Sunday, August 26, 2012

Creamy Loves Crunchy!

sophisticated chicken fingers ...

slightly fussy to make, but totally fabulous ...

we ate this so fast there was nothing left for a photo :)

serves 2 - 4


for the risotto (the creamy):

1 cup Arborio rice
1 Tb olive oil 
fresh chicken stock (see below), simmering
1/4 cub dry white wine
3oz. unsalted butter, at room temperature
coarse sea salt (e.g., Maldon)

 for the chicken fingers (the crunchy):
1 large chicken breast (or 2 small), bone in
1 cup stone ground corn meal
3 Tb olive oil

 for the marinade:
1/2 cup dry white wine
1 tsp chopped fresh rosemary
1 Tb chopped fresh Italian parsley
1 clove garlic, sliced thinly
scant 1/4 cup olive oil
pinch salt
generous pinch freshly ground black pepper

for the stock:
bone from chicken breast
4 cups cold water
1 stalk celery, coarsely chopped
1 medium onion, coarsley chopped
1 bay leaf
1 clove garlic, smashed
1 stalk fresh Italian parsley

for the veg:
garden haricots verts or other very fresh local green beans
water


Remove the skin and fat from the chicken breasts and discard. Bone the chicken breasts.Pound the breast meat between two sheets of wax paper to an even 3/8" thick. Slice into strips 1" wide. Set aside.

Put the bone in a large saucepan with the cold water. Bring to a simmer. Skim off any gray foam. Add the vegetables (under "for the stock"). Bring back to a bare simmer and cover askew. Simmer on very lowest heat for at least one hour. Do NOT add any other ingredients - salt, pepper, etc. This stock should be beautifully flavored but very gentle, pale, and subtle.

In a tightly covered container, shake all the marinade ingredients. Add the chicken pieces and shake again. Allow to marinate, refrigerated, for 1 - 4 hours.

********** time goes by ********************************


Strain the stock and discard the vegetables. Keep at a bare simmer.

Place the green beans in a covered skillet with 1/2 cup cold water and set aside.

Remove the chicken pieces from the marinade and place on paper towels. Blot fairly dry. Set aside. Discard marinade (germs).

Put the dinner plates in a 170 degree oven to heat.

Heat the oil from the risotto ingredients in a heavy-bottomed sauce pan over medium heat. Add the rice and stir to coat all the grains. Cook for 3 - 5 minutes or until fragrant and translucent. Add 2 ladles full of the hot stock and stir. Reduce to a bare simmer. Add another ladle of stock each time the liquid is absorbed. In other words, do the basic risotto thing.

When rice is starting to swell and outer kernel is soft while interior is still crunchy (probably 10 - 15 minutes into a 20 - 30 minute total cook time), start cooking the chicken:

Pre-heat a large (12 - 14"), heavy non-stick skillet over a high flame. While it is heating, toss the chicken pieces in the cornmeal. Add the olive oil to the pan. It should be very hot - almost smoking. Lay the chicken pieces carefully in the pan. Cook 4 - 5 minutes per side, or until firm and dark golden brown.

While the chicken is cooking, place the skillet with the beans over high heat and cook until still bright green - 5 - 8 minutes. Don't forget to keep checking the risotto and adding stock if needed.

When everything is miraculously done at the same moment ;), add a ladle of stock and the butter to the risotto and stir. It is key that the risotto be very loose and creamy, not thick and sludgy. If it looks too  wet and runny, it is exactly right. Otherwise you end up with wodgy instead of creamy.

Serve on the warmed plates. Season with the sea salt and grind some pepper over all.

NOTE: Do not gussy up the beans with butter or other mud. (There is butter in the rice.) Do not put cheese or other adulterations in the risotto. The essence of this plate is texture, color, and subtle chickeny flavors.


Serve with a sturdy white wine, such as a St. Innocent Pinot Gris from Oregon (purchased at Rayr in Rockport), or light red like the Chermette Beaujolais I bought at Rosemont's Yarmouth store recently.

Eat each crunchy bite of chicken with a bit of the saucy, evocative risotto. Heaven.