So, here I am continuing to bore you with my new found
virtuosity. I have no idea whether this recipe is truly healthy, whatever that
means, but my word… it made me feel good. In fact, the fact that I was able to
muster this up on a school night is testament not only to my new found energy
(well…actually, I don’t know whether I would take it that far. I merely decided
to swerve the marking of year 9 books in order to eat because I was that hungry
I could have eaten my own arms) but also the ease in which this amazing tasting
dish can be created. Yes, even on a school night.
This divine tasting dish is from Diana Henry’s ‘A Bird in
the Hand’. It is likely, due to amount of chicken that is being eaten in the
household lately, that I will be cooking my way through this frankly fabulous
tome of chicken recipes. I haven’t read one yet that I know I wouldn’t like.
This recipe uses that seemingly rare beast, the blood orange, which is a particular
favourite of mine, their sanguine juice and flesh slightly acidic tang adding
colour and flavour to anything and everything. I got mine from the local farm
shop, Windy Arbour, in Billinge.
I used chicken breasts on the bone for this one, instead of
jointed chicken pieces. Personally I’d have been happy with any part of the
chicken but I seem to be surrounded by people who don’t want to deal with too
much in the way of bones, so chicken breasts it is. What I will say though is
the way of cooking this kept the chicken incredibly moist and seemed to infuse
flavour into what I think is sometimes the blandest cut of the bird. Anyway,
happy bubs, happy Phill, happy me.
I served this cooked with spelt which had initially been sautéed
with onions, and then braised in chicken stock, finished with a sprinkling of
parsley. All together it was seriously delish and it’s one that I will be
cooking again, as soon as the blood oranges make their welcome appearance.
Chicken with Marsala, Olives and Blood Oranges from ‘A Bird
in the Hand’ by Diana Henry
Serves Lola, Finn, Mum and Dad, twice (4 – 6 people)
Ingredients:
1 tbsp olive oil
1 medium British free-range chicken, jointed into 8 (I used
chicken supremes)
2 small red onions, halved and cut into crescent moon-shaped
slices
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
100ml dry Marsala
Juice 1 blood orange, plus 2 blood oranges
8 fresh thyme sprigs (I used 1 ½ tsp of dried thyme)
1-2 large handfuls good quality green olives
A little caster sugar
Heat the oven to 190°C/fan170°C/gas 5.
On the hob, heat the
olive oil in a broad, shallow casserole or ovenproof pan in which the chicken
joints can lie in a single layer (I used my oval cast iron casserole) Season the chicken
with salt and pepper, then brown on both sides, skin-side first, over a
medium-high heat. Be careful not to turn the chicken pieces over before they
come away easily from the base of the pan, otherwise you will tear the skin.
Transfer to a plate.
Drain off all but a couple of tablespoons of the oil,
then add the onions to the pan. Cook over a low-medium heat for around 5
minutes or until the onions begin to soften. Add the garlic and cook for
another 2 minutes.
Add the marsala to the pan and scrape up all any
flavourful sticky bits on the bottom. Add the blood orange juice. Return the
chicken – and any meat juices – to the pan, skin-side up. Season, then add the dried thyme. Bring to the boil, then take the pan off the heat and put it
in the oven for 20 minutes.
Meanwhile, cut a slice off the bottom and top of each
whole blood orange so they have a flat base on which to sit. Using a very sharp
knife, cut the peel and pith from each orange, working around the fruit and
cutting in broad slices from top to bottom. Slice the oranges into rounds and
pick out any pips.
Take the chicken out of the oven, then add the olives and
lay over the sliced blood oranges (the oranges should stay on top, out of the
liquid). Sprinkle the orange slices with a little sugar, then return the pan to
the oven and cook for another 20 minutes. The juices should have reduced, the
orange slices should be golden, even caramelised in patches, and the chicken
should be cooked through.
Spoon over some of the juices, then serve immediately. I served this with pearled spelt, cooked with onions in chicken stock.
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