Eye for a Recipe

This is a great recipe from Ruth Reichl’s terrific book My Kitchen Year. You can quarter a whole chicken or use chicken pieces. This takes some preparation – for a same-day dinner, make the oil early in the day and marinate the chicken in the early afternoon. Or, even better, do it all the day before.

Avoiding Additives and Preservatives

Make sure the paprika does not contain colour or anti-caking ingredients.

Make the chili oil

Place strained chili oil and lemon slices in bag with chicken and marinate for at least four hours

Remove chicken from marinade, pat dry and sprinkle with pepper before browning and baking

Chicken Diavolo

Ingredients:

1 chicken, quartered

2 large jalapeno chiles

2 serrano chiles

2 lemons

¾ cup (180 ml) plus 1 tbsp (15 ml) olive oil

2 tbsp (30 ml) hot paprika

Salt

Pepper

Preparation:

Make chile oil by chopping the jalapeno and serrano chiles, and putting them in a small saucepan with ¾ cup (180 ml) of olive oil.  Add the hot paprika.  Grind a fair amount of black pepper into the pot and steep over medium heat for about 15 minutes.  Let it sit overnight (or all day).  If you prefer not to make the oil, you can simply buy a bottle of chile oil.

Put a strainer over a large bowl and strain the chile oil. Slice a couple of lemons and add them to the bowl. Season with salt.

Place chicken in resealable bag and pour in the oil and lemon mixture. Move chicken around to make sure all pieces are coated with the marinade. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours (and up to a day).

Preheat your oven to 500 degrees F (260 C). When the oven is ready, heat a cast iron skillet until it’s quite hot and smoking.  Meanwhile, remove the chicken from the chile oil and pat it dry.  Sprinkle it with salt and shower it with freshly ground pepper; you need a lot. Slick the bottom of the pan with olive oil and put the chicken, skin side down, in the hot skillet. Cook until the skin is crisp and golden, which should take 5-10 minutes.  Turn the chicken over so it’s skin-side up.

Put the skillet in the preheated oven and roast about 30 minutes, or until a thermometer registers 170 degrees F (76 C) in the thickest part of the thigh.

Sprinkle with lemon juice, grind more pepper over the chicken and allow to rest 10 minutes before serving. Serves 4.

From My Kitchen Year by Ruth Reichl

This delicious salad from Bon Appetit is a delicious side dish or vegetarian entrée. Cook scallion whites, oil, hot pepper flakes and Sichuan pepper over a low heat to make the oil. To make the dressing combine the oil with tahini, rice vinegar, soy sauce, sesame oil and sugar. Combine with the cooked noodles of your choice.

Avoiding Additives and Preservatives

Check the spices to make sure they don’t contain colour or anti-caking additives. Tahini should contain only sesame. I use Marukan rice vinegar, tamari (which uses alcohol as a preservative, not sodium benzoate) and Spectrum Natural sesame oil.

Make the chili oil

Add the tahini and other ingredients to make the dressing

Sesame noodles with chili oil and scallions

Ingredients:

4 scallions, whites and greens separated, thinly sliced

½ cup (125 ml) vegetable oil

1 tablespoon (15 ml) crushed red pepper flakes

2 teaspoons (10 ml) sesame seeds

2 teaspoons (10 ml) Sichuan pepper, coarsely chopped

12 ounces (340 g) thin ramen noodles or spaghettini

Kosher salt

¼ cup (60 ml) tahini (sesame seed paste)

¼ cup (60 ml) unseasoned rice vinegar

3 tablespoons (45 ml) reduced-sodium soy sauce

2 teaspoons (10 ml) toasted sesame oil

1 teaspoon (5 ml) sugar

Preparation:

Cook scallion whites, vegetable oil, red pepper flakes, sesame seeds, and pepper in a small saucepan over low heat, stirring occasionally, until oil is sizzling and scallions are golden brown, 12–15 minutes; let chili oil cool in saucepan.

Meanwhile, cook noodles in a large pot of salted boiling water until al dente; drain. Rinse under cold water and drain well.

Whisk tahini, vinegar, soy sauce, sesame oil, sugar, and 2–3 tablespoons (30-45 ml) chili oil (depending on desired heat) in a large bowl; season with salt. Add noodles and toss to coat. Top with scallion greens and drizzle with more chili oil. Serves 4.

From Bon Appetit