Older Bolder Life

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the Older Bolder Friday Feast: Greek Chicken Breast Sauté

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As my lovely wife and I have been wrestling ife back under control post our recent move, I came across one of our favorite old cookbooks that’s now out of print. It’s one of two collections of recipes from chefs working in and around Santa Fe and neighboring areas in New Mexico.

We’ve harvested literally dozens of great recipes from these cookbooks over the years, tweaking them to be healthier with cleaner ingredients, and marveling all the while at the flavors that the tri-cultural melting pot that is New Mexico has produced over the years.

If you’ve never made it to Santa Fe, go visit sometime, soak up the history, hike in the nearby hills (they call them mountains – the terrain is gorgeous, but more hilly than mountainous), and enjoy some of the culinary treasures of the region. And by all means, you have to do breakfast at The Pantry on Cerrillos.

Back to today’s recipe, this Greek Chicken Breast Sauté is an incredibly simple, easy to prepare, and quick from prep to table recipe that has been a staple around our camp for over 20 years.

We’ve served it to high brow company, enjoyed it many times around a relaxed family dinner table, and even cooked it a few times on the road or river while camping.

I’ve left it to you to choose your flour of choice to dust the chicken breasts; I’m not convinced that any of the alternative grain / gluten free flours brown as well as conventional wheat flour, though you need to experiment yourself. To be honest, I often season the chicken well and sauté it without any flour at all, though we do miss the good crust it makes now and again.

Finally, this is one of those recipes that is better with really good olives, though you don’t need to break the bank buying insanely expensive ingredients – it works really well with the basics too.

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 cup seasoned flour of choice (salt, pepper, spices)
1/4 cup olive or avocado oil
1 and 1/2 cups dry white wine
1 cup fresh tomatoes, peeled, seeded, chopped
1/2 cup capers
2/3 cup black olives, pitted, sliced
2/3 cup green olives, pitted, sliced
1 tbsp fresh rosemary, chopped, or two fresh rosemary sprigs

Dredge the chicken in the seasoned flour (see comment above) and shake off the excess.

Heat your oil of choice in a large skillet over medium high heat, then sauté the chicken for 3 minutes per side until golden (but not cooked through). Add the wine and simmer for 5 – 6 minutes until slightly reduced, then reduce the heat to medium.

Now add the tomatoes, capers, both olives, and the rosemary; simmer for another 4-8 minutes until the sauce has slightly thickened and the chicken is just cooked through.

Serve immediately on warmed plates with the sauce spooned on top.

Enjoy.

the Older Bolder Life Friday Feast: Sunday Afternoon Roast Chicken

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When I was a wee lad visiting grandparents on the Texas Coast, now and again on a Saturday afternoon Ma-Ma (pronounced maw-maw) would walk down the block in Bay City to the corner grocery, replete with wooden floors and swinging screen doors out front that always banged shut behind us, and buy a fresh chicken or two from the cooler in the back.

She and the shop owner would chat about whose farm it came from and how fresh it was; she’d always insist on poking, prodding, and even sniffing the bird to ensure it met her standards. It would be wrapped in white butcher paper that was torn off a roll that seemed to my child eyes to be bigger than me, and then handed over the counter like a treasure.

We’d walk back to the house, she’d liberally salt and pepper it, rub it with a cut garlic clove, then place it in the fridge “to season” overnight, before roasting the next day in a hot oven for what seemed like forever but was just about an hour every time.

We’d fight over the crispy skin and wings, and gobbled with delight whatever piece we were granted at the table later. Damn, that was good.

Roasting chickens at home isn’t rocket science, though we home cooks sometimes try to make it insanely more complicated than it need be; quite frankly none of us really need to deviate from Ma-Ma’s recipe from now over 50 years ago to make great roast chicken at home.

There are a few tips and tricks you need to keep in mind however.

One, you need to track down the best damn bird you can find. Your Sunday Afternoon Roast Chicken deserves more than the tired, mass-produced bird frozen in the poultry bin at your big box grocer; find a farmers market, coop, local farmer, or other vendor who sells real, pasture or yard raised chickens who’ve eaten more than just grain day in and day out (chickens are omnivores you know…). I guarantee that bird will taste more chicken-y that any you’ll find (ever) at the big box.

Drier birds (before roasting) make for crispier skin, so grab your roaster the day before, pat it dry, season to your liking, and throw it in the fridge to let those seasonings work their magic and the skin the dry a bit. I like to truss mine at this point to make the cook even easier.

By the way, you’ll read a ton of recipes that suggest adding vegetables, a bit of stock, or even herbs to the pan when roasting; my chicken mentor thinks that’s a mistake – anything that adds moisture makes for less crispy skin given the steam that’s produced during the cook.

And while a case might be made for a slow cook followed by a blast of heat at the end to crisp up skin, most of the chefs that I pestered for their chicken roasting thoughts suggested just firing the oven to 425 and roasting away (roughly an hour for a 4 pounder) until the meat around the thigh / leg joint is 175-176. Ma-Ma did it that way, and most of us are looking to make the best damn food we can as efficiently (and simply) as possible.

Ma-Ma was always careful to save the rendered chicken fat – you should as well, it’s delicious, and making a pot of homemade stock with the picked bones is child’s play simple.

4-5 pound chicken, see note above about finding the best bird
Great salt
Fresh ground pepper
Spices of your choice

The day before you plan to roast this prime poultry, pat it dry, season it at minimum with salt and pepper, place it on a plate and throw it in the fridge uncovered. Leave it alone, you’re wanting the seasonings to work their slow magic and the skin to begin to dry out (the drier the better for crispy skin).

When you’re ready to cook, preheat the oven to 425, and slide the bird in on a baking tray for roughly an hour.

Start checking (or use a continuous read, ovenproof thermometer) at about 50 minutes; we’re looking for the temperature at the leg/thigh junction to be about 176 when the bird comes out.

I like to let the bird rest for 10-15 minutes before carving, longer if I’m going to pick the meat for chicken salad, sandwiches, or other recipes, and make damn sure you save both the chicken fat that renders off as well as the bones for stock.

Enjoy.

the Older Bolder Life Friday Feast: Green Chile Chicken Enchilada Bake for a Crowd

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Several weeks a good friend called asking for help with an event he was planning; turns out the matriarch of his clan (Estelle) was celebrating her 94th birthday on the 4th of July.

From the sounds of things, Estelle is fit as a fiddle and sharp as can be, walking 30 minutes or more every morning, and still living at home with minimal family assistance for household chores. Estelle also happens to be a long-time fan of the flavors of Santa Fe and the American Southwest, asking for chile ribs and Santa Fe style flat green enchiladas (that’s my kind of woman!) for her birthday event this year.

My buddy was in charge of the event cooking, and wanted some input on the best way to serve Estelle the great food she’d asked for, in a prep that he could parcel out over several hours as they worked to manage the relatively large family crowd anticipated, safely spaced out throughout the afternoon to pay honor to Estelle.

We just happened to have been putting the finishing touches on this Green Chile Chicken Enchilada Bake for a Crowd, adjusting a master recipe we’d pilfered from our catering genius friend Chef Libby in Austin, and spicing things up a bit to suit our own family palate. As an added bonus, it feature the stunningly good Roasted Green Chile Sauce we posted last week.

Recipes like this one have an established place in history; in the South this recipe would fall under the broad umbrella of a “covered dish”, and taken to church socials, block parties, socials, wakes, special events, and homes of friends and family under the weather.

Both my wife and I grew up in Texas, and even back then when the earth’s crust was still cooling it seems that every family had a recipe for a chicken tortilla enchilada casserole; it was often called King Ranch chicken where we grew up in Texas, and invariably included one or more flavors of Campbell’s soup (here’s one version of that very recipe we posted on a fly fishing blog years ago).

As my buddy has several in his clan who’re gluten free, I suggested he use one of the Siete tortillas available now (for some reason that isn’t entirely clear to me we like their cassava flour version better), though if you have room in your carb budget, an artisanal / organic corn tortilla works well here too.

This holds well once baked, and can be chilled down and reheated in the oven with ease.

1 medium-large sweet onion, medium dice
1 poblano pepper, stemmed, seeded, medium dice
1 red bell pepper, stemmed, seeded, medium dice
1-2 serrano or jalapeño peppers, stemmed, seeded, small dice/minced
1 generous tbsp olive or avocado oil
3-4 cups cooked chicken, shredded or diced
3 cups of this amazing Roasted Green Chile Sauce (or salsa verde)
12 grain free (ie Siete) or organic corn tortillas, cut in half
3 cups grated/shredded Monterrey Jack or Colby Jack cheese
1 to 1 and 1/2 cups grated/shredded Cotija cheese
Kosher salt

Optional
Jarred pimento peppers, drained
2 big handfuls of organic baby spinach
1 15-ounce can black beans, drained and rinsed
Other veg, you make the call

Toppings for service
Sliced or diced avocado
Fresh cilantro, leaves and tender stems, chopped
Diced fresh or pickled red onion
Sliced fresh or pickled jalapeños
Sliced radishes
Green onion, thinly sliced

Preheat your trusty oven to 375 and lightly butter or oil a 9×13-inch baking dish, set aside.

Heat the tablespoon of oil in large sauté pan over medium-high heat and add the onion, poblano, and bell peppers along with a pinch of good salt, sauté until they begin to soften, then add the serrano or jalapeños and cook for another couple of minutes.

Now add the prepped and cooked chicken and any of the other optional ingredients (we’d always use pimento peppers and black beans at least) along with 2 cups of the roasted green chile sauce and mix well. Remove from the heat and set aside.

Spread 1/2 cup (or a touch more) of the sauce in your pan, and layer in 8 tortilla halves to cover the bottom; now cover with roughly 1/3 of the chicken mixture then 1/3 of the Monterrey Jake or Colby cheese. The second layer over that one is identical: 8 tortilla halves, followed by 1/3 of the chicken mixture and 1/3 of the cheese.

The final layer is a little different: 8 tortilla halves, the remaining Monterrey Jack or Colby Jack cheese, the remaining chicken mixture, the remaining sauce, followed by the grated/shredded Cotija cheese.

Cover your masterpiece with foil and throw in the oven for 22 minutes, the remove the foil and bake for another 10-12 minutes until the edges are bubbling and the Cotija is beginning to brown in places.

When done, remove from the oven and let stand for 7-10 minutes, then serve warm with your toppings of choice.

Enjoy.

the Older Bolder Life Friday Feast: The Family “Original Recipe” Grilled Chicken

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Like many of you, we’ve grilled a truckload of chicken on the back porch grill over the years, maybe even a couple of truckloads, and have a handful of favorite recipes we reach for time and time again when doing so.

This recipe, what we’ve come to call The Family “Original Recipe” Grilled Chicken is one that I unwittingly cobbled together back when I was in high school grilling now and again for the family.

The idea first came from a family friend named Butch who ran a family ranch along the breaks of the Canadian River in the Texas Panhandle, a ranch eventually buried beneath the waters of the then in development Lake Meredith.

We attended several big parties out on the ranch way back in the day, and even as a youngster I watched the men cooking over the open fire slather chicken with a baste made principally of grass-fed, ranch-churned butter and Worcestershire sauce. Even as a kid I learned that complimenting the cook and asking reasonable questions is a great way to learn all sorts of useful things, including some time-tested delicious recipes.

Over the decades since we’ve fiddled with all sorts of additions and modifications to the recipe and approach to cooking, settling on a pre-grill dusting of paprika and garlic powder (or granulated garlic), followed by a frequent turn and baste cook – with the simple basting sauce we’ve closely guarded until now – until the chicken is a golden-mahogany brown and ever so flavorful.

The time and turns needed to get a great crust on the chicken always precipitated a balancing act requiring a watchful eye – the fats in the baste will burn if applied too early, wait too long to start basting and the chicken could end up overdone, dry, and under-flavored.

Lately we’ve been adding a nifty par-cook using a sous vide technique, and it’s clearly producing the best Original Recipe Chicken we’ve ever done, and I mean ever. The point of using a sous-vide par cook is to gently precook the chicken, with a light application of spice, at 140 degrees (for about an hour and half for those interested), then go right to the grill and layer on the flavor via a series of baste and turns. This guarantees you won’t overcook the chicken – it’s incredibly moist and tender, and packs all the flavor of the traditional all-grill-cooked approach.

Either way, this is one fine recipe, and makes the best damned chicken salad or cold chicken sandwiches you’ll eat this summer. And by the way, it’s awesome with the Gochujang Curry Peanut Sauce recipe I’m posting next week (last image below).

2-4 pounds chicken breasts, thighs, leg pieces (see above)
Garlic powder
Paprika

4 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
2 tbsp grass fed butter
2 tbsp avocado oil
1 tbsp chile powder of choice (optional)
1-2 tsp molasses (optional)

Sous Vide + Grill Method
After dusting your chicken pieces with a light sprinkle of paprika and garlic powder (or granulated garlic), seal in the BPA-free sous vide bags of your choice.

Now sous vide at 140 degrees F for 1.5 hours, then remove and pat dry.

While the chicken is in the sous vide bath, combine the 5 sauce ingredients in a small saucepan over medium heat and cook until simmering, stirring occasionally. Turn off the heat and let cool in place.

Fire the grill during the last 15 minutes of sous vide time.

Dust the par-cooked chicken pieces again with a light sprinkle of paprika and garlic powder, then grill for 2 minutes per side. After the first turn, begin basting the chicken pieces with the prepared basting sauce, turning every 2-3 minutes until a deep, rich, mahogany-colored glaze and crust develops on the chicken.

Pull and rest for 5-6 minutes, then go to it.

Grill Only Method
Prepare the sauce as per above while you’re firing the grill.

Dust the chicken pieces again with a light sprinkle of paprika and garlic powder, then grill for 4 to 5 minutes per side, you’re not looking to cook the pieces through, but to set the spices and partially cook the chicken. .

After the first turn, begin basting the chicken pieces with the prepared basting sauce, turning every 2-3 minutes until a deep, rich, mahogany-colored glaze and crust develops on the chicken. If using a gas grill, you’ll want to turn down your grill to medium-low during the basting phase of the cook.

Pull and rest for 5-6 minutes, then go to it.

Enjoy.

the Older Bolder Life Friday Feast: TAGG (Turmeric Ancho Ginger Garlic) Wings

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I’ve shared many times before that around our camp, a great wing recipe – whether it’s grilled or roasted to a golden brown crispiness via a hot oven – almost always scores big with my clan.

Here’s a recipe that comes our way via our friend Chef Libby in Austin; she’s been making her TAGG (Turmeric Ancho Ginger Garlic) wings for years now, and from her expert view, they’re better (and easier to get crispy without risking too much char) roasted in the oven under a watchful eye.

Aficionados of ancestral eating understand well the long list of health benefits of turmeric, which needs black pepper to unleash its full potential; we like turmeric even more because of the taste that it brings to the culinary table.

Libby crafted two genius strokes into this recipe. One, the addition of just a bit of ancho chile powder – anchos bring a deep, fruity flavor to the wing game without a lot of heat; too much ancho darkens the final crust a lot – there’s not enough in this recipe to completely cover the golden goodness of the turmeric.

And two, in part to satisfy her Austin-based audience that’s used to savoring a bit of heat in their food down here in Tex Mex country, she adds just a whiff of cayenne to the rub.

You’ll note there’s an optional teaspoon of sugar listed in the ingredients; when Libby developed this recipe, as a professional chef she defaulted to adding a bit of sweet to the rub mixture (also very classically Southern, not necessarily Texan however), though she (and we) prefer to leave it out.

The spritz of citrus at service brightens the flavors even more; classically you might think of lemon with turmeric, but our years in Texas-land have us reaching for the limes.

4 pounds chicken wings (or wing pieces), trimmed, patted dry

1 tbsp black peppercorns
2 tsp ancho chile powder
2 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp (generous) ground turmeric
Optional: 1/4 to 1/2 tsp cayenne
Optional: 1 tsp sugar

2 tbsp avocado oil
3-4 inches of ginger root, peeled, grated (fine)
4 large garlic cloves, grated (fine)

Lime or lemon wedges for serving

Trim the wings if needed, pat dry, set aside in a large bowl.

Grind the peppercorns, ancho chile powder, salt, turmeric, and optional sugar if using in a spice grinder or with a mortar and pestle. Now sprinkle the run over the wings and toss to coat.

Now combine the grated ginger, grated garlic, and oil, then drizzle over the spiced wings, tossing once again to coat. Cover with wrap or pour into a bag to marinate in the fridge for up to overnight, be sure to scrape out all the spice mixture from the bowl.

When ready to cook, spread the wings on a foil-lined baking sheet, along with any remaining spice paste distributed as evenly as you can, and throw into your trusty oven before turning it on.

Now fire the oven to 425, and bake until the wings are beginning to brown and you see a bit of a turmeric stain on the foil, roughly 30-35 minutes. Turn the wings, and bake another 30-40 minutes until the wing skin is crispy and browned.

Pull the wings, artfully place on a platter along with the citrus wedges of your choice, and go to it.

Enjoy.

the Older Bolder Life Friday Feast: Spicy Ginger Celery Chicken Stir Fry

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I don’t know about you, but during these rather bizarre coronavirus-impacted days I find myself toggling back and forth between impersonating the most innovative, inquisitive chefs in the world and not really wanting to cook a damn thing that takes longer than ten minutes in the kitchen.

For the past six weeks or so we’ve leaned more to the “tackle the complicated new recipe” side of the ledger, though as we move more toward the heat of summer (we’ve already seen some temps in the high 90s here in North Texas), I’ve been seeking out meal preps that maximize interest and flavor with the least commitment of kitchen time and effort.

There are a number of great-tasting avenues to travel to accomplish those objectives, and one of our favorites happens to be crafting a tasty stir fry using flavor combinations we’ve come to appreciate over the years.

Sometime in the past few weeks a recipe similar to this one flew through my inbox; I was intrigued by the spice profile (ginger and sambal oleck always run high on my list) and the inclusion of just a few chopped dates to add an hint of earthy sweetness to the dish.

Celery quickly cooked in a hot wok preserves its tasty crunch, the peanuts (or nut of your choice adds flavor and texture interest), and I often throw in some chopped white onion and red bell pepper too.

With average knife skills you’re looking at a 15 minute-ish prep window before cooking here (OK, maybe 20 minutes) and like all stir fries, this one cooks up in a flash, particularly if you’ve been smart and followed the principle of mise en place to get everything lined up and ready to go.

(For the Paleo hardliners out there, I have included a tiny bit of cornstarch as a thickener; at least in my kitchen, cornstarch outperforms arrowroot and other thickeners in stir fries every time, and my wife really doesn’t like arrowroot’s taste. Make your substitutions as you wish.)

I happen to be writing this while helping my wife at her work place this afternoon, and we brought leftovers from last night’s stir fry for a quick lunch; it might have even been better today.

Chicken and marinade
2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs or breasts, cut into ½-inch pieces
1 tbsp + 1 tsp tamari, coconut aminos, or soy sauce
1 tbsp cornstarch
1 tsp salt
Optional: 1 tsp sugar

Sauce Ingredients
6 tbsp sambal oelek or chili garlic sauce
¼ cup unseasoned rice vinegar
½ cup tamari, coconut aminos, or soy sauce
1/3 cup water
2 tsp cornstarch

The rest of the goods
6-8 garlic cloves, finely chopped
3-inches fresh ginger, finely chopped
1 large bunch scallions, trimmed and cut into 1/2-inch pieces
6 celery stalks, timed, cut into ½-inch pieces (Split lengthwise if large first)
1 medium red bell pepper, seeded, cut into ½-inch pieces
Optional: 6-8 ounces medjool dates, pitted, cut into ½-inch pieces
Optional: 3-4 dried red peppers
1 and ½ cups cilantro leaves and tender stems
1/3 cup avocado or olive oil
¾ to 1 cup roasted, salted peanuts or cashews

Prep the chicken first. Combine the chicken marinade ingredients in a large bowl and whisk to combine; now stir in the chicken until well coated, cover, and throw in the fridge.

Stir the sauce together. Stir together the sauce ingredients, set aside. Remember the sauce will need to be well stirred again before adding to suspend the corn starch.

Prep the rest of the goods. Finely chopped the garlic and ginger and set aside in a small bowl or ramekin.
Trim and cut the scallions/green onions, celery, bell pepper, and the dried peppers and dates if using; combine in a small bowl. Prep the cilantro.

Now it’s time to cook. Heat the oil in a large skillet or wok over medium-high heat, add the nuts and cook, stirring frequently, until they’re toasted brown. Remove the skillet/wok from the heat and transfer the nuts (using a slotted spoon) to a small bowl, leaving the oil behind.

Now with your skillet/wok back on the heat, add the ginger/garlic mixture and stir constantly for 30 seconds. Quickly add the chicken mixture and cook, stir frequently, until no longer pink on the outside (and broken apart with no pieces clinging together). Note the chicken isn’t cooked through and will finish cooking with the rest of the vegetables.

Now stir in the scallion, celery, bell pepper, date, and dried pepper mixture; continue to cook and stir for 2-4 minutes until the scallions are bright and the celery and peppers are just beginning to tenderize (taste to be sure, you don’t want them too soft!).
Stir the sauce once more and then pour it into the wok/skillet; cook, stirring fairly often, until the sauce thickens and turns glossy. Remove from the heat, stir in the cilantro and toasted nuts and go to it.

Enjoy.

the Older Bolder Life Friday Feast: Cast Iron Skillet Wings

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I’m not the least bit ashamed to admit that I’ve been a life-long fan of chicken wings, and before becoming a Primally-aligned eater roughly four years ago, had never met a wing prep that I didn’t like.

Chicken wings are an absolutely perfect hand food, just the right size for easy maneuvering to pick all that delicious protein off the bones, with a great ratio of skin to meat (if prepared well) to satisfy the pickiest grilled protein fan.

We have a house favorite grilled chicken wing recipe (dust them with garlic powder and paprika before grilling) that involves basting the flock of wings with our family secret butter and Worcestershire-based sauce, but sometimes the weather just won’t cooperate when you have the itch for wings.

We’ve just come through the rainiest first three months of the year on record here in the DFW area, and recently on day 8 or 9 of what was to be an 11 day straight run of rain, my lovely wife said it was time for wings. Figuring who the hell am I to argue when Momma says it’s time for wings, this recipe came back out of mothballs from a particularly long winter during our Montana days.

With a tip of the hat the original Buffalo Wings recipe which called for a sauce made simply of butter and Frank’s Hot Sauce, we prefer to make this recipe using either a traditional Louisiana-style hot sauce (hello Crystal, my old friend) or with a Tex-Mex bent using something like Valentina.

Oven roasting the wings in a hot oven on a base of cast iron allows the wings to cook slowly enough to absorb the flavors and fat used, yet in a hot enough setting to get nice and crispy and build layers of flavor as you add the hot sauce just a bit at a time over 20 to 30 minutes. Yep, you’ll use an entire bottle of sauce; be patient, you’re building layers of flavor that beat anything you’ll ever see at that wing eatery down the road.

These are great party food by the way, and we like to pour a batch onto a big platter, set it in the middle of the table and let everybody go to it, with your favorite dressing for dipping on the side (we’re torn between blue cheese and a creole honey mustard, with a good ranch a close third).

Roughly two pounds, wings, separated (see note)
7-8 ounces of your favorite hot sauce (see above)
2 tbsp grass fed butter
1 tbsp avocado oil
Good salt and fresh ground pepper
1/4 to 1 tsp cayenne pepper (or Cajun/Creole seasoning)

Fire the oven and preheat to 475.

Prep the wings by cutting off the tips, and then separating the drumettes from the wingettes; save those discarded tips for your next chicken stock batch.

When the wings are prepped and the oven’s almost there, set your largest cast iron skillet on the stover over medium-high heat; when it’s warmed for several minutes melt the butter and oil together in the skillet.

When it’s hot, add the wings and stir to coat, then sprinkle liberally with the salt, pepper, and cayenne, and then spritz just enough of the hot sauce over the wings to give them a coat. Stir the wings and throw in the oven.

Now for the next 2o to 30 minutes, until the wings are fully cooked, browned and crispy, you’re going to pull the skillet from the oven every three minutes, turn the wings over, and coat with more hot sauce (again, just enough to coat the wings).

Serve hot from the oven with your favorite dipping sauce alongside as per above.

Hot damn, these are good. And easy.

Enjoy.

 

the Older Bolder Life Friday Feast: Miso Curry Chicken and Snap Pea Stir Fry

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Even though the interval between the feast of Thanksgiving and the revelry of the Christmas and New Years week is shorter this year, that’s no reason to not keep slinging some varied and interesting dishes out of your kitchen the next few weeks.

One of my fly fishing buddies sent in a version of this Miso Curry Chicken and Snap Pea Stir Fry a few weeks ago, the week before Thanksgiving in fact, and we’ve just gotten around to fiddling with the recipe this past week here in our own kitchen.

While I’m a big curry fan, my wife typically isn’t, objecting to some curry dishes’ overpowering curry-ness (to the point sometimes of being bitter). The addition of a bit of miso and fresh ginger here seems to soften the curry a bit, and makes for a very interesting, almost subtle, and damned tasty variation that we’d never enjoyed at home before.

Fresh sugar snap peas happened to be piled high in the bin as I shopped a few days back, though this dish plays very well with snow peas or haricots verts (the thin French-style green beans) too.

Don’t skimp on the garlic or ginger, and I think this one’s better with a little more heat as well…

3 garlic cloves, sliced thinly
2 and 1/2 tbsp tamari
2 tbsp white miso
1 tbsp good fresh curry powder
2-3 tsp fresh ginger, finely grated
1-2 tsp red pepper flakes, optional
4 tbsp avocado oil, divided
1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts (or mixed with thighs) in 1/2-inch slices
Kosher salt, see notes
3/4 pound prepped and trimmed sugar snap peas, snow peas, or green beans
1/2 cup frozen or fresh (not canned) baby peas
3 green onions, thinly sliced

Combine together the garlic, tamari, miso, curry powder, ginger, red pepper flakes if using, and 2 tbsp oil in a small bowl and set aside.

Heat a tbsp or so oil in a skillet over medium-high heat and then sauté the chicken in a single layer until browned, turn and cook for another minute. You just want the second side of the chicken to become opaque; it won’t be cooked all the way through but remove to a plate anyway-there’s more cooking to come.

Now add the final tbsp of oil to the pan and cook the prepped beans (still on medium-high heat) until they brighten in color and begin to char in spots, 2-3 minutes. Remove to the plate with the chicken.

Reduce the heat to medium, and pour the curry-miso mixture into the same pan, and cook for another couple of minutes, stirring constantly. Look for the garlic to soften a bit and the curry to darken in color. Now add the peas and 1/2 cup of water, then return the chicken and beans to the skillet and toss to coat.

Cook another 3-4 minutes until the sauce has reduced by about half and thickens, tossing occasionally to coat the chicken and beans. Serve hot sprinkled with the chopped green onions/scallions.

Enjoy.