Eye for a Recipe

I recently attended a class at the PC Cooking school given by one of my favourite cookbook authors, Chef Daphna Rabinovitch. The theme was chicken and this five-spice chicken recipe was among the best of the night. Coat chicken pieces with an aromatic rub, roast and top with a sweet glaze. Delicious!

Avoiding Additives and Preservatives

Make sure your spices don’t contain colour or anti-caking ingredients. Use tamari instead of soy sauce. Recipes for homemade five-spice powder and hoisin sauce are below.

Ingredients:

2 tbsp (30 ml) packed light brown sugar

1 tbsp (15 ml) sweet paprika

4 cloves garlic, minced

2 tsp (10 ml) five-spice powder (see recipe below)

1 tsp (5 ml) fennel seed, crushed

1 tsp (5 ml) dry mustard

¼ tsp (1 ml) each salt and pepper

3 lb (1.36 k) bone-in, skin-on chicken pieces

Glaze

¼ cup (60 ml) hoisin sauce (see recipe below)

2 tbsp (30 ml) maple syrup

2 tbsp (30 ml) honey

1 tbsp (15 ml) minced fresh ginger

1 tbsp (15 ml) tamari or soy sauce

Five-spice Mix

2 tablespoons (30 ml) whole fennel seeds

1 tablespoon (15 ml) Timut or Sichuan peppercorns

2 tablespoons (30 ml) whole cloves

2 tablespoons (30 ml) whole star anise

2 tablespoons (30 ml) cinnamon powder

Hoisin

1 tablespoon (15 ml) tahini

1 teaspoon (5 ml) five-spice powder

2 tablespoons (30 ml) light soy sauce

2 tablespoons (30 ml) rice vinegar

½ cup (125 ml) miso paste

¼ cup (60 ml) water

1/3 cup (75 ml) honey

1 clove garlic, microplaned

Preparation:

Five-spice powder

Toast the fennel seeds and Timut or Sichuan peppercorns together in a frying pan over medium-low heat until fragrant. Remove from heat and mix with cloves and star anise.

Grind the mix into a powder using a spice grinder or a mortar and pestle. Stir in the cinnamon.

There will be more mix than needed to make this recipe. Save the extra for later use in an air-tight jar on the spice shelf.

Hoisin

Add all hoisin ingredients to a small pot. Whisk together and heat over medium low, stirring often, until thickened (approximately 5 to 10 minutes). Bubbles will gently start to rise to the surface and the colour of the mixture will start to darken slightly.

Set aside to cool.

Glaze

Stir together hoisin sauce, maple syrup, honey, fresh ginger and soy sauce; set aside.

Chicken

In small bowl, mix together brown sugar, paprika, garlic, five-spice power, fennel seeds, mustard, salt and pepper. Place chicken pieces in baking dish or resealable plastic bag. Coat with spice rub, coating well and evenly. Cover dish with plastic wrap or seal bag and marinate in refrigerated for 2-8 hours.

Preheat oven to 375 F (190 C).

Bring chicken to room temperature for 30 minutes. Transfer chicken pieces to large aluminum foil-lined baking sheet. Brush with half of glaze. Roast in centre of preheated oven, brushing once halfway through with remaining glaze, for 35-45 minutes or until juices run clear when chicken is pierced with a fork. Serves 4-6.

From Daphna Rabinovitch

Recently my friend Lisa and I attended a class at the President’s Choice Cooking School, which took place in the Loblaws store at Maple Leaf Gardens. Chef Guy Troendlin made these delicious lobster tails, topped with a tarragon cream sauce. I couldn’t wait to try them at home and was very happy with the results. Frozen lobster tails are on the small side, so plan on two per person.

Avoiding Additives and Preservatives

The first challenge was to find out if the frozen lobster tails at the Bloor Street Market, where we shop, contained any additives. They don’t! Be sure to use fresh tarragon, butter that has no colour and cream with no additives. I used a white wine from Frogpond Farm with a sulfite level below 10 parts per million.

Ingredients:

Four frozen lobster tails, thawed

2 tbsp (30 ml) fresh tarragon, chopped

1 small shallot, peeled and sliced

1 clove garlic, minced

½ cup (125 ml) dry white wine

1 tbsp olive oil

1 tsp unsalted butter

½ cup (125 ml) whipping cream (35%)

Salt and pepper to taste

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 450 F (232 C).

Place tip of blade of a large, sharp knife in the middle of a lobster tail. Bring the knife down, cutting the lobster shell. Loosen the meat from the shell without removing it. The tail and the shell should stay connected. Repeat with remaining lobster tails.

Melt butter in frying pan over medium heat; do not let the butter brown. Place the lobster tails in the plan, cut side down, and sear them for about a minute. Remove from pan and place tails, cut side up, on foil-lined baking sheet and drizzle with olive oil, tarragon, salt and pepper. Bake in preheated oven for about 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, in the same frying pan, sauté shallot until transparent (add more butter or oil if required). Add garlic and sauté for about 15 seconds. Add white wine and simmer until wine evaporates. Add cream, tarragon and season to taste with salt and pepper. Keep sauce warm.

Place two lobster tails on each dinner plate and top with sauce. Serves 2.

From Chef Guy Troendlin at the President’s Choice Cooking School