Persian Chicken
This evening on "Cooking With plonq": It doesn't look as pretty as some things I've cooked, but the taste was fine.
I put that pomegranate molasses to use this afternoon and whipped up a batch of Persian chicken - but I'll start with the sides.
The salad is cucumber, red onion, Roma tomatoes and parsley with an olive oil/lime dressing. The rice is basmati rice to which I added a bit of turmeric for colour and a splash of rose water at the end for fragrance.
For the chicken, I toasted 8oz of walnuts at 350°F for ten minutes and then let that cool while I cut up a package of boneless, skinless chicken thighs. I browned those in olive oil and butter while I diced up two medium onions. When the chicken was cooked and lightly browned, I transferred it to a bowl and poured the onions into the pot to cook until they were translucent.
I added the chicken back to the pot and dropped in one of our 2-cup bags of frozen chicken broth. Once that had thawed and come up to a simmer, I covered it and let it simmer for thirty minutes. When the time was almost up, I poured the cooled walnuts into a food processor and chopped them very finely.
Once that was ready, I added it to the pot along with the various spices (cinnamon, salt, pepper, turmeric, sugar, and nutmeg) and five tablespoons of pomegranate molasses. Then I covered it and let it simmer very gently for the next hour.
When there are about ten minutes left on the timer, I tossed together the salad and put the rice on to cook. The last step was to use the back of the spoon to break up some of the chicken thighs to add a bit of body to the sauce. Finally, we served it with pomegranate arils for garnish.
Two things I would change for next time is to let the onion soak in water for a few hours in advance of making the salad, and I think I'd add a pinch of sugar to the salad dressing because it was a bit sourer than I'd have liked. The rice and chicken were both really good.
I put that pomegranate molasses to use this afternoon and whipped up a batch of Persian chicken - but I'll start with the sides.
The salad is cucumber, red onion, Roma tomatoes and parsley with an olive oil/lime dressing. The rice is basmati rice to which I added a bit of turmeric for colour and a splash of rose water at the end for fragrance.
For the chicken, I toasted 8oz of walnuts at 350°F for ten minutes and then let that cool while I cut up a package of boneless, skinless chicken thighs. I browned those in olive oil and butter while I diced up two medium onions. When the chicken was cooked and lightly browned, I transferred it to a bowl and poured the onions into the pot to cook until they were translucent.
I added the chicken back to the pot and dropped in one of our 2-cup bags of frozen chicken broth. Once that had thawed and come up to a simmer, I covered it and let it simmer for thirty minutes. When the time was almost up, I poured the cooled walnuts into a food processor and chopped them very finely.
Once that was ready, I added it to the pot along with the various spices (cinnamon, salt, pepper, turmeric, sugar, and nutmeg) and five tablespoons of pomegranate molasses. Then I covered it and let it simmer very gently for the next hour.
When there are about ten minutes left on the timer, I tossed together the salad and put the rice on to cook. The last step was to use the back of the spoon to break up some of the chicken thighs to add a bit of body to the sauce. Finally, we served it with pomegranate arils for garnish.
Two things I would change for next time is to let the onion soak in water for a few hours in advance of making the salad, and I think I'd add a pinch of sugar to the salad dressing because it was a bit sourer than I'd have liked. The rice and chicken were both really good.