![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
coraaDinner tonight! This was inspired by the fact that a) I had some nice chicken breasts, b) I hadn't used the sous vide in a while, and c) the spinach really, really needed using before it got sad.
Poached Chicken with Mushroom and Spinach Orichette
This is a fairly simple dish, which doesn't require a ton of hands-on time. It does, however, require a fair bit of stovetop time, because it has three separate components (making the court bouillon to poach with, prepping and poaching the chicken, making the orichette dish), and the orichette dish involves caramelized onions and mushrooms, which aren't difficult but which take a while.
But you don't have to make it all at once! I usually make it in this order:
* Salt the chicken and let it rest
* Make the court bouillon
* Finish the chicken
* While the chicken is cooking, make the orichette
But you could easily do it like:
* Make the court bouillon a day or two in advance and refrigerate it
* Cook the chicken
* While the chicken is cooking, make the orichette
Or even:
* Make the orichette in advance and chill it
* Make the court bouillon
* Cook the chicken
* Serve the orichette cold, as a pasta salad (or pile it into a baking dish, top with a little grated cheese of your choice, and bake to reheat like a macaroni and cheese dish)
...or whatever floats your particular boat.
Court Bouillon
Slice the shallot, the lemon, and the celery. Since you won't be eating these directly, you don't need the pieces to be bite-size or uniform; I just slice them all into about 1/2-inch thick slices.
Place the shallot, lemon and celery in a small saucepan. Add the water and white wine, the peppercorns, and the thyme. Bring to a full boil, then reduce to a gentle simmer and simmer about 10 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool (it doesn't have to get all the way to cold, you just want it to not be searing hot: say, about 15-30 minutes of cooling time is sufficient).
Poached Chicken
Generously salt the chicken on both sides and let sit for about an hour. (You're supposed to do this in the refrigerator. I, uh, don't always bother, but I'm probably courting disaster that way. Use your best judgment.) This both seasons the meat and helps protect it from drying out during cooking.
To cook sous vide: Preheat the sous vide to 140F. Put the chicken in a sous vide bag, pour the court bouillon mixture on top (including the lemon slices, shallot, etc), seal, and submerge. Cook for at least an hour per inch of thickness at the thickest part of the breast (but since it's a sous vide, you can leave it quite a bit longer, if you want).
To oven-poach: Preheat the oven to 300F. Lay out two pieces of heavy-duty aluminum foil, one atop the other, and put the chicken on that. Fold the foil over the chicken and tightly crimp shut two sides, so that you have the chicken in a foil 'pocket' with one open side. Place in a baking dish (in case the foil leaks, which it probably will). Pour the court bouillon mixture into the pocket (including the lemon slices, shallot, etc.), and then crimp the last side, sealing it up. Pop in the 300F oven and cook until the chicken is done; how long this takes will depend on the thickness of the chicken, the temperature of the bouillon, and so on, but I'd start checking after half an hour. When it's done, a thermometer will read around 165F, and the meat will be opaque all through.
However you did this, you'll want to remove the chicken. Technically, court bouillon can be reused—strain out the solid bits, bring the liquid to a full boil for a minute, then cool and freeze until you want to use it; when you use it, bring the liquid to a full boil again before using. But I generally don't bother, to be honest.
Mushroom and Spinach Orichette
Coarsely chop the shallot. Slice the mushrooms.
In a medium skillet, heat the vegetable oil over high heat. When the oil is shimmering but hasn't quite started to smoke, add the shallot and mushroom. (It's okay if it's piled up a bit; it'll cook down.) Cook, stirring constantly, over high heat for five minutes; the shallot and mushrooms will soften, cook down, and begin to brown, but they shouldn't blacken or stick.
At the end of five minutes, turn the heat down to low. Add a good pinch of salt and a good pinch of sugar, and the butter. Cook, stirring, until the butter melts. Let the mixture cook without stirring for 15 minutes, over low heat. (The heat should be so low that the mixture should not sizzle. If it hisses or sizzles, turn the heat down. If the lowest your stove goes still results in hissing or sizzling, you'll need to give it a stir every five minutes or so, just to prevent sticking and burning.)
Give the mixture a stir and then cook another fifteen minutes. (You can skip the second cooking step if you want, and it won't hurt anything, although the caramelized flavor will be less intense.)
Crush the garlic and add to the pan, along with ground black pepper to taste. Continue to cook until thoroughly fragrant, about five minutes.
Wash a good-sized bunch of spinach and dry. (They don't need to be bone-dry, just not dripping wet.) Coarsely chop into ribbons.
Prepare the orichette according to package directions. (Use 1 cup of pasta for a vegetables-with-pasta dish, 2 cups for a pasta-with-vegetable-sauce dish.) Reserve 1/4 cup of the cooking liquid before you drain.
Turn the heat up to high under the onion mixture and cook 1-2 minutes, or until pan is quite hot. Add the white wine, stir well, and cook about 5 minutes, or until the liquid reduces by half and is syrupy. Add the spinach to the pan, cover, and lower the heat to medium-low. Let steam until the spinach is thoroughly wilted. (How long this takes will depend on the spinach: baby spinach will wilt almost instantly, while mature spinach will take longer.)
Uncover the pan, add the reserved pasta cooking water, and turn the heat up to high to reduce the mixture further; you want it to be fairly thick, rather than vegetable bits floating in liquid, but still moist. Stir often enough to keep it from sticking and scorching.
Remove from the heat. Add cream and a pinch of nutmeg, and stir well. Taste and adjust seasonings as needed. Stir in the cooked orichette.
Optional: immediately before serving, brighten up the flavor a bit with a spritz of fresh lemon juice.
The pictures aren't the best, because poached chicken and a spinach-mushroom pasta dish aren't the most photogenic foods in the world, but if you're curious:
(I should've brightened it up with a bit of parsley, but what can I say: presentation is not my strong suit.)
Poached Chicken with Mushroom and Spinach Orichette
This is a fairly simple dish, which doesn't require a ton of hands-on time. It does, however, require a fair bit of stovetop time, because it has three separate components (making the court bouillon to poach with, prepping and poaching the chicken, making the orichette dish), and the orichette dish involves caramelized onions and mushrooms, which aren't difficult but which take a while.
But you don't have to make it all at once! I usually make it in this order:
* Salt the chicken and let it rest
* Make the court bouillon
* Finish the chicken
* While the chicken is cooking, make the orichette
But you could easily do it like:
* Make the court bouillon a day or two in advance and refrigerate it
* Cook the chicken
* While the chicken is cooking, make the orichette
Or even:
* Make the orichette in advance and chill it
* Make the court bouillon
* Cook the chicken
* Serve the orichette cold, as a pasta salad (or pile it into a baking dish, top with a little grated cheese of your choice, and bake to reheat like a macaroni and cheese dish)
...or whatever floats your particular boat.
Court Bouillon
- 1 large shallot (you can also use half a medium yellow onion)
- 1 lemon
- 1 stalk celery
- 3/4 cup water
- 1/2 cup dry white wine, or substitute 2 tbsp white wine or cider vinegar plus 6 tablespoons water
- 1 tbsp whole peppercorns, or 1 tsp ground pepper
- 4-6 sprigs fresh thyme
Slice the shallot, the lemon, and the celery. Since you won't be eating these directly, you don't need the pieces to be bite-size or uniform; I just slice them all into about 1/2-inch thick slices.
Place the shallot, lemon and celery in a small saucepan. Add the water and white wine, the peppercorns, and the thyme. Bring to a full boil, then reduce to a gentle simmer and simmer about 10 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool (it doesn't have to get all the way to cold, you just want it to not be searing hot: say, about 15-30 minutes of cooling time is sufficient).
Poached Chicken
- 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- coarse salt
Generously salt the chicken on both sides and let sit for about an hour. (You're supposed to do this in the refrigerator. I, uh, don't always bother, but I'm probably courting disaster that way. Use your best judgment.) This both seasons the meat and helps protect it from drying out during cooking.
To cook sous vide: Preheat the sous vide to 140F. Put the chicken in a sous vide bag, pour the court bouillon mixture on top (including the lemon slices, shallot, etc), seal, and submerge. Cook for at least an hour per inch of thickness at the thickest part of the breast (but since it's a sous vide, you can leave it quite a bit longer, if you want).
To oven-poach: Preheat the oven to 300F. Lay out two pieces of heavy-duty aluminum foil, one atop the other, and put the chicken on that. Fold the foil over the chicken and tightly crimp shut two sides, so that you have the chicken in a foil 'pocket' with one open side. Place in a baking dish (in case the foil leaks, which it probably will). Pour the court bouillon mixture into the pocket (including the lemon slices, shallot, etc.), and then crimp the last side, sealing it up. Pop in the 300F oven and cook until the chicken is done; how long this takes will depend on the thickness of the chicken, the temperature of the bouillon, and so on, but I'd start checking after half an hour. When it's done, a thermometer will read around 165F, and the meat will be opaque all through.
However you did this, you'll want to remove the chicken. Technically, court bouillon can be reused—strain out the solid bits, bring the liquid to a full boil for a minute, then cool and freeze until you want to use it; when you use it, bring the liquid to a full boil again before using. But I generally don't bother, to be honest.
Mushroom and Spinach Orichette
- 2 large shallots or 1 medium yellow onion
- 1/4 lb crimini mushrooms (or substitute white button mushrooms)
- 1 tbsp vegetable oil (I use regular—not extra-virgin—olive oil)
- salt
- sugar
- 1 tbsp butter
- 2 cloves garlic
- black pepper
- 1 good-sized bunch fresh spinach
- 1-2 cups orichette pasta (see recipe for notes)
- 1/4 cup white wine, or substitute 1 tbsp white wine or cider vinegar plus 3 tbsp water
- 2 tbsp cream (honestly I just use whatever I have on hand: heavy cream, half-and-half, whatever)
- Nutmeg (optional, but nice)
- Fresh lemon juice (also optional but nice)
Coarsely chop the shallot. Slice the mushrooms.
In a medium skillet, heat the vegetable oil over high heat. When the oil is shimmering but hasn't quite started to smoke, add the shallot and mushroom. (It's okay if it's piled up a bit; it'll cook down.) Cook, stirring constantly, over high heat for five minutes; the shallot and mushrooms will soften, cook down, and begin to brown, but they shouldn't blacken or stick.
At the end of five minutes, turn the heat down to low. Add a good pinch of salt and a good pinch of sugar, and the butter. Cook, stirring, until the butter melts. Let the mixture cook without stirring for 15 minutes, over low heat. (The heat should be so low that the mixture should not sizzle. If it hisses or sizzles, turn the heat down. If the lowest your stove goes still results in hissing or sizzling, you'll need to give it a stir every five minutes or so, just to prevent sticking and burning.)
Give the mixture a stir and then cook another fifteen minutes. (You can skip the second cooking step if you want, and it won't hurt anything, although the caramelized flavor will be less intense.)
Crush the garlic and add to the pan, along with ground black pepper to taste. Continue to cook until thoroughly fragrant, about five minutes.
Wash a good-sized bunch of spinach and dry. (They don't need to be bone-dry, just not dripping wet.) Coarsely chop into ribbons.
Prepare the orichette according to package directions. (Use 1 cup of pasta for a vegetables-with-pasta dish, 2 cups for a pasta-with-vegetable-sauce dish.) Reserve 1/4 cup of the cooking liquid before you drain.
Turn the heat up to high under the onion mixture and cook 1-2 minutes, or until pan is quite hot. Add the white wine, stir well, and cook about 5 minutes, or until the liquid reduces by half and is syrupy. Add the spinach to the pan, cover, and lower the heat to medium-low. Let steam until the spinach is thoroughly wilted. (How long this takes will depend on the spinach: baby spinach will wilt almost instantly, while mature spinach will take longer.)
Uncover the pan, add the reserved pasta cooking water, and turn the heat up to high to reduce the mixture further; you want it to be fairly thick, rather than vegetable bits floating in liquid, but still moist. Stir often enough to keep it from sticking and scorching.
Remove from the heat. Add cream and a pinch of nutmeg, and stir well. Taste and adjust seasonings as needed. Stir in the cooked orichette.
Optional: immediately before serving, brighten up the flavor a bit with a spritz of fresh lemon juice.
The pictures aren't the best, because poached chicken and a spinach-mushroom pasta dish aren't the most photogenic foods in the world, but if you're curious:
 |
| From Food 2010 |
(I should've brightened it up with a bit of parsley, but what can I say: presentation is not my strong suit.)
