Chicken Breast, Inspired by a Chef

Toledo cathedral.

In the shadow of Toledo’s grand Santa María cathedral is the eponymous restaurant of Chef Adolfo Muñoz, passionate proponent of everything gustatory. 

Adolfo has one of the finest wine cellars in the country, situated below street level in an excavated house dating back to Toledo’s  medieval Jewish quarter. He produces his own “garage” wine, Pago Del Ama Colección, from grapes grown on his estate, cigarral, within the municipality of Toledo. He’s a television chef and an enthusiastic promoter of La Mancha’s great products, such as saffron, partridge and olive oil. (Toledo is the capital of Castilla-La Mancha in central Spain.)

This recipe is adapted from a dish I savored at Restaurante Adolfo, where it was prepared with squab breast cooked very rare. Not being able to lay my hands on squab (although, I am occasionally tempted to net a couple of the wild doves that drink from the water bowl on my patio), I have substituted chicken breasts.

Chicken breast with crunchy vegetables and rice.

Chicken breasts should be more thoroughly cooked, but take care not to overcook them. They should still be tinged with pink in the center. I used two enormous chicken breast halves, to serve 4 persons. But you could use 4 individual-sized breasts. The vegetables should be slightly crunchy and the rice al dente.

I’ve given a recipe for making your own chicken broth. The broth flavors the rice and goes into the chicken pan juices. Freeze what’s left to use as the starting point of any soup.

Diced vegetables are lightly cooked. Rice is toasted before adding broth.

Chicken Breast with Crunchy Vegetables and Rice
Pechuga de Pollo con Arroz y Verduras Frescas

Serves 4.

For the broth
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 pound chicken carcass or wings
½ onion, sliced
¼ cup white wine
1 tomato, quartered
1 carrot
1 stalk celery
Pinch of thyme
Bay leaf
Sprig parsley
1 teaspoon salt
6 cups water

Heat the oil in a heavy pot and brown the chicken carcass or wings with the onion until flecked with dark brown.

Add the wine, tomato, carrot, celery, thyme, bay, parsley, salt, and water. Bring to a boil, cover, and simmer 1 hour.

Strain the broth, pressing hard on the solids. Discard solids. Let the broth stand 20 minutes. Skim off and discard fat that rises to the top. Set aside 3 cups of the broth to cook the rice and chicken. Reserve the remainder for another use (it can be frozen).

For the chicken breasts, vegetables, and rice
2 pounds boneless chicken breast halves, with skin (2, 3 or 4)
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons olive oil plus additional for brushing grill
1 ½ cups long-grain rice
1/3 cup diced carrots
1/3 cup diced leeks
1/3 cup diced red bell pepper
1/3 cup diced mushrooms
½ cup diced asparagus
¼ teaspoon saffron threads, crushed
3 cups broth
¼ cup white wine
Sprig of thyme or pinch of dried thyme
Sprig of rosemary or pinch of dried rosemary

Sear chicken on ridged grill pan.

Season the chicken breasts with salt and pepper. Heat a ridged grill pan and brush with oil. Sear the chicken breasts, skin-side down, about 1 ½ minutes. Turn them crosswise and grill 1 minute more. Turn them over and repeat the turns. Remove the breasts to a skillet big enough to hold them in one layer.

 

Dry-toast the raw rice.

In a heavy, dry skillet toast the rice over medium heat, stirring, until it is golden and toasted, about 8 minutes. Reserve.

Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a saucepan. Add the carrots and leeks and sauté 3 minutes. Add the peppers and sauté 2 minutes. Add the mushrooms and asparagus and sauté 1 minute. The vegetables should be crunchy.

Add 2 tablespoons hot water to the saffron and allow to infuse.

Add 2 ½ cups of broth to the vegetables. Add additional salt to taste. Bring to a boil. Add the toasted rice and saffron infusion. Boil 3 minutes. Remove from heat, cover tightly, and let the rice set 10 minutes. The rice will be al dente.

Add the wine, thyme, and rosemary to the chicken breasts with ¼ cup of the chicken broth. Bring to a boil, cover, and simmer until they are cooked through, turning once, 10- 15 minutes, depending on thickness. (Add additional broth, if necessary.)

Slice the chicken breasts on the diagonal. Serve with the rice and vegetables.

Bring the remaining pan juices in the skillet to a boil and spoon it over the chicken, rice, and vegetables.

Chef Adolfo Muñoz, Toledo.

Have a look inside the kitchen at Restaurante Adolfo in Toledo. http://grupoadolfo.com/restaurante-adolfo.html

RABBIT COOKED IN THE MEDIEVAL STYLE

A couple weeks ago I was cooking Chicken Marbella in which the chicken roasts with prunes. I commented then that chicken cooked with fruit is an unusual combination in Spanish cuisine--except for dishes in the medieval style. That inspired me to go searching through my recipe files for an example and I found this gorgeous way to cook rabbit in a sweet and sour sauce with figs and lots of spices. (The recipe appears in my book COOKING FROM THE HEART OF SPAIN—FOOD OF LA MANCHA, published by Wm. Morrow in 2006.)

Rabbit cooked, Mudéjar style, with figs and medieval spices.

Now that the Easter bunny season is behind us, it’s a good time to cook rabbit. Almost all rabbit is farm-raised and available year-round. It’s a lean, white meat with a delicate flavor.

This recipe comes from Toledo, a city in La Mancha (central Spain). Still enclosed by ancient walls and monumental gates, the old town of narrow, cobbled streets preserves much of its medieval character. Inhabited over the centuries by Romans (the ruins of a Roman circus, one of the largest of the Empire, lies just outside the walls); Visigoths (at least one church originally was Visigothic); Sephardic Jews (two synagogues remain in the old Jewish quarter); Arabs and Berbers (a 10th century mosque is preserved), and Christians, who built an astonishing cathedral and dozens of convents and monasteries, Toledo is at once monumental and intimate.

Toledo cathedral.

The Muslim Arabs (Moors) took Toledo in 712. When King Alfonso VI wrested control of the city in 1085, many of the Moors opted to stay under Christian dominion. Called Mudéjars—meaning “permitted to remain”—they had an enormous influence on architecture, building churches, synagogues and civic buildings in the graceful Mudéjar style, with its low towers, horseshoe arches, plaster, tile, and wood decorations.

The Toledo School of Translators flourished, bringing together Arab, Hebrew, and Latin scholars who translated Greek philosophy, Persian literature, Arabic medicine into Latin and Spanish.

The Mudéjar influence permeated the style of cooking as well, bringing exotic spices from eastern lands into Spanish cooking. This rabbit dish, perfumed with cinnamon, clove, aniseed and saffron, is a delicious example.

Seasonings used in medieval cooking. Clockwise from bottom left: thyme with flowers, mint, pine nuts, shelled and unshelled; almonds; green almonds; figs; nutmeg; ginger root, cinnamon sticks; bay leaves; rosemary, and parsley. On the tray in the center: top row from left: peppercorns, caraway seeds, cumin seeds and aniseeds. In the center, saffron. Bottom row, from left, coriander seeds, black mustard seeds and cloves.

Steep the whole spices and figs in the cooking liquid, then strain the liquid and add to the rabbit. Don’t overcook rabbit; as it is very lean, it easily becomes dry. If rabbit comes with the liver, sauté it and mash to a paste to thicken the sauce. If liver is not available, the sauce can be thickened with a little flour, if desired.

If rabbit is not an option, make this recipe with bone-in half chicken breasts. Serve the rabbit with rice or cous cous and minted carrots.

Rabbit with Figs and Mudéjar Spices
Conejo con Higos al Estilo Mudéjar

A subtle sweet and sour sauce complements delicate rabbit, here served with rice and minted carrots.

Serves 4.

1-2 tablespoons honey (preferably rosemary honey)
¼ cup Sherry vinegar
1-inch piece fresh ginger, cut in half
¼ teaspoon black peppercorns
¼ teaspoon coriander seeds
¼ teaspoon mustard seeds
1/8 teaspoon aniseeds
1-inch piece of cinnamon
3 cloves
2 cups water
12 dried figs, stems removed
Sprigs of mint, thyme and parsley
¼ teaspoon saffron threads, crushed
¼ cup hot water
¼ cup olive oil
1/3 cup blanched almonds
3 cloves garlic
1 rabbit, 2 ½ to 3 pounds, cut into 8 pieces
Rabbit liver, cut up (optional)
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper
½ cup finely chopped onion
½ cup white wine

Combine the honey, vinegar, ginger, peppercorns, coriander, mustard, aniseeds, cinnamon, and clove in a saucepan with 2 cups water. Bring to a boil and simmer 5 minutes. Remove from heat and add the sprigs of herbs and the figs. Cover and let them macerate at least 2 hours.

Crush the saffron in a mortar. Add ¼ cup of hot water and let it steep at least 15 minutes.

In a cazuela or large sauté pan heat the oil and fry the almonds and garlic until they are lightly golden. Skim them out and reserve.

Add the rabbit pieces and liver, if using, to the hot oil and sauté on medium heat until they are lightly browned on all sides. (Remove the liver pieces, if using.) Add the chopped onion and continue sautéing.

Put the fried almonds, garlic and liver, if using, in a blender with the wine and process to make a smooth paste.

With a slotted spoon, remove the figs from the spiced liquid and reserve them. (Don’t worry if some spices cling to the figs.) Strain the liquid and reserve it. Discard the spices and herbs. Add 1 ½ cups of the spice liquid to the rabbit with the saffron. Stir in the almond paste. Season with salt and pepper. Cover and simmer 20 minutes. Add the figs to the rabbit and cook until rabbit is tender, another 15 to 20 minutes.

Rabbit--the other white meat. 

More rabbit recipes here:
Rabbit in Wine Marinade (Conejo al Salmorejo), http://mykitcheninspain.blogspot.com.es/2012/10/hunting-season-opens-at-supermarket.html

Rabbit, Sierra-Style (Conejo a la Serrana), http://mykitcheninspain.blogspot.com.es/2014/03/rabbit-other-white-meat.html

Rabbit with Beans and Pasta (Conejo con Gurullos) http://mykitcheninspain.blogspot.com.es/2010/07/thyme-on-my-hands.html http://mykitcheninspain.blogspot.com.es/2010/07/thyme-on-my-hands.html

PARTRIDGE, FROM HILLSIDE TO TABLE

Partridge shoot in Toledo.

Los Yébenes  spreads out on the flanks of a long ridge, where a pair of 16th century windmills rides the crest. The village, south of the medieval city of Toledo, about 90 kilometres from Madrid, is known as the hunting capital of the highland Montes de Toledo. Hare, rabbit, deer, and boar are abundant, but it is the native red-legged partridge that is the delight of both hunter in the field and gastronome at table.

I went to Los Yébenes a few years ago when I was working on a book about the food of La Mancha. I was tracking partridge from hillside to dinner, so I visited during the open season for partridge shooting (October to February) and went along on a cacería de ojeo, an organized hunt.

In the Field

It was a nippy winter’s day, with clouds hanging over the hilltops, when we met at a hunting lodge not too distant from Los Yébenes. The group of hunters gathered over steaming cups of coffee to draw lots for the puestos, blinds, that they would occupy on the hunt. Some of the hunters came from abroad and were staying at the lodge. Others, like Teodoro, a well-to-do businessman, drove down from Toledo for the day, bringing dogs and gear.

Partridge country.

The hunters (a few women among them) moved out in SUVs, bumping along rutted dirt tracks and fording a small stream. Leaving the vehicles, they trekked cross-country to the first shooting site. Sun broke through the cloud cover, glinting on flat outcroppings of shiny granite. Tramping boots released the powerful scent of wild thyme, marjoram, and red lavender.

Teodoro, dressed in cropped breeches with gaiters and loden green jacket, was flanked by a loader, who kept his guns ready to fire, and a secretario, who spotted and recovered the downed birds. Teodoro tethered his one-year old Labrador retriever to a stake.

The hunters with their entourages spread along the ridge, taking up ten blinds. The ojeadores, beaters, announced the start of the hunt with a blast on a conch shell. They moved along the ravine’s embankment, thrashing the bushes, banging, and yelling, “vamos, vamos”.

The first shots rang out, followed fast by many more. The beaters continued towards our blind, flushing birds before them.  Suddenly, with a rush of wings, a covey of partridge lofted skyward. They seemed to scatter in the air, some soaring high, others dipping towards the next ridge. Teodoro shot in rapid succession. One bird fell very near the blind, causing the dog to snap to attention.

When the beaters reached the end of the line, they signalled the end of the shoot with a horn and everyone scrambled to find the downed birds. The Labrador excitedly worked the hillside, retrieving partridge one after another to Teodoro. The secretario strung them on leather thongs and hitched them to his belt. The whole hunting party walked overland to another line. A light snow began to fall.

 At the end of the second shoot (typically, there are four or five lines in a day of hunting) the secretarios spread all the birds in a clearing on the ground, arranging them in braces. There were 126 partridge. Teodoro, the best shot, claimed 28. Some he would take home with him. He said his mother prepares them en conserva, packed in jars in a mild escabeche.

Behind the hunters came the pollero, poultyman. He buys the birds from the organizer of the hunt and hauls them to a processing plant, where they are cleaned and plucked, ready for sale.

In the Kitchen

 In the kitchen of Casa Apelio, a small hostel and restaurant sandwiched between the stone walls of two 16th century churches in the centre of Los Yébenes, three women were processing 600 partridge from several different shoots. The birds had to be singed, one by one, over a gas flame, chilled, and packed for freezing. According to Apelio García, the third generation to run Casa Apelio, his restaurant is one of the few in Spain that serves wild, native red-legged partridge. (Most buy farm-raised birds.)

In the dining room we sat at a table before the hearth, where a roaring fire toasted our toes. The room is hung with deer heads and racks of antlers (Los Yébenes has four working taxidermists). Caged partridge (they are used for hunting al reclamo, as decoys) cackled and called from a shelf on one side of the dining room,

To start, we savoured partridge pâté with toast. Next was a partridge salad featuring tender, boned partridge in a mild escabeche heaped on top of sliced tomatoes, sprinkled with oregano, and generously drizzled with the local extra virgin olive oil with denomination Montes de Toledo. We shared an order of beans stewed with partridge. A partridge feast, with a smooth reserva La Mancha red wine to accompany it.

Partridge with Beans

Judías con Perdiz

Partridge stewed with beans.

Beans stretch the servings of partridge, so a single bird, split in half, might serve two. If you choose to serve half a partridge, split the birds after cooking. If partridge is not available, use cornish game birds or turkey thighs. I prefer to cook the beans separately from the partridge, as beans can take well over an hour to cook. You could use canned cannellini beans (2 15-ounce cans). If using dry ones, put them to soak at least 6 hours before cooking.

Serves 4.

2 cups dry cannellini beans
1 head garlic
2 bay leaves
Sprig of rosemary
¼ onion
1 whole tomato or 2 sun-dried tomatoes
2 teaspoons salt
2 to 4 partridges (about 12 ounces each)
Freshly ground black pepper
¼ cup olive oil
2 cups chopped onion
2 cloves chopped garlic
1 teaspoon sweet pimentón (paprika)
2 tablespoons wine vinegar
1 cup white wine
10 peppercorns

Soak the beans in water at least 6 hours or up to 24 hours. Drain and place them in a pot with water to cover. Bring to a boil and skim off froth.

Slice the top off the head of garlic and place the whole head in the pot with the beans. Add the bay leaves, rosemary, onion, tomato, and 1 teaspoon of salt. Cover and simmer the beans 30 minutes. Add ½ cup cold water, bring again to a boil, and simmer until beans are very tender, 30 to 60 minutes more.

Sprinkle partridge with salt and pepper. Heat the oil in a large cazuela or deep skillet. Brown the partridge very slowly. After turning them, add the chopped onion and garlic to the cazuela. Continue sautéeing until partridge and onions are golden.

In a small bowl mix the pimentón with the vinegar. Add to the partridge with the wine and 1 cup of water. Add the peppercorns and 1 teaspoon of salt. Cook at a gentle bubble for 30 minutes. Turn the partridges and simmer 30 minutes more.

Drain the beans, reserving the liquid. Discard the bay leaves and rosemary. Add the beans to the cazuela with the partridge. Slip the skin from the tomato and break it up into the cazuela. Squeeze the cloves of garlic into the partridge. Add 2 cups of the bean liquid. Simmer all together for 30 minutes.

Hillside castle in Toledo province.