Jerk Chicken for Sweethearts

I love my friend Paul. He is sweet, wise, funny and totally bad-ass. We call him the King of Imps, because I am sure fairies all over the world bow down to his awesomeness.

I wanted to make him dinner for his birthday, and he told me he wanted jerk chicken. I had never cooked jerk chicken before, so he knew he was going to be my culinary lab rat, but he was game, and so was I! I bought a beautiful, big organic chicken, and got to work!

Jerk spice is a Jamaican rub or pasty marinade that is used on chicken and pork. And it is SPICY! I often cook with scotch bonnets, those very, very hot chili peppers (and yes, they are often red... sorry, nerd of the 90's had to make that joke...) but this recipe actually calls for their volcanically hot seeds to be included in the marinade...

I usually stay away from the seeds, because, they are terribly spicy, so much so that they will irritate your skin, and contaminate everything they come into contact with. Always handle them with gloves (or sandwich bags over your hands, like I do, cuz I am too dumb to get cooking gloves) or live to regret it!

Besides scotch bonnets, the other traditional ingredients that find their way in jerk spice are garlic, cloves, cinnamon, nutmeg, thyme and scallions. I added ground ginger to give it a slightly different kind of heat (and because I am a ginger addict), some lime juice, molasses and olive oil to get all these spices to "gel" together in a nice, thick marinade. The mixture made my eyes water! But Jamaican food is often extremely spicy, because, oddly, when you live in tropical climates, eating spicy food will reduce your own body temp, thus making the sweltering heat more tolerable. Weird, I know, but if it works...

This recipe can be cooked on a grill, but I roasted it in the over, because I do not have a barbecue on my balcony just yet (someday... someday soon!) and because it's quite simple and not too messy.

1 (5-to-6 pounds) whole chicken, cut in half down the middle (I got my butcher to do that for me; he rocks!)

Marinade:
1/2 cup malt vinegar (or white vinegar)
2 tablespoons dark rum
2 Scotch bonnet peppers (or habaneros), with seeds, chopped
1 red onion, chopped
4 scallions, chopped
3 garlic cloves, chopped
1 tablespoons dried thyme
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
4 teaspoons ground allspice
4 teaspoons ground cinnamon
4 teaspoons ground nutmeg
4 teaspoons ground ginger
2 teaspoons molasses
1 lime, juiced

6 tablespoons ketchup
2 tablespoons low sodium soy sauce

Put the vinegar, rum, hot peppers, onion, scallions, garlic, thyme, olive oil, salt, pepper, allspice, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, molasses and lime juice into a blender. Pulse until mostly smooth.

Poke the chicken with a knife to nick the skin a few times. Place the chicken in a large freezer bag, or in a large roasting pan or baking dish. Pour the jerk paste onto the chicken pieces and coat well. Seal the bag or cover the chicken in the pan with plastic wrap. Refrigerate overnight.

When you are ready to cook the chicken, remove it from the marinade bag or pan. Put the remaining marinade into a small saucepan. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes. In a small bowl, mix 2 tablespoons of the reheated marinade with the ketchup and soy sauce and set aside. Preheat oven to 350°F. Place chicken halves in a rimmed baking pan, skin side up.

Roast until the chicken halves are cooked through, about 60 minutes, basting with the marinade occasionally. The chicken is done when the juices run clear when a knife tip is inserted into both the chicken breast and thigh (for those with meat thermometers, that's about 165-170°F for the breast and 180-185°F for the thigh). Transfer the chicken to a platter. Tent loosely with foil to keep warm and let stand 15 minutes. Cut the chicken into pieces and serve with rice and the sauce.

While the strength of the marinade scared me a little as I was making it, I was very happy (and relieved) to discover that once cooked, the meanness of the scotch bonnets' bite was gone, leaving behind a spicy (but not overwhelming) and complex flavor. The chicken was very tender and juicy, and the sauce made from the marinade was lip-smacking good! For a first-timer at jerk chicken, I was very pleased with the results, and so was the birthday boy!

I am not very good at carving whole chickens and always need help with cutting the damn thing into portions. If you are like me, you could simply use the equivalent quantity of prepared (and already separated) chicken breasts and legs: marinate them just as you would with the whole chicken, but be very careful not to overcook it when you proceed to the roasting. Meat with the bone in takes longer to cook, so de-boned chicken will only take 30 to 45 minutes to cook through. You could also use the marinade on pork or lamb roast!

Enjoy this delicious, spicy chicken with some super-cold light beer, or a well-chilled white wine, to prevent your mouth from catching fire. And don't be afraid of giving it a shot: it's wonderful and not spicy enough to make you cry as you eat. Which is always a good sign ;-)

Tasty General Tao Chicken

I recently shared a recipe for my dangerously addictive General Tao tofu: it's the quickest (and low-fat) way to get the wonderfully piquant flavor of the famous dish, but everyone once in a while, it's totally worth it to take the time to make the more classic chicken version, which is marinated, deep-fried, then stir-fried in the savory sauce. I usually save it for weekends or vacation days, but I was home-sick for a few days, and when I felt better, I wanted a treat. Now.

General Tao (or General Tso) chicken is known as a classic Chinese dish, but in fact, it was invented in the United-States, after the Chinese diaspora, probably as a variant on a more traditional Hunan recipe and sweetened to accommodate North American palates (Hunan cuisine is very spicy, and General Tao usually has a sweet element to its flavor). There's now hardly any Chinese restaurant in North America that doesn't have this dish on their menu.

I found this recipe on Appetite for China, and adjusted it a little bit (I prefer using chicken breast instead of chicken thighs and I used Sri Racha in my sauce instead of the chili paste listed in the original recipe). Here is the scrumptious result!

1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into 1-inch cubes

Marinade:
1 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon Chinese rice wine or dry sherry
2 egg whites

Sauce:
1/4 cup chicken stock
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon rice vinegar
1 tablespoon hoisin sauce
1 tablespoon Sri Racha sauce
1 tablespoon sesame oil
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon cornstarch

1 1/2 cup cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
3 cups peanut or vegetable oil for frying, plus 1 tablespoon for stir-frying
1/2 to 1 tablespoon chili flakes
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon white sesame seeds, for garnish
Scallions, green parts thinly sliced, for garnish

Prepare the marinade: in a large bowl, combine the soy sauce, rice wine, and egg whites. Coat the chicken in the marinade mixture and let sit for 10 minutes.

In the meantime, prepare the sauce: In a small bowl, combine the chicken stock, tomato paste, sugar, soy sauce, rice vinegar, hoisin sauce, Sri Racha sauce, sesame oil, sugar, and 1 teaspoon of cornstarch. Stir until the sugar and cornstarch are dissolved. Set the sauce aside. It doesn't look like a lot, but the sauce is meant to coat the chicken: if you like your General Tao very saucy, double the sauce recipe.

In a large bowl or deep plate, toss the 1 1/2 cups cornstarch with the salt and pepper. Coat the marinated chicken in the cornstarch and shake off any excess before frying (try to use only one hand for dredging the chicken in the cornstarch: the stuff clumps up and you will need to rinse off the built up a few times). Fill a wok or large, deep skillet with about 1 inch of peanut or vegetable oil; preheat it over medium-high heat, until a piece of garlic dropped in it starts sizzling instantly. Working in 2 or 3 batches, add the chicken cubes and fry until golden brown on the outside and cooked through, about 4 to 5 minutes. If you want your chicken to be crispy, avoid over-crowding your wok (like I did in the picture below... now I know better)!

Remove the chicken with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels (I never buy paper towels, so I put the pieces of chicken on a wire grill over a piece of tin foil). Repeat with the rest of the chicken. Drain the oil into a heatproof container and save for discarding.

Wipe the wok to remove any brown bits, but don’t wash. Reheat the wok or skillet over medium-high heat. Add another 1 tablespoon of oil and swirl to coat the base and sides. Add the chili flakes and garlic to the wok and stir-fry until just fragrant, about 20 seconds. Pour in the sauce mixture and stir until thickened, about 1 to 2 minutes.

Return the chicken to the wok and stir well to coat with sauce. Stir-fry until reheated.

Serve garnished with the chopped scallion and sesame seeds, with some jasmine rice and steamed vegetables.

It gets a lot of dishes dirty and it takes good timing to get the chicken, the rice and the veggies all ready at the same time (don't let the fried chicken sit too long: the texture will loose it's crispiness), but it's worth the effort and the cleaning up! With a bit of practice, you can get the chicken to a perfect golden crisp and it will still be tender and chewy inside the batter.

I don't have to tell you that twice-fried chicken is something to be treated as an indulgence, but the cooking technique can also be used (in moderation) with sweet and sour sauce... So freaking good!

Santa Claus (a.k.a. Amazon.ca) gave me the wonderful "The Chinese Takeout Cookbook", 'cause I have been such a good girl this year, and it is full of amazing recipes! It really is your favorite Chinese take-out's menu made easy! It includes great tips on how to care for your wok, selecting traditional ingredients and making tasty food with no MSG and other horrible additives. If you enjoyed this General Tao, get your hands on a copy!

Eggplant and Chicken Macaroni Gratin

I have been mildly obsessed with baked pasta dishes lately. Maybe because fall is right around the corner, which generally means my appetite for comfort food increases dramatically. What can I say, I do not like cold (you gotta wonder why I still live in a country where it snows from October to April) and I make up for the miserable weather with awesome food.

This recipe was inspired by an improvised pasta dish my mother whipped up the last time I went to see her. Her version was good, but I reworked it to satisfy my carnivorous boyfriend's cravings, and make it into a sort of alla Norma twist on a classic mac-and-cheese.

I had a beautiful fresh eggplant from my father's garden (the eggplant was sooo cute and chubby, I felt kinda guilty chopping it), my basil plant was offering me gorgeous, huge green leaves and I had a ton of fresh local garlic in the pantry. This gratin is my farewell to summer, and acceptance of fall, season of ankle boots, chunky scarves and leather jackets.

1 eggplant, cut into small cubes
1 skinless, boneless chicken breast, cut into bite-sized pieces
Olive oil
1 yellow onion, finely chopped
2 to 4 garlic cloves, chopped
1 tablespoon dry oregano
1 teaspoon chili flakes
1 (28 ounce) can diced tomatoes
Sea salt and freshly ground pepper

1/4 cup fresh basil leaves, chopped
1 package dry macaroni
1 cup ricotta cheese
1 cup mozzarella, grated

Place the eggplant cubes in a colander, sprinkle with salt and toss well. Sweat the eggplant for 30 minutes to an hour, then rinse under cold water and drain well. While the eggplant sweats, preheat a pan over medium heat. Cook the chicken cubes in a glug of olive oil, until tender, 7 to 10 minutes. Set aside. Drain the cooking fat from the pan, add more olive oil and put back on the heat. Cook the onion and garlic, until fragrant, about 3 minutes.

Add the eggplant, oregano and chili flakes. Fry up the eggplant cubes, tossing well until the are lightly browned on all sides.

Pour in the diced tomatoes and give the sauce a good stir. Season with salt and freshly ground pepper. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat. Simmer the sauce, covered, for 10 minutes.

In the meantime, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the macaroni and cook according to the package instruction, until almost al dente, and drain. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and grease a 9 by 13-inch baking dish. Remove the sauce from the heat and add the basil, chicken, ricotta and macaroni.

Mix well and transfer to the baking dish. Cover generously with the mozzarella.

Bake in the oven until heated through, and until the cheese is golden and bubbly, about 30 minutes.

Vegetarians can replace the chicken with a zucchini, chopped in half-moons, to keep the "late summer at the farmer's market" spirit of the recipe. Add them to the pan along with the eggplant, and proceed with the recipe.

This recipe makes a very tasty, creamy pasta casserole. The chicken is very tender, the eggplant gives a satisfying bite and the sauce is zesty and rich: it makes a filling and healthy substitute for the usual mac and cheese. It also makes a ton, so bring the leftovers with you for lunch! A nice helping of these will make the yellowing leaves and the migrating geese a bit less melancholy.

Butter Chicken or Murgh Makhani

I adore butter chicken. And I can't think of anyone (in my omnivorous acquaintances, anyway) who doesn't. Thick, creamy, spicy sauce and tender pieces of chicken... This stick-to-your-ribs richness is addictive and universally satisfying, all year-round. For some reason, Indian food and hot weather go very well together, and I had a craving.

My friend Marie (who is the cutest mommy in the world) made me realized I had never bothered to make some from scratch before; I used to commit the mortal sin of jarred-sauce with butter chicken. Mea culpa, mea culpa, mea maxima culpa. In order to redeem myself, I got to work!

Despite the name, there is not that much butter involved in this recipe. I am guessing the name comes from the intense, buttery texture of the sauce. However, that doesn't make it diet food! To get that texture, you can't skimp on the cooking cream, but you can do minimal damage by using the 15% stuff. There are a few steps to making this classic Indian treat, but it's nothing very complicated. The recipe was originally created to use up leftover tandoori chicken, so you need to marinate and cook yourself some chicken and THEN, make the sauce. If you have a tandoori chicken recipe you like, try making some extra next time you whip up a batch, or simply give my marinade a shot; it's delicious!

But really, the trickiest thing about butter chicken is mostly getting your hands on all the spices, some of which may require a bit of hunting (I am looking at you, cardamom and fenugreek!). I was lucky to find all the spices I needed pre-ground at the bulk store where I usually shop, but having a mortar and pestle comes in handy if you want to be authentic about it and make a paste out of some of the ingredients and spices. But if you don't have a mortar and pestle, you can always use a food processor.

4 skinless boneless chicken breasts

Marinade:
1 cup plain yogurt, preferably Greek or balkan style
1 lemon, juiced
2 teaspoons ground cumin
2 teaspoons ground coriander
2 teaspoons cayenne pepper, or to taste
1 teaspoon garam masala
1 teaspoon ground turmeric
2 tablespoons minced fresh garlic (or ground to a paste)
1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger (or ground to a paste)
1 teaspoon kosher salt

Sauce:
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 yellow onion, finely sliced
1 to 2 tablespoons fresh ginger, finely chopped
4 to 5 garlic cloves, finely chopped
4 to 5 cardamom pods, or 1 teaspoon ground cardamom
1 teaspoon garam masala
2 teaspoons dry fenugreek leaves, crushed, or 1 teaspoon ground fenugreek
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon cayenne
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 cup cashews or almonds, ground to a paste
1(28 ounces) can crushed tomatoes
1 cup water
1 cup cooking cream

Combine the yogurt, lemon juice, cumin, coriander, cayenne, garam masala, turmeric, garlic, ginger and salt in a medium bowl. Put the chicken in a freezer bag and cover with the marinade. Toss around to cover the chicken with the yogurt mixture and refrigerate, from 2 hours to overnight.

When ready to cook, preheat the oven 425 degrees. Place the chicken on a rack over a roasting or baking pan (line your pan with aluminum foil, cuz that marinade can be a biatch to clean up) and roast for 25 to 30 minutes, until cooked through. Set aside, and when the chicken is cool enough to handle, cut into bite-sized pieces.

Put all your spices together in a small bowl. Ground your garlic and ginger together with a mortar and pestle or small food processor to form a paste.

Preheat a large pan over medium heat. Melt the butter, add the onions, and cook until softened, 7 to 10 minutes. Add the garlic, ginger and spices and cook until fragrant, about 5 minutes. Add the tomatoes and the cashew or almond paste. Add the water, stirring, until the sauce has the desired consistency. Reduce the heat to low and simmer for about 10 minutes.

Add the pieces of chicken, and simmer for another 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the cream.

Serve hot, over basmati rice and naan bread.

If you have nut allergies, skip the almond or cashew paste; you can always add 1 or 2 tablespoons of tomato paste, to give your sauce the proper "body".

Whew! It's a lot of work but tender chicken in this subtly spicy sauce is totally worth it! Wash it down with dry white or rosé wine, served very cold.

Pasta with Creamy Chicken and Mushroom Sauce

Even when one is blessed with a great man, awesome friends, a good job and a cute cat, life can get a little hectic and leave one's brain feeling like mashed potatoes. Comfort food and vodka-limes are perfect for such occasions. This is usually more of a fall and winter meal, but hey, I had a craving for a rich plate of comfort food. When the world feels like a Kafka novel, sometimes the answer is a big bowl of pasta in a creamy sauce.

I made this sauce with cremini mushrooms, but portobello or shiitake would also be gorgeous with the cream and chicken. Add the Parmigiano Regginao to taste, and use the freshly grated stuff: that’s what takes this dish to a whole new level of yummy.

1 package dry farfalle pasta

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into small strips

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 container fresh mushrooms, thinly sliced

1 small onion, finely diced

3 cloves garlic, chopped

1 teaspoon dry thyme

1/2 teaspoon crushed pepper flakes

A splash of white wine

1 cup cooking cream (15%)

1/4 cup freshly grated Parmigiano Regianno (or to taste)

A few leaves of fresh basil, chopped

Freshly cracked black pepper, to taste

Fresh parsley, chopped (for garnish)

Preheat the olive oil in a large pan, over medium heat. Cook the pieces of chicken until they are no longer pink, about 5 to 7 minutes. Set aside and keep warm. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil, and cook the pasta according to package instruction. Add a bit of oil to the pan in which the chicken was cooked, and sauté the garlic until fragrant, for a minute or two. Add the onions, and cook for about 5 minutes. Add the mushrooms and cook until they released their liquid and brown, about 5 or 7 more minutes. Deglaze the pan with the white wine. 

Wait a couple of minutes for the alcohol to evaporate, then add the cream. Bring to a low boil, and cook until the sauce is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. Reduce the heat to low, add the chicken, Parmigiano Regianno and basil, and blend well. 

Add the pasta and mix with the sauce. Serve generously sprinkled with freshly cracked black pepper and chopped parsley.

If your cream is not heavy enough and won't thicken, add some flour, a scant tablespoon at the time, mixing well between additions until the sauce has the desired consistency. You can also make it saucier by adding a cup of whole milk along with the cream (in which case you will have to add flour).

To turn it into an even more extreme comforting dish know as pasta tetrazzini, transfer the pasta mixed in with the sauce in an oven-proof dish,generously sprinkle with grated mozzarella and put under the broiler until the cheese is melted and golden. The calorie-coma a helping will put you in will make you forget all your worries!

Chicken Parmesan

My mother kept a version of this recipe up her sleeve when she wanted to make sure my brother and I would show up for dinner. There is a reason chicken Parmesan is legendary as far as getting finicky kids to eat. It. Just. Works. Breaded chicken, hot pasta, a simple tomato sauce and melted cheese. Duh. What sane kid would turn something like this down?

I may be all grown up now (in body, if not in mind), but every once in a blue moon, my inner child gets a craving for a plate of this nostalgic indulgence. I had only ever made it with processed ingredients before: frozen chicken or veal cutlets and jarred sauce. I blush at the memory, and I won't ever do that again, scout's honor! Especially since I found out that making chicken parm from scratch is way easier than I had imagined. Sure, there is a bit of cleaning to do after, and you gotta time yourself well to get the pasta and chicken ready at the same time, but it comes together without a hitch. No wonder moms have been using this to get their progeny around the table for ages!

Psst! You don't really have to use chicken. Scalloped veal is a classic alternative, very popular with grown-ups, and vegetarians will find a recipe for chickpea cutlets at the end of this post, because everyone should be able to enjoy this recipe. I happened to have plenty of chicken handy, so I made this:

4 garlic cloves, peeled and chopped
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 (28 ounce) can crushed tomatoes
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
1/4 cup fresh basil, sliced
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
Sea salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
2 large boneless, skinless chicken breasts, halved crosswise
1 large egg
1 cup dry bread crumbs
1 package spaghetti or rottini
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 cup mozzarella cheese, grated
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, grated, plus extra for serving

First, make the uber-simple tomato-basil sauce. In a large saucepan, sauté the garlic and 2 tablespoons oil over medium-high heat until it starts to sizzle. Stir in the tomatoes, basil, oregano, red wine vinegar (if you prefer a sweeter sauce, skip the vinegar and add 1 teaspoon brown sugar instead), a pinch of salt and a few grinds of pepper. Bring to a simmer; cook until the sauce thickens a bit and the flavors meld, 10 to 12 minutes. Add the fresh basil for the last 5 minutes on the heat. Cover and keep warm (you can make the sauce up to a couple of hours early, if you need: simply reheat it over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, when the chicken goes under the broiler).

Put the chicken pieces between two sheets of plastic wrap and pound, using a heavy pan, until the cutlets are about 1/4-inch thick. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. In a shallow bowl, beat egg until well-blended. Mix bread crumbs with some black pepper on a plate. Preheat broiler. Working one cutlet at a time, dip both sides of each in beaten egg, then in bread crumbs. Put cutlets on a wire rack set over a cookie sheet (this will save you from picking up massive messes of crumbs and drippings).

 
Heat the remaining olive oil over medium-high heat in a 12-inch skillet. When oil starts to shimmer, add the cutlets and sauté until golden brown on each side, about 5 minutes total. Wash and dry the wire rack and return to the cookie sheet. As the cutlets cook, prepare the pasta according to package directions. Transfer the cutlets to the clean wire rack over the cookie sheet. Top each with a portion of the cheeses. Broil the cutlets, 4 to 5 inches from heat source, until cheese melts and is spotty brown (if your broiler is on "high" this will take only a couple of minutes). Drain the pasta. Put a cutlet and a portion of pasta on each plate. Spoon 2 or 3 tablespoons of sauce over the cutlet, then sauce the pasta as desired. Serve with extra Parmesan for sprinkling.

This recipe serves 4, and you may get a bit of leftover pasta and sauce. The cutlets reheat much better than I had expected in the microwave, but you can always half the recipe if you are only cooking for two.

For my vegetarian friends, here is a recipe for chickpea cutlets (from the ever-awesome "Veganomicon") that can be used as an alternative to meat! Follow the recipe below, before broiling and serving them as you would with the chicken.

1 cup cooked chickpeas
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 cup vital wheat gluten
1/2 cup plain breadcrumbs
1/4 cup vegetable broth
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 cloves garlic, grated
1/2 teaspoon lemon zest
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon Hungarian paprika
1/4 teaspoon dried sage

In a mixing bowl, mash the chickpeas together with the oil until there are no whole chickpeas left. Add the remaining ingredients and knead for about 3 minutes, until strings of gluten have formed. Pre-heat a large skillet over medium heat. Meanwhile, divide the cutlet dough into 4 equal pieces. Knead each piece in your hand for a few moments and then flatten and stretch each one into a rough;y 4 by 6-inch rectangular cutlet shape. Add a thin layer of olive oil to the skillet. Place the cutlets in the pan and cook on each side for 6 to 7 minutes. They are ready when they are lightly browned and firm to the touch.

Tada! Now go feed your finicky inner child.

Chicken Korma

Lately, I came to observe that the world's population can be split into 2 categories: coconut-lovers and coconut-haters. Neither side is right or wrong, but they both have very strong opinions. I am a coconut-lover, but I am also a food-lover; there are very few things I won't eat, or at least try. But I figured I'd warn coconut-haters: this curry is not for you. It's uber-coconuty, spicy, creamy and delicious.

It's also a classic mild curry, so you can try it even if heat scares you. This one builds up it's spices nice and slow. Just like butter chicken, Korma has become a very popular Indian dish that's enjoyed all over the world. As with most popular recipes, it means that "real" chicken Korma is described differently by everyone who has a favorite way of making it. Being a fan of the Patak's curry pastes, I use it here instead of making my own spice mix (yes, yes, I need to get around to trying to make my own curry pastes!), but adding extra coriander and tumeric will heighten the flavors and the beautiful sunny color!

1 3/4 pound chicken breast, cubed
1 cup plain yoghurt, preferably balkan-style
2 tablespoons fresh ginger, chopped
3 cloves garlic, chopped
2 medium onions, finely sliced
1 fresh green chile, seeded and sliced
1 small bunch fresh cilantro, leaves picked
1 (15 ounce) can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
Peanut oil
1 pat of butter
1/2 cup korma paste
1 (14 ounce) can coconut milk
2 tablespoons ground almonds

2 heaped teaspoons unsweetened shredded coconut (optional)
Sea salt and ground pepper
1 lemon

Mix the yoghurt with the chopped ginger and garlic. Add the chicken to the yoghurt mixture and marinate for 3 hours, up to overnight. Put a large casserole-type pan on a medium-high heat and add a couple of lugs of oil. Add the onion, chile and chopped cilantro stalks to the pan, along with the butter. Cook for about 10 minutes, until the onions are golden. Add the curry paste, the chicken and the yoghurt marinade, the coconut milk, the chickpeas, the ground almonds and the shredded coconut (if using). Add a bit of water to just cover the meat, and give the mixture a good stir. Bring to a boil, then turn the heat down to simmer for 30 minutes with the lid on. When the chicken is tender and cooked, taste and season with salt and pepper. Serve with basmati rice, garnish with a few cilantro leaves and lemon wedges.

Dose the chili and ginger to taste; the coconut milk will keep everything nice and smooth, but the underlying spicy bite can be a bit stronger, if you swing that way. Ground almonds and shredded coconut are optional, but they give the sauce a nice body and a very interesting texture. As for the chickpeas, they make the curry a bit more bulky, and add a toothy bite to the tender, marinated chicken.

If there is no korma curry paste handy, you can use the following spices blend:

1 tablespoon ground coriander
1 pinch of ground white pepper
1 teaspoon turmeric
1 teaspoon garam masala

Simply add the spices when you would add the curry paste, and voila!

I love the blend of smooth coconut milk and the hint of heat from the chile and ginger: it's a very satisfying and complex flavor mix. For a vegetarian version, forget the yoghurt marinade: add the ginger and the garlic to the pan along with the onion and chile, and replace the chicken with 1 pound extra-firm tofu, drained, pressed and cut into bite-sized cubes. You can also go full-veg with a combination of the following:

1 head cauliflower, cut into small florets
1 head broccoli, cut into small florets
1 medium zucchini, cut on a bias in 1/4-inch slices
1/2 pound carrots, peeled and cut on a bias in 1/4-inch slices

All the delicious flavor and texture, 100% plant-based! Enjoy!

Creamy Dijon-Tarragon Chicken

I went to Paris a few years ago and fell head-over-heels in love with that city. I know it's a huge cliche, but there really isn't any place in the world quite like Paris. Most people who have been there tell me they found it noisy and smelly. I think that can be said of any big city during tourist season, but I was lucky enough to be there is May, when there were few tourists and blooming lilac trees everywhere (lilac is my favorite flower). Paris was at it's best for our first meeting! The small crooked streets, the museums, the history you can just breathe as you are walking around...

I've been longing to go back to Paris ever since my plane landed back here, and when the aching gets too strong, I have 2 cures: I either watch Woody Allen's "Midnight in Paris" (which he made just for me, even if he doesn't know it) or I cook a traditional French bistro meal.

My paternal grandfather was from Angouleme, a small town not far from Poitier. He was in the merchant navy, and during the Great War, he met a lovely French-Canadian nurse. He ended up settling down not very far from Rimouski and opened an inn. I haven't been able to get my hands on any of his recipes (what a treasure trove that would be!), but when I read Patricia Wells' recipe books (especially "Bistro Cooking" and "The Paris Cookbook"), I like to think this is the sort of stuff grand-papa Pierre would have cooked.

This recipe reminds me so much of the sort of simple yet incredibly elegant dishes I sampled in Paris. The delicate creamy sauce makes something as ordinary as a chicken breast (or supreme de poulet as French chefs call it) taste luxurious and fancy. It is ze dish to serve to impress guests or if you feel quintessentially French... or if you are just in the mood for tender and juicy chicken in a rich, tangy sauce.

1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 small bunch scallions, finely sliced
1 package cremini mushrooms, thinly sliced
4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
Sea salt and ground pepper
1/3 cup dry white wine
1 cup cooking cream
2 to 4 tablespoons Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon chopped fresh tarragon

A few hours before cooking, season the chicken with sea salt and freshly cracked pepper, and spread a thin layer of Dijon mustard over the meat. Let rest until ready to cook (and please note that this step is entirely optional). Melt the butter and heat the oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Sauté the scallions and the mushrooms in the skillet until the mushrooms release their liquid, about 5 minutes. Add the chicken breasts to the pan and brown on both sides. Reduce heat to medium, cover, and continue cooking 15 minutes, or until the juices run clear. Set the chicken aside and keep warm. Deglaze the pan with the white wine and when it has reduced a bit, stir in the cream. Mix in the mustard and tarragon. Cook and stir 5 minutes, or until thickened. Return chicken to skillet to coat with sauce. Place the chicken on plates and drizzle with remaining sauce.

I like to scallop the chicken for this recipe, as it makes it cook more evenly in the skillet. You can buy scalloped chicken at the grocery store, or simply wrap ordinary chicken breasts in a dish towel and beat them flat with a meat tenderizer (or if you are really bad-ass, with the bottom of a cast-iron pan). Obviously, this is a rich sauce, so I usually try to select smaller chicken breasts, but depending on the size of your pan, you may be only able to cook 2 chicken breasts at the time. If you are in a hurry and want to whip it up in one big batch, you can cut the meat in cubes and sauté it. It looks less impressive and elegant, but it's just as tasty!

I've also tried marinating the chicken in 2 cups of white wine mixed with the juice of 1 lemon instead of coating it in mustard. The wine always makes the chicken very tender.

One quick word about dosing the mustard: real Dijon mustard has quite a bite. Start by mixing 2 tablespoons of it in the sauce, taste it and wait a few seconds. The taste will creep up on you, so adjust it very carefully so that you don't find yourself making funny faces through the meal. The trick is to taste the sharpness of the mustard, but not let it overwhelm the sauce.

Asparagus and steamed potatoes are my favorite veggies to serve with this (they taste lovely smothered in the sauce!) but a bed of wild rice also makes a great side. Serve it with a fruity white wine; I like Les Jamelles' sauvignon blanc.