with parsley and serve immediately, with white rice
Enjoy!

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