It was was an incredible birthday surprise that led me to this recipe. A landmark birthday celebration, spent with my entire family in the Alsace region of France was everything I could wish for - a fascinating new region of France to explore with all my favorite people and especially new foods to be discovered! Among the dishes indigenous to the Strasbourg area are tarte flambe (a white pizza type dish with bacon and cream), bretzels (large soft pretzels with munster cheese and bacon on top), and spaetzle (German Schwabian noodles) served with everything (due to this area's centuries old proximity to Germany - sometimes being part of Germany, sometimes being pulled back over to France - it's current position!)
The final three days of our trip were spent in Paris which some of our group had never experienced. All the regulars were included in our visit, during the busiest season of the year, the break between Christmas and New Years, including the Eiffel Tower, the Louvre, sandwiched in between the hordes of tourists, waving at Mona Lisa from a distance and Notre Dame in it's former glory, before the fire). But the piece de resistance was a cooking
class for me and my daughters arranged by my clever husband.
We found our way to the Montparnasse neighborhood and a small apartment where we were greeted by Marthe. She whisked us away to the local outdoor market where we purchased the supplies for the meal we would be cooking as we were absorbed in searching out those things peculiar to the market, including a pair of herb scissors with 4 blades on each side (which I love and you can find on Amazon (https://www.amazon.com/s?k=herb+scissors&ref=nb_sb_noss_1 ). Then back to her tiny apartment, feeling very French wearing the scarves we had also found at the market, where we chopped and sauteed and actually sang together to create Chicken with two Vinegars, Zucchini Salad and a French apple Cake - yes, I will share these recipes another time.
This featured chicken dish is easy and quick to prepare and the pick-me-up provided by the sharp vinegars and brine of the olives is tempered by the delicate shallot and rosemary. It is a lovely main dish for family or friends and can transport you away with it's very French seasonings to Paris, without the crowds!
CHICKEN WITH TWO VINEGARS
(Poulet aux deux vinaigres)
1 chicken 3 - 4 pounds, cut into 8 serving pieces,
or chicken tenders, or combo of boneless breasts
and thighs to equal 2 pounds.
8 slices bacon, cut into small pieces and fried until
crisp
1 shallot, peeled and finely sliced
1/2 red bell pepper, cut into large dice
12 - 14 pitted kalamata or black olives, cut in half
8 cloves garlic, peeled and finely minced
3 sprigs of fresh Rosemary, removed from stem
2 tablespoons honey
1/4 cup white wine
2 tablespoon red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon butter
salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
1 teaspoon dried Herbs de Provence
1 1/2 cups water
-In a large skillet, cook the bacon until crisp. Add
the shallot and red pepper to the bacon for the
last few minutes to soften them. Remove bacon,
shallot and pepper from the skillet.
-Heat the oil with the butter in the same skillet
until butter is melted. Add the chicken,
seasoning with salt and pepper. Cook over
medium high heat, turning once, until the
chicken is golden brown on both sides. Remove
chicken from the skillet. Turn the heat down to
medium.
-Add honey to the hot skillet and stir about two
minutes until the honey is bubbly but not
burned. Add garlic and herbs de provence
during the last 30 seconds as honey is
bubbling. Add the wine and stir to deglaze the
mixture from the bottom of the skillet. Add the
red wine vinegar and simmer for 5 minutes
stirring frequently then add the balsamic
vinegar and water.
-Return the chicken and bacon mixture to the
skillet along with the olives and cook, uncovered
for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
-Serve accompanied with rice or potatoes and
garnished with sprigs of rosemary and extra
olives, if desired.
Fry chicken pieces until golden on each side.
Simmer chicken w/ other ingredients
uncovered for 30 minutes.
Serve chicken garnished with rosemary and
accompanied with rice.
PERSNICKETY NOTES:
**Herbs de Provence is a mixture of herbs from the southern region of France by the same name. If you want to make your own you can find the recipe by searching on line for "Herbs de Provence recipe". It isn't necessary to have this ingredient for the recipe to be delicious but if you have dried tarragon, thyme, basil, oregano - you can add just a pinch of these to the recipe instead.
**Kalamata olives or Nice Olives are saltier and have a stronger briny flavor than the typical American olive. If you prefer the subtler taste of American olives, you can use those - the large pitted variety.
No comments:
Post a Comment