The Cookbook Challenge ~ Week 11 Mixed

Cookbook: Maggie’s Kitchen

Recipe: Chook Legs with Vino Cotto or Balsamic

This theme almost had me stumped.  Mixed.  What to do, what to do?  I turned to the dictionary in the hope that something might inspire me

mixed  [mikst]

–adjective

1.  put together or formed by mixing.

2.  composed of different constituents or elements.

3.  of different kinds combined.

I then pulled out half a dozen cookbooks and started leafing through them.  I got to Maggie’s Chook Leg recipe and the first thought I had was, “there are a lot of different ingredients in this…”.  Then I had another look at the definition and with the word ‘different’ all but screaming at me, my decision was made.

This is the first recipe I have cooked out of this book, so I was eager to try it.  I’ve written the recipe as it comes in the book, to serve 8.  I was only cooking for 4 so I halved everything.

Ingredients

8 Barossa or other corn-fed chicken marylands, thighs and legs separated
zest of two lemons, removed in wide strips with a vegetable peeler
5 fresh bayleaves
2 stalks rosemary
1/4 stick cinnamon
evoo for drizzling
1/2 cup flaked almonds
40g unsalted butter
sea salt
1/4 vino cotto or balsamic vinegar
16 green olives
1/2 cup raisins
1/4 salted capers
chopped flat leaf parsley

Method

Marinate chicken with lemon zest, bay leaves, rosemary, cinnamon and a good splash of evoo for at least one hour before cooking; overnight is better if you have the time

Pre-heat fan forced oven to 180°C (350°F)

Place flaked almonds on a baking tray and roast for 5 minutes or until golden, then set aside to cool.  Increase oven temperature to 200°C (400°F)

Heat butter in a large ovenproof frying pan over medium heat.  Season chicken with salt, then remove from marinade.  Working in batches so you don’t crowd the pan, gently pan-fry chicken pieces for 8-10 minutes or until golden brown all over.  Transfer pan to the oven  and roast chicken for 10 minutes.

Deglaze pan with vino cotto or balsamic over high heat, I used Due Vittorie balsamic, then add olives, raisins and capers.  Return to oven for another 10 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through.

Toss over almonds and parsley, then squeeze over the juice of at least one of the reserved  lemons, taste then add more if needed.

Leave to rest 10 minutes then serve.

I had some roast potatoes and Maggie’s Broccoli with Almonds and Lemon Butter as accompaniments.

Ingredients

50g almond flakes
1 head broccoli, cut into florets
100g unsalted butter, chopped
evoo for cooking
juice of 1 lemon
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Method

Pre-heat fan forced oven to 180°C (350°F).  Place almond flakes on a baking tray and roast for 5 minutes or until golden brown then set aside to cool.

Blanch broccoli in a saucepan of boiling water.  I only had half a head of broccoli on hand so I supplemented it with zucchini, sliced thickly on the diagonal.

Meanwhile, melt butter with a splash of evoo in a frying pan over medium high heat.  Add almond flakes and toss, then drain broccoli and immediately add to the pan.  Deglaze pan with lemon juice, then transfer to a serving plate and serve immediately, seasoned with salt and pepper.

This was a great mid week dinner for when friends come over.  You don’t have to fuss in the kitchen doing too much and you are spared a mountain of dishes at the end.

The mixed flavours in the Chook Legs worked really well, making this dish a winner and one I would do again.  Sorry about the photos in the post – they aren’t great but at least you know what it looked like.