Lemon Chicken and an Instagram Giveaway

Although the "experts" don't recommend it, we Minxes do much of our cooking in extra virgin olive oil. Olive oil has a low smoke point, but we don't do much high-heat cooking. Or if we do cook over high heat, it's not for a prolonged period. We've never had any issues. (If we don't want the olive flavor in our finished dish, of course we use something more neutral.)

Recently, we've tried flavored olive oils just to up our game a little. Ariston lemon-infused olive oil is made in the Kalamata region of Greece from Koreneiki olives, which produce a buttery and smooth oil with a pronounced citrus flavor. It would be perfect as an ingredient in sweet dishes as well as savory. Think olive oil gelato or cake. I went a little more conventional with it, using it in a vinaigrette for the salad we served on Thanksgiving (made with radicchio, endive, roasted pears, and butternut squash) and as a flavoring for a chicken dish.

Lemon and chicken are a perfect pairing. Sometimes it's hard to get enough lemon flavor into the chicken by just using lemon juice and rind; it also can make the dish too acidic. But lemon-infused olive oil adds the lemon flavor without adding acidity. Check out my recipe using Ariston lemon-infused olive oil below.

If you want your own bottle of Ariston lemon-infused olive oil to play with, Gourmet Steve, purveyor of delicious olive oils and balsamic vinegars is giving one away to a lucky Minxeats reader. But you need to do a few things first.

1. Follow Gourmet Steve on Instagram
2. Follow Minxeats on Instagram
3. Leave a comment on this blog post (or on the photo on Instagram) about how you would use lemon olive oil if you won.

A winner will be chosen at random on December 18th and will be posted on the Gourmet Steve site on the 19th.

Good luck!

Lemon Chicken with Creamed Spinach

2 teaspoons Ariston lemon-infused olive oil, plus more for finishing
2 teaspoons regular extra virgin olive oil
1 clove garlic, smashed
4 boneless skinless chicken thighs, patted dry
Kosher salt
4-5 sprigs fresh thyme
1 sprig fresh rosemary
1 lemon, sliced
1 10-ounce bag frozen spinach
2-3 tablespoons heavy cream
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
Freshly grated nutmeg
Kosher salt to taste
Chopped scallion or chives
Pomegranate seeds

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Heat the 2 teaspoons of lemon-infused and regular olive oils in an ovenproof non-stick skillet over medium-high heat. Add the garlic clove and cook it for a minute or so, until it starts to lightly brown. This will impart some garlic flavor to the oil. Don't let the garlic burn, or the flavor will turn acrid. Remove the browned garlic, chop finely, and set aside.

Place the thighs into the hot oil and sear on both sides until browned. Sprinkle each side with kosher salt. Tuck the thyme and rosemary around the chicken while it's cooking. When chicken is golden brown, remove the herbs and top each thigh with a slice of lemon. Place pan in the oven. Roast until chicken is completely cooked through and a thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the thigh reads 165°F, 20-25 minutes.

While the chicken is cooking, put the spinach in a saucepan and warm gently over medium heat, stirring regularly so it doesn't stick to the pan. Once the spinach is warm, add the cream and butter and the reserved chopped browned garlic and turn up the heat a tad to get the cream bubbling. Season with nutmeg and salt. The spinach will be lightly creamy but should still taste fresh. Remove from heat and keep warm until chicken is done.

To serve: Mound spinach in a bowl or on a plate and top with a chicken thigh. Garnish with scallions, pomegranate seeds, and a drizzle of lemon olive oil.

Serves 4.

* Any products in this post that are mentioned by name may have been provided to Minxeats by the manufacturer. However, all opinions belong to Minxeats. Amazon links earn me $! Please buy!



Posted on Minxeats.com.

Flashback Friday - Khoresht-e Fesenjan

My version of the Persian dish, fesenjan, is inauthentic, perhaps, but still utterly delicious.

--Kathy

This post was originally published on November 5, 2008.
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Khoresht-e Fesenjan

We bought a pomegranate at the Superfresh the other day.  When I was a kid, my Uncle Frankie bought a pom every fall for my mother and me. He had done this since she was young, and after so many years of wrestling with the fruit, she let me mangle and eat most of it.  When Frankie died, in 1983, so did the annual tradition of red hands and stained kitchen table.  Nowadays, I slice open the fruit and rip it apart in a big bowl of cold water.  The arils sink to the bottom and the tissue-like membrane floats to the top, making the fruit a breeze to dismantle. Plus the water keeps my hands from getting stained.

The pomegranate sat on our kitchen counter for a few days when I was struck with the idea of making fesenjan, a Persian preparation featuring pomegranate and walnuts.  I had eaten a version with made with duck at the Orchard Market and Café many years ago and remembered enjoying it. We had a small half leg of lamb in the freezer, and I decided that would be the perfect protein to match with the tangy fruit and nut sauce.

I got Mr Minx to whip up some of his delicious pilaf (sautéed onions, broken capellini pasta, and leftover rice, flavored with saffron) as a go-with, and cooked some okra pods with various spices: mustard and cumin seeds, charnushka, coriander, salt and pepper.

The meat was deliciously tender.  I had cut off most of the fat but left all of the annoying silver skin and other connective tissue, which melted away during the long slow cooking.  The sauce was tangy and rich, with just enough spice flavor to keep it far away from the realm of ordinary lamb stew.  In short, it was delicious, and I would definitely make this dish again.  Perhaps I'll try chicken next time....

Lamb Fesenjan

Serves 6

1 large onion, chopped

1/2 tsp black pepper

1/2 tsp turmeric

2 tblsp oil

2 lbs lamb, cut into cubes

1 tblsp flour

8oz walnuts, chopped

1/3 cup hot water

1 1/2 cups pomegranate juice

1/2 tsp cinnamon

5 cardamom pods, crushed

1 tblsp honey (optional)

salt to taste

Sauté onion with turmeric and pepper in the oil until browned.  Remove from pot.  Add meat and brown on all sides.  Sprinkle meat with the flour and the chopped walnuts and sauté for a few minutes.  Add water, pomegranate juice, cardamom, and cinnamon and bring to a boil.  Lower the heat and simmer 2 hours or so until meat is very tender and the juices have thickened.  Add salt to taste and honey, if the pomegranate is too tart for you.  Conversely, if you want the dish to have more tart flavor, add lemon juice.

Serve with rice or pilaf.

Posted on Minxeats.com.

Muhammara

A couple months ago, we took a field trip to Southern Maryland for a fishing tournament. Figuring the ride would be long, we took snack foods in the form of a box of Triscuits and a tub of Trader Joe's Muhammara. We'd never tried the stuff before, muhammara, but the combination of walnuts, roasted bell peppers, and pomegranate molasses sounded really good. And it was. Really good. I could have eaten the entire container myself (AND the whole box of sweet potato/onion Triscuits - yum), but I did share with Mr Minx.

When the next stitch and bitch rolled around, I decided to make muhammara. I typically make some sort of dippy thing, because it's the neatest thing to consume while knitting. There were only two of us this time, but we pretty much killed the entire batch. So tasty, and I think this recipe from Epicurious, with my adjustments (much less bread and oil), tasted pretty similar to TJ's version, only, of course, home-made, and therefore, better.

Muhammara (adapted from Epicurious)

1 large red pepper, peeled, seeded, and roasted, or 1 1/2 jarred roasted red peppers
5 tablespoons fine fresh bread crumbs
1/2 cup walnuts, toasted lightly and chopped fine
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice, or to taste
2 teaspoons pomegranate molasses
1 teaspoon ground cumin
Big pinch cayenne
4-5 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
Salt to taste

Blend everything together in a food processor until it's a fairly smooth paste. Serve with crackers or crudite.



Posted on Minxeats.com.

Flashback Friday - 3.29.2013

This post was originally published on November 5, 2008.
------------------
Khoresht-e Fesenjan

We bought a pomegranate at the Superfresh the other day.  When I was a kid, my Uncle Frankie bought a pom every fall for my mother and me. He had done this since she was young, and after so many years of wrestling with the fruit, she let me mangle and eat most of it.  When Frankie died, in 1983, so did the annual tradition of red hands and stained kitchen table.  Nowadays, I slice open the fruit and rip it apart in a big bowl of cold water.  The arils sink to the bottom and the tissue-like membrane floats to the top, making the fruit a breeze to dismantle. Plus the water keeps my hands from getting stained.

The pomegranate sat on our kitchen counter for a few days when I was struck with the idea of making fesenjan, a Persian preparation featuring pomegranate and walnuts.  I had eaten a version with made with duck at the Orchard Market and Café many years ago and remembered enjoying it. We had a small half leg of lamb in the freezer, and I decided that would be the perfect protein to match with the tangy fruit and nut sauce.

I got Mr Minx to whip up some of his delicious pilaf (sautéed onions, broken capellini pasta, and leftover rice, flavored with saffron) as a go-with, and cooked some okra pods with various spices: mustard and cumin seeds, charnushka, coriander, salt and pepper.

The meat was deliciously tender.  I had cut off most of the fat but left all of the annoying silver skin and other connective tissue, which melted away during the long slow cooking.  The sauce was tangy and rich, with just enough spice flavor to keep it far away from the realm of ordinary lamb stew.  In short, it was delicious, and I would definitely make this dish again.  Perhaps I'll try chicken next time....

Lamb Fesenjan

Serves 6

1 large onion, chopped

1/2 tsp black pepper

1/2 tsp turmeric

2 tblsp oil

2 lbs lamb, cut into cubes

1 tblsp flour

8oz walnuts, chopped

1/3 cup hot water

1 1/2 cups pomegranate juice

1/2 tsp cinnamon

5 cardamom pods, crushed

1 tblsp honey (optional)

salt to taste

Sauté onion with turmeric and pepper in the oil until browned.  Remove from pot.  Add meat and brown on all sides.  Sprinkle meat with the flour and the chopped walnuts and sauté for a few minutes.  Add water, pomegranate juice, cardamom, and cinnamon and bring to a boil.  Lower the heat and simmer 2 hours or so until meat is very tender and the juices have thickened.  Add salt to taste and honey, if the pomegranate is too tart for you.  Conversely, if you want the dish to have more tart flavor, add lemon juice.

Serve with rice or pilaf.

Posted on Minxeats.com.

Brussels Sprouts - Again

While perusing the Mesa Grill Cookbook, I found this simple recipe for Brussels sprouts. Being a fan of the little cabbages, I made them this weekend. It gave me a good excuse to test a new-to-me technique for removing the arils from a pomegranate: Cut pom into halves or quarters. Submerge fruit into a large bowl filled with water. Peel off skin and discard. With your fingers, work arils out of the remaining fibrous substance. The fruit will sink to the bottom and the lightweight membrane will float to the top, easily skimmed and discarded. And no red fingers!

Whaddya know - it worked great!

Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Pomegranate and Walnuts
adapted from Bobby Flay's Mesa Grill Cookbook

1 small container Brussels sprouts, trimmed
Olive oil
Salt and freshly ground pepper
1 tsp butter
1/4 cup pomegranate seeds
2 T toasted walnuts, finely chopped

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Slice sprouts, drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and pepper to taste, tossing to coat. Place cut side down on a foil lined baking sheet and roast for 20-25 minutes or until one is easily pierced with the point of a knife. Remove from the oven and toss with the butter, pomegranate seeds and walnuts. Serve immediately.