Chicken Canzanese, Toasted Fennel/Shallot Brown Rice

Originally a peasant dish (perhaps of stewing hen or rooster) from the Abruzzo region in Italy, Americans were likely  first introduced to this classic in a 1969 article from the New York Times.

My riff on America’s Test Kitchen’s modern adaptation (see video below) uses locally pastured chicken thighs, prosciutto, garlic, fresh herbs, chicken stock and white wine, all served over fennel-scented brown rice with toasted shallots and flat-leaf parsley..

Pollo Canzanese (serves 2-4)

4 large skin-on, bone-in, pastured chicken breasts
2 ounces prosciutto, cut into 1/4-inch dice
2-3 cloves garlic, slivered (not minced)
2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
2 teaspoons sprouted wheat or spelt flour
1-1/4 cups dry white wine
3/4 cup homemade chicken stock
2 bay leaves (fresh preferred)
2 sprigs rosemary, stripped, leaves chopped (reserve the stems)
8 leaves fresh sage
3 whole cloves
juice of 1/2 fresh lemon
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 tablespoon cultured butter, cold
freshly-cracked black pepper

Rinse chicken and pat dry. Refrigerate, uncovered 4 hours or overnight to help ensure a crispy skin when cooked.

Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a heavy-bottomed skillet over medium heat until shimmering.  Add prosciutto and sauté until lightly brown, about 2 minutes.  Add garlic and sauté 1 minute more.  Use a slotted spoon to transfer the prosciutto and garlic to a side dish.

Return the pan to the heat and add the remaining tablespoon of olive oil.  Once the oil is shimmering, season the chicken with pepper and place in the hot oil skin-side down.  Allow the chicken to cook without moving until golden brown, about 5-6 minutes. Turn the chicken over cook another 5 minutes, again without moving.  Transfer the chicken to a side dish.

Pour off all but 1 tablespoon of olive oil/fat, reserving the remainder for the rice.

Sprinkle the flour into the pan and whisk continuously to form a light roux, about 1 minute.

De-glaze the pan with the wine, taking care to scrape up all the brown bits (the fond) from the bottom.

Add the cooked prosciutto and garlic back into the pan along with the bay leaves, sage, cloves, rosemary stems (without leaves) and red pepper flakes. Stir to combine.

Add the chicken to the pan, making sure that the volume of liquid is sufficient to rise to a point just below the crisp chicken skin.  Pour a little liquid off if there’s too much, or add a little stock if there isn’t enough.

Place the uncovered pan into a 325 degree oven and cook until the chicken is fork tender, about 1 hour.

Meanwhile, prepare the rice..

1 cup germinated brown rice, rinsed
2-1/4 cups chicken stock
2 tablespoons shallots, chopped
1 tablespoon reserved oil/fat
1 teaspoon fennel seeds, cracked
2 tablespoons fresh flat-leaf parsley

Toast the fennel in a heavy-bottomed saucepan set over medium heat until fragrant, about 1 minute.

Add the reserved oil/fat and shallots and cook until lightly browned, about 2 minutes.

Add the rice and stir to coat.

Add the stock and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer until done, about 45 minutes.

To Finish and Serve

Remove the pan with the chicken from the oven.  Transfer the chicken to a platter and cover with foil.

Working quickly, put the chicken pan on the burner over medium-high heat. Pick out and discard the cloves, sage, bay and rosemary stems.

Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the lemon juice, chopped rosemary leaves, parsley and butter and whisk until smooth.

Line a platter with the rice and ladle the sauce over the rice.  Place the cooked chicken on top of the rice, drizzle with a little of the sauce and serve piping hot.

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Here’s that video..

Glazed Chicken Shichimi, Black Rice Noodles

Locally pastured chicken breasts are skinned and boned, then dusted in rice flour and quickly shallow-fried in peanut oil until golden in color.  The chicken is then placed in a hot oven for  about 15 minutes, basted twice with a mixture of wild honey, fermented tamari, Shichimi tōgarashi and a pinch of sea salt.  The finished chicken is served over organic black rice noodles and topped with chopped peanuts.  The whole dish is gluten-free..

“Dating at least to the 17th century, Shichimi tōgarashi (Japanese: 七味唐辛子, “seven flavor chili pepper”) is a common Japanese spice mixture containing seven ingredients:

coarsely ground red chili pepper (the main ingredient)
ground sansho (Sichuan pepper)
roasted orange peel
black sesame seed
white sesame seed
hemp seed
ground ginger
nori or aonori

Some recipes may substitute or supplement these with poppy seed, yuzu peel, rape seed or shiso.

Shichimi should be distinguished from ichimi togarashi (一味唐辛子), which is simply ground red chili pepper, and means literally “one flavor chili pepper” (ichi meaning “one”).”  –Wikipedia

Orange and Fennel-Roasted Chicken

Orange and Fennel-Roasted Chicken, risotto with green beans, browned pearl onions and fried capicola..

Orange and Fennel-Roasted Chicken

Marinate locally-pastured chicken pieces (I’m using bone-in, skin-on thighs) in a mixture of raw olive oil, freshly-squeezed orange juice, garlic and cracked fennel seeds for 4-8 hours, turning once.

Remove chicken from refrigerator, wipe off excess marinade and season liberally with sea salt and freshly-ground black pepper.  Allow to stand at room temperature for 30 minutes, then roast in a 375 degree oven until crisp and the juices run clear, about 40 minutes.

Meanwhile, saute pearl onions and roughly-chopped dry coppa (capicola) in a bit of olive oil until nicely browned and slightly crisp.  Use a slotted spoon to remove the onions & coppa to a plate, then add bomba rice to the pan, stirring to coat each grain with the flavored oil that remains.

Add three times the amount of vegetable stock, chicken stock or water to the pan as you have rice, and allow it to come to a boil.  Reduce the heat to medium-low, add cut fresh green beans and allow to simmer, stirring continuously  until the rice is tender, about 20 minutes.  Add the onions and coppa, stir to combine and remove from heat.  Allow to stand 3-5 minutes before spooning onto a serving dish.

Top cooked rice with the roasted chicken and pour the pan juices over the top.  Garnish with fennel fronds and serve immediately.

Speaking of leftovers..

Here’s last night’s chipotle-roasted chicken on a crisp cornmeal pizza crust with sliced red onions, fresh pineapple and some slightly burnt asadero.  Fresh cilantro from the patio..

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For the Crust  [makes 2 7-inch crusts] (adapted from a recipe by Martha Stewart)

1 teaspoon active dry yeast
1/3 cups warm water
3/4 cups sprouted wheat flour, plus more for work surface
1/4 cup organic, stone-ground cornmeal, plus more for pizza stone
1/2 teaspoon coarse sea salt
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for bowl

In a small bowl, sprinkle the yeast and sugar over the warm water. Let stand until yeast is dissolved and mixture is foamy, about 10 minutes.

Combine flour, cornmeal, and salt in a large bowl. Make a well in the center, and add the yeast mixture and oil. Slowly stir ingredients with a wooden spoon just until dough starts to come together. Turn out dough on a lightly floured work surface, and knead until smooth and elastic, 7 to 10 minutes.

Divide dough into four 4-ounce balls. Place balls in a shallow oiled bowl, turning to coat with oil; cover with plastic wrap, and let rise 1 hour at room temperature or overnight in the refrigerator.

Preheat oven to 500 degrees with a pizza stone on lowest rack. Stretch dough into 7-inch rounds. Sprinkle cornmeal on a pizza peel or inverted baking sheet.  Place dough rounds on top, and cooked until light golden brown, about 10 minutes.  Set aside to cool.

Slide rounds onto pizza stone, and bake until crust is crisp and golden and toppings are bubbling, 5 to 7 minutes.

Chicken Adobado Pizza

Farm-fresh chicken pieces are marinated overnight in a mixture of ancho chiles, garlic, cumin, cloves and Mexican oregano, then slow-roasted, cooled and torn into chunks.  The pan juices are reduced with chopped fresh tomatoes until thick, then spread over a rustic cornmeal crust and topped with the chicken, yellow onions, fresh green chiles and queso anejo..

Chicken Adobado Pizza

For the Chicken and Sauce (adapted from a recipe by Rick Bayless)

2-3 joints of chicken
1/2 teaspoon freshly-ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds
2 cloves
2 roma tomatoes, chopped
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
1/2 teaspoon piloncillo
3 dried ancho chiles, stemmed, seeded and torn
2 tablespoons raw cider vinegar
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 cloves garlic
1 teaspoon Mexican oregano
sea salt

1 small yellow onion, chopped
1-2 fresh Anaheim chiles, sliced

Heat the oil in a heavy skillet over medium heat. When hot, toast the chiles for a few seconds per side, then transfer to a bowl.  Don’t let the chiles burn or they will be very bitter.  Add 1 cup hot water to the bowl, cover and let stand 20 minutes to rehydrate the chiles.

Place the garlic, oregano, pepper, cumin, cloves, paprika, piloncillo, salt and vinegar into a food processor along with the chiles and and its soaking water.  Process into a smooth, thin sauce.

Place the chicken in a shallow dish and pour the marinade over the top.  Cover and refrigerate overnight, turning once.

Drain the chicken, reserving 1/4 cup of marinade.  Roast in a heavy skillet in a 300 degree oven until just done, then set aside to cool, taking care to collect the juices.

Pour the reserved marinade and collected juices into a clean pan set over medium heat and bring to a boil.  Add the tomatoes and cook until disintegrated, about 10 minutes.  Add onions and Anaheim chiles, reduce heat and simmer until thick, about 20 minutes.  Taste and adjust for seasoning and set aside to cool.

For the Crust  [makes 2 7-inch crusts] (adapted from a recipe by Martha Stewart)

1 teaspoon active dry yeast
1/3 cups warm water
3/4 cups sprouted wheat flour, plus more for work surface
1/4 cup organic, stone-ground cornmeal, plus more for skillet
1/2 teaspoon coarse sea salt
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for bowl

In a small bowl, sprinkle the yeast and sugar over the warm water. Let stand until yeast is dissolved and mixture is foamy, about 10 minutes.

Combine flour, cornmeal, and salt in a large bowl. Make a well in the center, and add the yeast mixture and oil. Slowly stir ingredients with a wooden spoon just until dough starts to come together. Turn out dough on a lightly floured work surface, and knead until smooth and elastic, 7 to 10 minutes.

Divide dough into two balls. Place balls in a shallow oiled bowl, turning to coat with oil; cover with plastic wrap, and let rise 1 hour at room temperature or overnight in the refrigerator.

Stretch dough into 7-inch rounds.  Sprinkle cornmeal on a skillet, pizza peel or inverted baking sheet.  Place dough rounds on top, and cook in a 400 degree oven until light golden brown, about 10 minutes.  Set aside to cool.

For the Pizza

1 cornmeal crust
1 cup roasted chicken, torn into chunks
1/2 cup thickened adobado with peppers and onions
1/4 cup Anejo cheese, shredded
chopped cilantro

Toss the chicken and adobado together, then spread over the top of the cornmeal crust.  Top with cheese and bake at 500 degrees until crisp and bubbly, about 8 minutes.  Garnish with fresh cilantro, cut into wedges and serve immediately.