Mediterranean Quinoa-Chicken Salad
July 18, 2017
Mediterranean Chicken-Quinoa Salad
I subscribe to The Splendid Table’s Weeknight Kitchen emails which come out every Wednesday, featuring easy-to-prepare recipes. This recipe for Greek Chicken Salad with Lemon, Feta and Grains caught my eye – anything with lemon and feta gets a second look from me! I made it the next night, without the tzatziki, and thought it was a little bland, so made some adaptations for a lunch with friends. We liked it! We served it with a Greek white wine and that beautiful beet hummus brought by friend Ruth. I will get the recipe from her and share with you soon! (Note: I’ve made this salad a few times since my lunch with friends and found that it is great with a dry rose wine also!)
Ingredients – serves 6
1 1/2 cups quinoa (I like red for its looks)
2 1/2 cups water
4 tablespoons olive oil
1 garlic clove, minced OR 2 tablespoons garlic infused olive oil
3/4 cup sliced scallions, white and green parts
1/2 teaspoon crushed red chili flakes
1 tablespoon dried oregano
1/2 – 3/4 pound cooked boneless, skinless chicken breast, torn or cut into 1 1/2-inch pieces
Juice of 1 lemon
1 medium red bell pepper, diced
1 cup chopped fresh parsley leaves
1 cup chopped fresh mint leaves
1 preserved lemon, peel only, diced OR zest of 1 lemon
Lemon dressing: 2 tablespoons EV olive oil, juice of 1/2 lemon, salt and pepper to taste
1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese, or more to taste
Spring greens salad mix
Instructions
Cook the quinoa: Rinse quinoa well and place in a medium saucepan with the water. Bring to a boil, turn heat down and simmer 15-20 minutes or until water is absorbed. Take off the heat, let sit for 10 minutes and then “fluff”. Set aside.
Cook the chicken mixture: In a large saute pan, heat 2-3 tablespoons olive oil till shimmering. Add the garlic, scallions and crushed red chili flakes and saute 3-4 minutes. (Alternatively, heat 2 tablespoons garlic infused olive oil plus one tablespoon olive oil. Add the scallions and crushed red chili flakes and saute 3-4 minutes.) Add the oregano and the chicken and saute for about 5 more minutes. Add the quinoa and lemon juice and stir to combine thoroughly. Turn into a large serving bowl and cool to room temperature. At this point, proceed with the following and serve immediately or refrigerate until needed. If refrigerating, let the mixture come to room temperature before finishing the salad.
Finishing the salad: Add the herbs, diced red bell pepper and preserved lemon or lemon zest, stirring to combine. Add the lemon dressing and stir to blend in thoroughly. Here you can add the feta cheese or you can pass a bowl of it after serving so each person can add what they want.
Serving the salad: Place a bed of salad mix on a platter and place the quinoa salad on top of it. Yum!!
Elote -inspired Tostadas with Corn, Chicken and Avocado
September 21, 2016
Aunt Suzy says
I saw this article and recipe in last week’s Taste section of our local newspaper and that was all the inspiration I needed. The headline was “One more taste of summer” and I said yes, please. Tomatoes and corn are still plentiful here in Minnesota and I have not yet had my fill of either. If you know us here at S&SK you will already expect that I made a few adaptations to the recipe, but I think following the original, using my recipe or making up your own riff would all end in a great tasting tostada. We both loved these, and as Randy said “this has great mouth appeal”. Indeed!
Elote-inspired Tostadas with Corn, Chicken and Avocado
This note is from the original article: Elote, or roasted corn on the cob, is a popular street food in Mexico, and is often served with condiments such as Cotija cheese, lime juice, mayonnaise and ground chile peppers.
This recipe makes approximately 8 tostadas.
This tostada consists of layers (starting from the bottom) of avocado, corn, chicken, cilantro, diced tomatoes, diced onion and optional cheese. Prepare the layers as follows:
For the chicken: Shred approximately 2 cups of cooked chicken. This could easily be from leftover roast or rotisserie chicken or cook up a couple of chicken breasts. We baked 2 bone-in/skin-on breasts sprinkled with some ground cumin and ground chile. (I had ground red Hatch chile on hand.)
Once the chicken is shredded, heat 2 tablespoons oil in a skillet on medium high. Add 2 minced cloves of garlic. Saute for a minute stirring constantly. Add the chicken, saute for another minute or two, then add 1-2 tablespoons adobo sauce from a can of chipotle chiles. Cook for another couple of minutes until heated through all chicken is coated with the sauce. Stir in a squeeze of lime and some salt, to taste. Set aside. The chicken can be served warm or room temperature.
For the corn: You’ll want about 2 cups of corn. I got that amount from 4 large ears of sweet corn. Shuck the corn and then slice the kernels off the cobs. Heat 2 tablespoons vegetable oil in a skillet on medium high heat. Once hot, add the corn kernels and 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano (or to taste). Saute, stirring often until some of the kernels start to brown. Remove from heat, turn into a bowl and set aside to cool. Once cool, add 1-2 teaspoons mayonnaise, a squeeze of lime and some salt, all to taste.
For the avocado: Mash 2 ripe avocados to the consistency of a chunky paste. Add a squeeze of lime and some salt, to taste.
For the tostadas:
Chop 1/2 yellow or white onion. Seed and chop one ripe red tomato. Chop 1/2-1 cup cilantro leaves. These can be kept in separate bowls or combined for a quick pico de gallo.
Crumble some feta cheese or have on hand grated Cotijo cheese, optional.
Have on hand the required number of tostadas. You can make them yourself from tortillas – instructions included in the original recipe. But if you live near a Hispanic grocery, I say go ahead and buy a package! We got two meals of 8 tostadas each from our package with enough leftover to give to friends Sue and Al for a meal! NOTE: If you’re making these for kids, I think hard taco shells might be easier for them to eat. Just a thought. 🙂
Assembling the tostadas:
Spread some avocado on the tostada. Add a layer of the corn, then some chicken. Top with the onion, tomato, cilantro and cheese if using. If you love lime, squeeze a little on top. Dig in!!
Vegetarian option:
The next night we made vegetarian tostadas, starting with a layer of refried beans, then adding the corn on top. Instead of mashing the avocado, we chopped it and added it on top with the onion, tomato, cilantro and cheese. Rave reviews for this approach too!
Tuna Casserole Pasta Salad
September 13, 2015
Margaux says…
I know, I know…why am I posting about something boring like tuna pasta salad? Where’s the cake? Cookies? Cupcakes? It’s end of summer harvest…where are the tomatoes? Zucchini? Sweet corn? Well, sometimes I have nothing in the pantry but a couple of cans of tuna, some pasta, some frozen peas and some parsley. When I desperately need to go grocery shopping, it’s likely that I have those things. So I make this tuna pasta salad, a recipe from the Cook’s Illustrated 30-minute suppers magazine that I’ve vowed to post all of my favorite recipes from.
And this is not your normal tuna pasta salad. It’s not mayonnaise-y or sweet. It has great flavor and a little bit of a bite from the lemon, garlic and Dijon mustard. I like to serve it on a bed of arugula, and if I have them on hand, with a handful of cherry tomatoes thrown in, too. The original recipe calls for toasted breadcrumbs on top, which I don’t love the texture of, but I’ll include the steps to that for those of you who would like it!
Tuna Casserole Pasta Salad
adapted from 30-Minute Suppers from America’s Test Kitchen, Fall 2010 edition
2 slices high-quality white sandwich bread, torn into pieces (optional)
1/2 cup olive oil (plus 1 tbsp if doing bread crumbs)
3 tbsp juice from one lemon
2 tsp Dijon mustard
1 garlic clove, minced
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
2 (6-oz) cans tuna packed in water, drained and flaked into large chunks (I like the “chunk light” tuna)
1 pound small shells
2 cups frozen peas
1/2 cup chopped parsley
1. Bring 4 quarts water to a boil in a large pot. If doing bread crumbs, pulse bread in food processor until coarsely ground, about 6 pulses. Heat 1 tbsp oil in large skillet over medium heat. Add bread crumbs and 1/2 tsp salt and cook, stirring frequently, until deep golden brown, about 5 minutes. Transfer to bowl.
2. Whisk lemon juice, mustard, garlic, Worcestershire, 3/4 tsp salt, and 1/4 tsp pepper together in large bowl. Slowly whisk in remaining oil. Gently toss tuna with 1/4 cup dressing in separate bowl.
3. Meanwhile, add shells and 1 tbsp salt to boiling water and cook until almost al dente. Add peas to pot and cook additional 1 minute. Drain pasta and peas and rinse with cold water. Add pasta, peas and parsley to bowl with remaining dressing and toss to coat. Gently fold in tuna and season with salt and pepper. Serve, topping each portion with bread crumbs.
Serve over a bed of arugula, or by itself with a green salad on the side.
Italian Chicken Casserole
February 28, 2015
Margaux says…
Back in the relaxing days of only having one small child, I used to watch a lot of daytime TV. My son would only nap for long stretches when he was laying on me…if I tried to lay him down in his own bed, on our bed, or on the couch, he would wake up within 10 minutes. And then would be crabby for the rest of the day. Luckily he was my first born, and got lots of snuggles on the couch, every day, for the first 2.5 years of his life. It got frustrating: dirty dishes would sit in the sink, phone calls would go unanswered, laundry would sit in the dryer, dinner would go un-prepped. I had no smartphone, so no emails, Facebook, or Words with Friends. So, I watched A LOT of television. And after I had marathoned Doctor Who, Firefly and Veronica Mars on Netflix (thank goodness we had Netflix), I turned to daytime TV. And a whole bunch of Food Network. And I’m actually glad for it, because I learned a bunch of really great cooking tips from Ina, and quick meal ideas from Rachel and Giada. This was one of them, and I make it on a pretty regular basis. I remember it was on an episode when Giada was cooking with a child, so it’s meant to be a good recipe for a kid to help with. Which is true, my son has helped me make it many times. It can be prepared in about 30 minutes. A great weeknight meal!
Italian Chicken Casserole
This makes enough for 4 people, in an 8×8″ glass baking dish. I like to double the recipe and bake in a 13×9″ dish so we have plenty of leftovers.
1 cup pastina pasta (or any small pasta)
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 cup cubed chicken breast (1-inch cubes)
1/2 cup diced onion (about 1/2 a small onion)
1 clove garlic, minced
1 (14.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes with juice
1 cup shredded mozzarella
1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup bread crumbs
1/4 cup grated Parmesan
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
Bring a medium pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta and cook until just tender, stirring occasionally, about 5 minutes. Drain pasta into a large mixing bowl.
Meanwhile, put the olive oil in a medium saute pan over medium heat. Add the chicken and cook for 3 minutes. Add the onions and garlic, stirring to combine, and cook until the onions are soft and the chicken is cooked through, about 5 minutes more.Put the chicken mixture into the bowl with the cooked pasta. Add the canned tomatoes, mozzarella cheese, parsley, salt, and pepper. Stir to combine. Place the mixture in a buttered 8 by 8 by 2-inch baking dish. In a small bowl mix together the bread crumbs and the Parmesan cheese. Sprinkle over the top of the pasta mixture. Dot the top with small bits of butter. Bake until the top is golden brown, about 30 minutes.
Note: This can also be made with already cooked chicken. Just saute the onion and garlic on their own, and add the chicken to the bowl with everything and toss.
Greek-Style Chicken Kebabs
August 28, 2014
Margaux says…
We recently got a new gas grill, which replaced an ancient double hand-me-down (it was handed down to us from someone who had it handed down to them). Our new one is also a hand-me-down, but much much newer, with no rust and *GASP!* it actually evenly cooks the food. The other bonus to the new one is I can use it! The old one had all these quirks, and it wasn’t easy to get started. I could do it, but not very easily, and definitely not on a weeknight with two crazy kids hanging on me. This new one is easier to use than the stove! So I’ve been grilling every other night…no pan to clean up, and the kitchen stays nice and cool. This is one of my favorite grilling recipes, an adaptation from the recipe magazine I use all summer long. It’s not as quick as some of them, and doesn’t take 30 minutes like the magazine says, but it’s still quick enough that I can do it on a weeknight. Plus, I kind of make it more complicated by doing veggie skewers for my vegetarian son along with it. The recipe calls for serving it along with grilled pita, but I usually also serve with grilled veggie skewers and a green salad.
Greek-Style Chicken Kebabs with Grilled Flatbread
adapted from America’s Test Kitchen 30-Minute Suppers, Fall 2010 edition
1 English cucumber, halved lengthwise, seeded and finely diced
1 1/2 cups plain Greek-style yogurt
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
4 garlic cloves, minced
3 tbsp juice from 1 lemon
1 tbsp chopped fresh oregano (or 1 tsp dried)
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
8 boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut into 1 1/2″ chunks (about 1 1/2 lbs)
2 red onions, cut into 1″ chunks
4 pita bread rounds
1. Whisk yogurt, 2 tbsp oil, garlic, lemon juice, 1 tsp salt, and 1/4 tsp pepper in bowl. Toss oregano, cayenne, and chicken with half of yogurt mixture.
2. Thread four 12-inch skewers with chicken and onions. Grill over hot fire, turning skewers every 2 minutes, until onions and chicken are cooked through, about 12 minutes. Transfer skewers to platter, tent with foil, and let rest 5 minutes. Brush both sides of pita rounds with remaining oil and grill until lightly charred and warm, about 1 minute. Transfer to platter with chicken.
3. Toss cucumbers with remaining yogurt mixture. Season with salt and pepper and serve with chicken and pita.
Zucchini and Tomato Frittata
August 1, 2014
Margaux says…
I love making frittatas for dinner in the summer. It’s a great way to use up random produce sitting in the fridge, it’s quick and easy, and it is best served at room temperature, which is great in summer. I got the idea for this one from Skinnytaste.com, except this isn’t the skinny version.
We don’t have tons of tomatoes and zucchinis like some people, because we unfortunately don’t have a garden. But I know that when you do grow those things, they are plentiful, so this is a great way to use it up. And the Asiago adds so much delicious flavor to this dish!
Zucchini and Tomato Frittata
1 tbsp olive oil
1/2 large onion, diced
2 medium zucchinis, cut into matchsticks
8 large eggs
3/4 cup shredded Asiago cheese
1/4 cup chopped basil
salt and pepper
2 small garden tomatoes, sliced thinly
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Whisk together eggs with 1/2 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp freshly ground pepper and Asiago cheese. Set aside.
Heat olive oil in a 10″ non-stick pan or cast iron skillet over medium heat. Add onion, and saute until soft, about 5 minutes. Add zucchini and turn up heat to medium-high. Saute until zucchini is soft, about 2 more minutes. Add egg mixture and let sit for a minute, then tilt the pan and loosen the edges with a spatula, letting uncooked egg slide underneath. Cook until the underside is golden but the top is still liquid, about 5 minutes. Add the tomatoes to the top of the frittata, sprinkle a little salt on them, and transfer to a center rack of the preheated oven. Bake until the top is set, about 5 minutes. If the top doesn’t set in that amount of time, turn the broiler on high, move the rack to the top position, and broil until the top sets, about 1-2 minutes. Don’t overcook! Remove pan from oven and let cool to warm. Remove frittata from pan onto a large serving plate, or cut right in the pan and serve. I like to serve it at room temperature, but it’s also good warm.
Steak and Zucchini Tostadas
July 31, 2014
Margaux says…
I bought this recipe magazine on a whim 4 years ago while waiting in line at the supermarket, and it quickly became my most-used recipe book in the summer and fall. Every recipe I have made (and I have used almost all of them) have been fantastic. And they are super quick and easy. So, since I use this blog as my virtual recipe box and menu planner (along with Pinterest, of course), I thought I would post some of my favorites from the magazine, just in case someday it catches on fire from being too close to a burner, or accidentally gets dropped in the dishwater. Plus, you should try out these recipes, too! They’re great for a quick, easy and flavorful weeknight meal.
I’m starting with the steak and zucchini tostadas. I don’t make these as often because we really don’t eat steak all that much (small business owner budget), but I have made this substituting lentil taco filling for the steak and it is also pretty good. My favorite lentil taco filling recipe is sort of a mash-up of my own taco seasoning and the lentil taco recipe from Budget Bytes. Actually, I keep the lentil taco filling on hand in the freezer for whenever we have tacos, so I have it ready for my vegetarian son on taco nights. But I digress….try these tostadas on your next taco night, you won’t be sorry. Zucchini and steak is a great combo!
Steak and Zucchini Tostadas
adapted from America’s Test Kitchen 30-Minute Suppers, Fall 2010 edition
**To make this even quicker, you can buy already made tostada shells at the grocery store if your store carries them. Here in Chicago there are a couple of different local brands that make them, and you can find them in the “Mexican” aisle.
12 (6-inch) corn tortillas
4 tbsp vegetable or canola oil
salt and pepper
1 small flank steak (or about 1 lb strip steak…I used that once because it’s what I had on hand)
2 medium zucchini, halved lengthwise and sliced thin
1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese
1/2 cup lightly packed fresh cilantro leaves
1 lime, cut into wedges, for serving
1 recipe pico de gallo, for serving (recipe follows)
1. Adjust oven racks to lower-middle and upper middle positions and heat oven to 450 degrees. Brush both sides of tortillas with 2 tablespoons oil and season with salt and pepper. Lay tortillas in single layer on 2 baking sheets. Bake until golden brown and crisp, rotating baking sheets and flipping tortillas halfway through, about 10 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, pat beef dry with paper towels and season with salt and pepper. Heat additional 1 tablespoon oil in large skillet over medium high heat until just smoking. Cook beef until well browned and it registers 125 degrees (for medium-rare), 4 to 6 minutes per side. Transfer to cutting board and tent with foil.
3. Add remaining oil and zucchini to skillet and cook until tender, about 4 minutes.
4. Cut beef in half lengthwise, then very thinly slice beef crosswise against grain. Divide beef and zucchini equally among tostadas. Top with feta and cilantro. Serve with lime wedges and pico de gallo.
Pico de Gallo
3 cored, seeded and diced plum tomatoes
1/2 red onion, finely chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 jalepenos, seeded and minced (leave more of the seeds for more heat)
juice from 2 limes
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
Combine all ingredients in a small bowl. Season with salt and pepper.
Penne with Herbs, Tomatoes, Olives and Pecorino
July 21, 2014
Aunt Suzy update May 2020 . . .
I was looking on Pinterest yesterday, desperate for some fresh ideas for dinner! I thought this looked good and when I clicked, I saw it was on OUR BLOG!! Margaux says this is a family favorite and I see why! We added non-marinated artichoke hearts and we think that should be part of the recipe, so I’ve added it to the ingredients as an option. Delicious!
Margaux says…
This pasta salad caught my eye on “Food and Wine” because of the olives and tomatoes…I really love that combo of flavors in a pasta salad. But what made this excellent is the mixed herb pesto that you toss it with, and the shaved pecorino that you toss in after it’s completely cooled, so that it doesn’t melt. This dish has a ton of flavor and will be in regular rotation on our “pasta Wednesdays” in the summer!
Penne with Herbs, Tomatoes, Olives and Pecorino
adapted from Food and Wine
1 pound penne or other small pasta shapes
1/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 cup basil leaves
1/2 cup flat-leaf parsley leaves
2 garlic cloves, halved
2 teaspoons coarsely chopped fresh thyme
2 teaspoons coarsely chopped fresh marjoram or oregano
Salt
1 1/2 pounds cherry tomatoes—halved
1 can artichoke hearts, cut in quarters or eighths (optional)
1/2-1 cup Calamata olives (to taste), pitted and coarsely chopped
1 cup coarsely grated Tuscan Pecorino Romano cheese (3 ounces)
Freshly ground pepper
Cook the penne or other pasta in a large pot of boiling salted water until al dente. Drain and toss with 1 tablespoon of the olive oil in a large serving bowl. Let sit to get to room temperature.
Meanwhile, in a blender, puree the basil, parsley, garlic, thyme, marjoram and garlic with 1/3 cup of olive oil. (You can also use a stick blender to puree the herbs in a bowl.) Add more olive oil if you think it’s necessary…the original recipe called for 1/2 cup, but I felt that was a little much. Scrape into the bowl with the pasta and season with salt, then toss together.
Then toss in the tomatoes, optional artichoke hearts and olives and let stand at room temperature for at least 10 minutes to develop flavor. Just before serving, add the Pecorino, season with salt and pepper and toss well.
Aunt Suzy’s cooks notes: We used a different type of small pasta and it worked well. The artichoke hearts added a nice tang to the dish. We also used oil cured olives with thyme – I can see a number of different olives working well in this dish. Both Margaux and I agree that Parmigiano Reggiano works as well as Pecorino Romano, although I like the funky salty goodness of the sheep’s milk cheese.
TACO TUESDAY!
March 4, 2014
Margaux says…
We love tacos around here. Really really love them. Especially since it’s become my son’s favorite food, and, well, if you have a toddler, you know how important that is. Since Desi turned 3.5, he went from eating everything we gave him to becoming vegetarian and not eating much of anything at all. We’ve come a long way from there, and luckily we have a kid that has never disliked vegetables, even through the tough eating times. But he’s still pretty picky now, and won’t eat much of what I make anymore. So we have back-ups in our fridge for nights that he won’t eat what I make for the rest of us: veggie dogs, taco and quesadilla fixings, cooked noodles and tomato sauce…you get the idea. Kid stuff. In the meantime, we have tacos as a family pretty often. Almost once a week. And when we saw The Lego Movie, we thought “Taco Tuesday” sounded pretty awesome. Because, you know, “EVERYTHING IS AWESOME.”
I’ve been making my own taco seasoning ever since I discovered the recipe in my Joy of Cooking that Aunt Suzy gave me back in 2001. I never loved the super salty McCormick packets that we always used before, and was super excited in my early cooking years to discover how easy it is to make yourself. I almost always have taco seasoning stuff on hand, and it takes less time to make the meat and/or beans part of the tacos than it takes to prepare everything else. Now that we have a vegetarian in the family, I make meat for us and season a can of black beans in almost the same way for him, basing it on this fabulous recipe that we posted about last summer. I also almost always make homemade guacamole, because Desi decided he only likes avocados in that form anymore (we used to just put chopped up avocados on our tacos). I use this recipe because it keeps longer and tastes better with all the lime juice in it. I also make pico de gallo (recipe below) instead of just plain chopped up tomatoes. It’s better that way, and then we can eat the leftovers the next day on tortilla chips for an after-school snack. Our other fixings are shredded lettuce, shredded cheese, sour cream, taco sauce (not really needed, if you ask me…but hubby and son love the stuff), and black olives. I know, it’s weird, but it’s what I grew up putting on my tacos, and one of the reasons Desi loves tacos so much.
We have a few other taco recipes here, because I think Aunt Suzy loves tacos, too. Maybe not as much as Desi, though. 🙂
Chipotle Chicken Soft Tacos
Fish Tacos with Avocado Slaw and Chipotle Sour Cream
Fish Tacos with Lime Guacamole and Cabbage Slaw
Fish Tacos with Black Bean Salsa
Braised Greens and Onion Tacos
Aunt Suzy says . . .
YES, we love tacos up here in the Northland also! A few comments: We often do veggie tacos with seasoned beans, but Randy also makes the taco filling with Tempeh as a substitute for the meat. He breaks it up into small chunks and toasts it in a skillet with a little oil and whole cumin seeds to get it crispy. This helps it keep its shape and texture when added to the sauce with seasonings and onions. We also like diced zucchini and shredded carrot with these traditional style tacos. We often serve doctored up refried beans as a side. So Margaux . . . does your family like soft tortillas or crispy taco shells? For us, corn is a must – no flour tortillas for these – and we go back and forth on soft or crispy!
Margaux says..
We like soft tacos…corn and flour. I always buy both, and we all have a couple of each. I almost never buy hard shells, mainly because I never think of it! I’m sure Desi would love them. I’ll have to remember next Tuesday! 🙂
Ground Beef, Chicken or Turkey for Tacos
adapted from Joy of Cooking
2 tbsp vegetable oil
1/2 medium red onion, minced
1 lb ground beef, turkey or chicken
1-3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tbsp chili powder
2 tsp ground cumin
2 tsp ground coriander
Pinch of anise seeds, slightly crushed
salt to taste
1 cup tomato sauce (one small can)
minced fresh jalapenos, other fresh chili peppers, or chipotle peppers in adobo
1. Heat oil in a medium skillet over medium heat until shimmering. Add onion, and cook, stirring often, about 4-5 minutes.
2. Increase heat to medium-high and add the meat. Cook, breaking up the meat with a wooden spoon, until no longer pink, about 3 minutes.
3. Stir in the garlic, chili powder, cumin, coriander, anise and salt. Cook, stirring, for about 30 seconds, until fully incorporated and fragrant.
4. Add tomato sauce and minced peppers. Cook, stirring occasionally, over low heat for 10 minutes.
Pico de Gallo
Seed and chop 2-3 Roma tomatoes, 1/4 red onion, and cilantro. Seed and mince half an jalepeno. Mix all in a small bowl together, with a squeeze of lime juice.
Chicken Tikka Masala
February 27, 2014
Margaux says…
Cook’s Illustrated does it again, as usual. Well, did it in 2007 in the Sept/Oct issue, at least. I love Indian food, and chicken tikka masala is my favorite. But when you have two small children, going out for Indian food isn’t an option because fiery hot food isn’t gonna fly. And my husband and I just don’t get out to dinner alone much anymore. So the fabulous Indian restaurants that are available to us up on Devon Ave. are just gonna have to wait a few more years. Luckily we got to frequent them enough in our pre-kid years to hold us over. Plus, we have this weeknight version of chicken tikka masala to hold us over, too…it is really really good.
You really can make this on a weeknight. I did, with one kid “helping” and the other snacking happily in her high chair, our usual dinner making time routine. The sauce can even be made ahead of time, to make it even easier…but really, I say why bother because it’s easy enough to just make it that night. The sauce is super flavorful, the chicken super tender, and served over basmati rice you have a fantastic meal!
Chicken Tikka Masala
adapted by Cook’s Illustrated
Chicken Tikka
1/2 tsp Ground cumin
1/2 tsp ground coriander
1/4 tsp cayenne
1 tsp table salt
2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breasts, trimmed of fat
1 cup plain whole-milk yogurt (it really tastes best with this, but you can use lowfat if you must!)
2 tbsp vegetable oil
2 medium garlic cloves, pressed through garlic press
1 tbsp grated fresh ginger
Masala Sauce
3 tbsp vegetable oil
1 medium onion, diced fine (about 1 1/4 cups)
2 garlic cloves, minced or pressed through garlic press
2 tsp grated fresh ginger
1 serrano chile, ribs and seeds removed and minced (unless you want more heat…then leave them in and mince)
1 tbsp tomato paste
1 tbsp garam masala
1 28 oz can crushed tomatoes
2 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp table salt
2/3 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1. For the chicken: Combine cumin, coriander, cayenne and salt in a small bowl. Sprinkle both sides of chicken with spice mixture, pressing gently so mixture adheres. Place chicken on plate, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 30 to 60 minutes. In a large bowl, whisk together yogurt, oil, garlic and ginger, set aside.
2. For the sauce: Heat oil in a large Dutch oven over medium heat until shimmering. Add onion and cook, stirring frequently, until light golden, 8-10 minutes. Add garlic, ginger, chile, tomato paste, and garam masala; cook, stirring frequently, until fragrant, about 3 minutes. Add crushed tomatoes, sugar, and salt, bring to boil. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in cream and return to simmer. Remove pan from heat and cover to keep warm.
3. While sauce simmers, adjust oven rack to upper-middle position (about 6 inches from heating element) and heat broiler. Using tongs, dip chicken into yogurt mixture (chicken should be coated with thick layer of yogurt) and arrange on wire rack set in foil-lined rimmed baking sheet or broiler pan. Discard excess yogurt mixture. Broil chicken until thickest parts register 160 degrees on instant-read thermometer and exterior is lightly charred in spots, 10-18 minutes, flipping chicken halfway through cooking.
4. Let chicken rest 5 minutes, then cut into 1-inch chunks and stir into warm sauce (do not simmer chicken in sauce). Stir in cilantro, adjust seasoning with salt, and serve.
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