Food From Provence - Chicken , Potatoes, Tomatoes, Garlic - Perfect for a Family Dinner

When we get together for Family Dinner its a great opportunity to find something different to cook.
I took my inspiration this time from the NY Times Cook Column, which is emailed to me almost everyday.

The aromas coming out of my kitchen, while the food was cooking. Divine. Garlic, onions, Herbes de Provence, Roast Chicken. Close your eyes and imagine this
Such a lucky Family, I reckon

Quite a lot of prep is required, but the up side is once it's all prepared just some last minute heating, plenty of time to sit and drink some wine with you guests

So The Menu read
Cauliflower and Cashew Soup
French Provencal Chicken
French Provencal Potatoes ( courtesy Julia Child) 
Accompanied by
Charred Broccoli and Rocket Salad
and to Follow The Best Ever Coconut and Chocolate Chip Cake 

For this post I will just address the Main Course.
First Course and "Pudding" later

The chicken dish required Skin on, Bone in, Chicken Thighs, but when you are cooling for a crowd
That takes up a lot of space in the oven.
So I decided to bone the thighs myself. Much neater
Took a while but I am very pleased with my labour,
Tidy little thighs with a bag of bones for roasting, to make stock

So the bonus, some rendered chicken fat and some very tasty stock, for a later date

French Provencal Chicken
This amount will feed four people
I was feeding 11, so hence the quantities you see in the photos
Adapt as you see fit
The recipe called for Vermouth but I don't normally have that on hand so I used a dry white wine

INGREDIENTS
    •    8 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs
    •    2 teaspoons kosher salt
    •    1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
    •    ½ to ¾ cup all-purpose flour
    •    3 tablespoons olive oil
    •    2 tablespoons Herbes de Provence
    •    1 lemon, quartered
    •    8 to 10 cloves garlic, peeled
    •    4 to 6 medium-size shallots, peeled and halved
    •    ⅓ cup dry white wine
    •    4 sprigs of thyme, for serving

PREPARATION
Heat oven to 400 degrees.
Season the chicken with salt and pepper.
Put the flour in a shallow pan, and lightly dredge the
chicken in it, shaking the pieces to remove excess flour.
Swirl the oil in a hot large roasting pan, and place the
floured chicken in it.
Turn the chicken over to oil all sides

Season the chicken with the Herbes de Provence.
Arrange the lemon, garlic cloves and shallots around
the chicken, then add the vermouth to the pan.
Put the pan in the oven, and roast for 25 to 30 minutes,
then baste it with the pan juices.
Continue roasting for another 25 to 30 minutes,
or until the chicken is very crisp and the meat
cooked through.
Transfer to a warm Platter and serve

Now for the French Provencal Potatoes, 
just like Potato Gratin, but using soft fragrant onions and tomatoes sauteed in olive oil for the liquid instead of milk and cream
I didn't use the  anchovies, as our grandson is allergic to fish
So I just smashed the garlic with the Herbes de Provence and olive oil
Add this paste to the onion and tomato
I have left the anchovies in the recipe as Next time, I will add them

    •    2 to 3 onions, thinly sliced (2 heaping cups)
    •    ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil, more for drizzling
    •     Salt and freshly cracked black pepper
    •    1 ½ pounds ripe tomatoes, seeded and cut into strips about 3/8-inch wide
    •    1 2-ounce can anchovies packed in olive oil, drained (reserve anchovies and oil separately)
    •    2 large cloves garlic, smashed and peeled
    •    2 teaspoons dried herbes de Provence
    •     About 2 pounds thin-skinned, waxy potatoes like Yukon Gold, sliced 1/8-inch thick 
          (6 to 7 cups)
    •    ½ cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano or Gruyère

Heat oven to 400 degrees and place a rack at the middle level.
In a large saucepan, combine onions and 2 tablespoons olive oil
and stir to coat over low heat.
Sprinkle lightly with salt.
At a gentle simmer, cook uncovered until onions
are softened and lightly golden, 10 to 15 minutes,
stirring often. Do not brown; lower the heat if necessary.

When done, fold in tomatoes just until heated through.
Set aside.

In a small food processor or a mortar, add the anchovies
anywhere from 6 to 12 fillets, depending on their
size and your taste.
Add garlic, herbs and a dozen grinds of pepper.
Add 2 tablespoons olive oil (or use the oil from the
anchovy can, if you like).
Crush or pulse together into a chunky paste,
thinning with oil as needed to make a loose, fluid mixture.
Add to the onion tomato mixture

In a medium-size baking dish, spread a quarter of the
onion-tomato mixture.
On top, arrange half the potato slices,
Add half the remaining onion-tomato mixture.

Build one more layer with remaining potato slices,

then onion-tomato mixture.
Sprinkle cheese on top and drizzle with olive oil.

If the dish is very full, place on a baking sheet.
Transfer to oven and bake, uncovered, until the potatoes
are tender and have absorbed all of the juices in the
bottom of the dish, 40 to 50 minutes.
Test by tasting a bit of potato; it should be soft all the
way through, with no raw taste.
If the top is browning too fast, cover very loosely with
a sheet of foil.
If the top is not brown enough when the potatoes
are cooked, broil briefly until deliciously glazed.
Serve gratin hot or warm.

Can be cooled and reheated later the same day,
but do not refrigerate.
 So you do need something green with this meal 
How about this Charred Broccoli and Rocket Salad 

Just a slightly different touch to the Broccoli
A quick char on a grill for that extra flavour

Ingredients
Serve 6
 
2 heads of broccoli, florets separated, stems peeled and reserved
Kosher salt
3 tablespoons olive oil


Dressing
1 oil-packed anchovy fillet
1 garlic clove
⅔ cup mayonnaise
¼ cup buttermilk
1 cup tarragon leaves
¼ cup chopped chives
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1½ teaspoons Dijon mustard


Finishing touches
3 cups mature arugula, tough stems removed, leaves torn

Make the Dressing first  
Purée anchovy, garlic, mayonnaise, buttermilk, chervil, tarragon, chives, lemon juice, and mustard in a blender until smooth; season dressing with salt.
This can be made ahead and will keep for up to 2 days
Cover and chill

Cook broccoli in a large pot of boiling salted water until bright green and crisp-tender, 
about 2 minutes. Drain; transfer to a bowl of ice water. Let cool, then drain. Pat broccoli dry; place in a large bowl.

Prepare a grill for medium-high heat. Drizzle broccoli with oil and toss to coat; season with salt. Grill broccoli, turning occasionally, until charred in spots, 5–7 minutes.

Return to bowl and let cool, tossing occasionally.
Add Rocket to Broccoli and toss to combine.
Drizzle salad with ¾ cup dressing and toss to coat; season with more salt if needed.
Arrange salad on a platter

The actual recipe, suggested sprinkling smoked cheddar over the top
That didn't work with my Provencal flavours, but I knew it could work another time
So keep this in mind for another occasion


On the Waste Not, Want Not part of this post
First the bits of potato, which didn't look attractive enough for the Gratin
Don't waste please
I cooked them in some boiling salted water, drained and mashed with some olive oil
into the fridge
There was some also leftover chicken
 So last night, I made a  roux with some of the chicken fat and used the stock underneath to make a very chickeny sauce

 Added the chicken cut into chunks and some frozen corn and more Herbes de Provence

Add 2-3 tablespoons of the leftover Salad dressing, that tarragon flavour... perfect to add to the chicken

Here you go
I used some of this chicken mixture
Topped with the mashed potato

Voila, Dinner for one

And the good news is there is a whole pile of chicken mixture to go into the freezer to be used at a later date.
Delicious

Perfect Chicken Stock and What to do with It

Before Google, when I needed hints on cooking… of course, I used to spend hours, hunting through my lovely cookbooks
I’m sorry to say now… I pop onto one of my devices and put in 2-3 relevant words and up come so many choices,...Meanwhile the lovely Cookbooks just sit there on my bookshelves.
They may not get the attention they deserve but I do still love seeing them there
Good if there is a power cut?

So I wanted to make some beautiful Chicken Stock.
The grandchildren were coming over to make homemade pasta

Ravioli, I thought. Looking back through my blog, I picked up some ideas that I had posted earlier

One of the sauces I made was using chicken stock, butter and sage leaves
So not just any old chicken stock, thank you, but some clear, almost consommé… the only way to go
To do that of course, that means clarifying the stock
So off the Web I went, and I found this simple way on this Better Homes and Gardens site


First make the stock, I bought chicken nibbles, lots of bones to get some good flavour
So place the chicken nibbles or chicken carcasses, what ever you are using into a roasting pan,
1 large onion peeled and cut into quarters
1 large carrot rough chopped
Couple of stalks of celery, roughly chopped
I tossed them in a couple of tablespoons of Vegeta Chicken Stock and couple of tablespoons of olive oil

Into 180C oven and roast about 20-30 minutes till golden

Then transfer to a big pot
Cover with water and simmer for about 45 minutes
Strain through a lined sieve

After it is strained I removed the meat off those bones and it made a wonderful filling for some yummy sandwiches
Just mix with some Mayo, Season with Salt and pepper, A chopped gherkin and sometimes, celery for the crunch
A little of the Gherkin liquor for a little extra flavour

How to Clarify the Stock in 4 Easy Steps
To clarify stock, first strain stock by ladling it through a colander or sieve lined with 1 or 2 layers of 100-percent-cotton cheesecloth, (I used a chux cloth)
Discard bones, vegetables

Separate an egg (discard the yolk or save for another use).
In a small bowl, combine the egg white and 1/4 cup cold water.

Stir the mixture into the hot, strained stock. Bring to boiling.
Remove from heat and let stand for 5 minutes.
(As the egg white cooks, it will coagulate and trap fine particles from the stock.)
This is called a Raft

Place a large sieve or colander lined with damp paper towels over a large bowl.
Pour the stock through the paper towels to strain out the particles and egg white

 I wasn't totally satisfied with that, so I repeated the clarifying
Ah that looks better

If you don't want a brown stock don’t roast the chicken and vegetables,
just sauté gently in some olive oil, just to get that flavour moving.
Cover with water, season with S & P and simmer for 30-45 minutes

In fact, I needed another poached chicken breast, so I made some more stock
After the chicken was cooked, I added some bones from 2 chicken carcasses
Followed the Clarifying process as above
How about this for clear stock
All set for the freezer

 The children did a wonderful job on the Ravioli
Click here to see how to make the pasta

We made a simple filling
A gently sautéed chopped leek, in olive oil
Some soft goats cheese
A really good grate of Pecorino cheese
The zest of a lemon
Freshly ground black pepper
Taste and if you feel the need perhaps a pinch of sea salt
Don’t forget the Pecorino and goats cheese are quite salty

For the Sauce
1 cup Chicken Stock, Homemade if possible
6 sage leaves
2 tablespoons butter
Salt and pepper
Bring to the boil, turn down and simmer
Add ravioli

I am so thrilled my kids have sophistcated tastes
They loved these Ravioli