Chicken waterzooi and crispy potatoes
Aug. 25th, 2012 01:51 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
rosefox in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
omnomnom"At some point I must try Julia Child's chicken waterzooi," I said, and tonight we did, since we were dining with friends who weren't interested in fish. The creaminess of it reminded me of many years ago when Mi Cucina on Hudson & Jane was a good restaurant and served utterly sublime pollo y rajas con crema with wonderful crispy cubes of potato (if there's a name for those in Spanish, I don't know it), so crispy potatoes became our side dish. We drank Thomas Henry chardonnay, with which I promptly fell in love--glorious notes of caramel!--and sopped our bowls with French bread and it was very, very good.
Both recipes have been modified to be dairy-free. The potatoes are vegan; the waterzooi could be veganized pretty easily.
Crispy potatoes, based on this recipe:
1/4 cup + 1 tbsp olive oil
3 russet potatoes, peeled, and cut into 1/2-inch cubes
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
3 tablespoons water (note: if doubling recipe, do not increase the amount of water)
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. In a large saute pan with a lid, heat the 1/4 cup oil over medium-high heat. Add the potato cubes and season with salt and pepper, to taste. Saute stirring frequently, for 5 minutes. Turn the heat up to high, add the water, stir, and cover the pan with a lid. Steam the potatoes until the water evaporates, about 3 or 4 more minutes. (Every 1 to 2 minutes, open the lid long enough to stir the potatoes so they don't stick.) Lower the heat to medium, and saute another 1 to 2 minutes until all traces of water are gone and potatoes are cooked through. Toss in the 1 tbsp oil and stir to coat the potatoes. Spread the potatoes out on a baking sheet. Bake in the oven until the potatoes are crisp and browned to your liking, about 15 to 25 minutes depending on how dark you want them. Serve immediately.
Chicken waterzooi, based on this recipe:
3 large carrots, cut into 1/4" x 2" matchsticks
6 celery ribs/sticks, cut into 1/4" x 2" matchsticks [the original recipe calls for leeks and onion, which we omitted because two of the diners dislike onions, so there's extra celery to compensate]
olive oil
1 tsp dried tarragon
salt and pepper
1 lb skinless boneless chicken (white or dark), cut into bite-size chunks
1 cup extra dry vermouth or dry white wine
1 cup chicken broth
3 threads saffron
1/2 cup cashew cream*
2 large egg yolks
1 tsp cornstarch
Heat olive oil in the bottom of a large pot. Add tarragon, a generous pinch each of salt and pepper, and vegetables. Sauté about 5 minutes until colors brighten; do not brown. Add chicken, vermouth, broth, and saffron, and stir to mix. Bring to boil, reduce to simmer, simmer covered about 30 minutes until vegetables are tender but not mushy and chicken is cooked through. Remove from heat. Whisk cream, egg yolks, and cornstarch. While whisking, slowly drizzle in 1 cup hot broth from the pot. When yolk mixture is hot, pour it into the pot and stir to integrate. Briefly and gently heat just enough to make a bubble or two appear at the edge of the broth. Serve immediately.
* To make cashew cream: Put 1/2 cup raw unsalted cashews in a heatproof bowl. Cover with boling water and soak up to six hours. Drain and put cashews in blender. Pour in enough cold water to cover. Blend at high speed with as much additional water as you need to achieve the desired consistency. Store leftover cream in the fridge for two weeks. Makes a great substitute for cream or whole milk in any recipe where it will be cooked or at least heated through (that is, terrific for alfredo, less awesome in your coffee, probably would not make good whipped cream).
Both recipes supposedly serve four, so we doubled them. They just barely served six. Fortunately the waterzooi is intensely rich and we had bread as well as potatoes, so no one went hungry.
Afterwards we went out for gelato. I am so full, my goodness.
Both recipes have been modified to be dairy-free. The potatoes are vegan; the waterzooi could be veganized pretty easily.
Crispy potatoes, based on this recipe:
1/4 cup + 1 tbsp olive oil
3 russet potatoes, peeled, and cut into 1/2-inch cubes
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
3 tablespoons water (note: if doubling recipe, do not increase the amount of water)
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. In a large saute pan with a lid, heat the 1/4 cup oil over medium-high heat. Add the potato cubes and season with salt and pepper, to taste. Saute stirring frequently, for 5 minutes. Turn the heat up to high, add the water, stir, and cover the pan with a lid. Steam the potatoes until the water evaporates, about 3 or 4 more minutes. (Every 1 to 2 minutes, open the lid long enough to stir the potatoes so they don't stick.) Lower the heat to medium, and saute another 1 to 2 minutes until all traces of water are gone and potatoes are cooked through. Toss in the 1 tbsp oil and stir to coat the potatoes. Spread the potatoes out on a baking sheet. Bake in the oven until the potatoes are crisp and browned to your liking, about 15 to 25 minutes depending on how dark you want them. Serve immediately.
Chicken waterzooi, based on this recipe:
3 large carrots, cut into 1/4" x 2" matchsticks
6 celery ribs/sticks, cut into 1/4" x 2" matchsticks [the original recipe calls for leeks and onion, which we omitted because two of the diners dislike onions, so there's extra celery to compensate]
olive oil
1 tsp dried tarragon
salt and pepper
1 lb skinless boneless chicken (white or dark), cut into bite-size chunks
1 cup extra dry vermouth or dry white wine
1 cup chicken broth
3 threads saffron
1/2 cup cashew cream*
2 large egg yolks
1 tsp cornstarch
Heat olive oil in the bottom of a large pot. Add tarragon, a generous pinch each of salt and pepper, and vegetables. Sauté about 5 minutes until colors brighten; do not brown. Add chicken, vermouth, broth, and saffron, and stir to mix. Bring to boil, reduce to simmer, simmer covered about 30 minutes until vegetables are tender but not mushy and chicken is cooked through. Remove from heat. Whisk cream, egg yolks, and cornstarch. While whisking, slowly drizzle in 1 cup hot broth from the pot. When yolk mixture is hot, pour it into the pot and stir to integrate. Briefly and gently heat just enough to make a bubble or two appear at the edge of the broth. Serve immediately.
* To make cashew cream: Put 1/2 cup raw unsalted cashews in a heatproof bowl. Cover with boling water and soak up to six hours. Drain and put cashews in blender. Pour in enough cold water to cover. Blend at high speed with as much additional water as you need to achieve the desired consistency. Store leftover cream in the fridge for two weeks. Makes a great substitute for cream or whole milk in any recipe where it will be cooked or at least heated through (that is, terrific for alfredo, less awesome in your coffee, probably would not make good whipped cream).
Both recipes supposedly serve four, so we doubled them. They just barely served six. Fortunately the waterzooi is intensely rich and we had bread as well as potatoes, so no one went hungry.
Afterwards we went out for gelato. I am so full, my goodness.
