Cauliflower Chicken Casserole with Spinach Bechamel

This is a hoity-toity take on the classic noodle casserole, which I love to eat, but hate to have to work off at the gym. And since I really loathe the gym, I decided to try a healthier version. Now, this isn't exactly diet food, and you will still need to watch your portions, but it's not made from canned fatty soup, and it doesn't contain 2 cups of cheese. So it's a lot lower in fat and sodium, and has plenty of vegetables. The best part is that it's truly a complete meal in one dish.

1 head cauliflower, chopped into bite-size pieces
1 pkg chopped spinach, thawed
2 chicken cutlets, off bone, no skin, cut into bite-size pieces
1 small onion, peeled
5 - 8 whole cloves
1/4 cup butter or olive oil
1/4 cup flour
2 cups lowfat or skim milk
1/3 bag egg noodles, cooked to very al dente
1 cup cheddar cheese (can use lowfat cheese)
salt and black pepper to taste

First, make the bechamel this way: Preheat oven to 350. Melt the butter (or heat the oil) in an oven-proof saucepan over medium heat. Whisk in the flour and make a nice, toasty roux. Whisk in the milk until smooth. Stick the cloves into the onion and then place the whole onion into the milk sauce. Place the saucepan into the oven and let thicken about 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, saute the chicken in a drizzle of olive oil until cooked through. Remove from pan and set aside. In same pan, saute the spinach and season with salt. Set aside. Cook the egg noodles and drain. You can use the same water to boil the cauliflower, about 5-7 minutes, until tender-crisp.

To assemble: When the bechamel is done, remove the onion and discard. Stir in the sauteed spinach until evenly distributed throughout the sauce. Then, in a large bowl, mix together all ingredients except for HALF the cheddar cheese. Add freshly ground black pepper and more salt to taste. Pour chicken mixture into a lightly greased casserole pan and push down into corners and smooth the top. Sprinkle the remaining cheese on top. Bake 35 minutes at 350.

I'm planning to make this again tomorrow night, and will put up photos then. In the meantime, enjoy!

Semi-Asian Chicken & Veggies

Sesame oil gives this dish a subtly Asian flavor which is enhanced by the use of celery. If you are assiduous about draining the oil from the sauteed items, this can be a delicious, low-fat meal. Flavoring the rice with chicken stock and hot sauce makes it a bit more interesting.

4 chicken tenderloins, cut into bite size pieces
1.5 cups broccoli florets
1 red bell pepper
1 cup baby carrots
3 ribs celery
1 cup white rice
1 cup water
1 cup low sodium chicken stock
4 tbsp veggie oil
4 tbsp sesame oil
hot sauce to taste
salt & pepper

Start the rice first, since it takes the longest to cook. In your saucepan, add the rice to one cup each of water and chicken stock. Add a dash of hot sauce, and some salt and pepper. Cook according to package directions.

In a small saute pan, pour 2 tbsp each veggie and sesame oil, and a dash or two hot sauce. Saute chicken until cooked. There will be a LOT of extra oil in the pan, so you need to seriously drain the chicken. I used a colander to let the grease drip out, and then transferred the chicken to paper towels to get excess oil off.

At the same time as the chicken in cooking, wash and chop all veggies into bite size pieces. In a saute pan, pour 2 tbps each veggie and sesame oil. When hot but not smoking, add vegetables. Cook about 5 minutes, until tender-crisp. Drain on paper towels.

When oil has been drained/patted off, toss chicken with the vegetables and serve with the rice. Be sure to have the hot sauce and salt and pepper on the side.

Roast Chicken with Garlic Green Beans

Recently I was watching another episode of Top Chef, and one of the contestants made a roasted chicken for none other than Lidia Bastianich.  I was inspired by seeing this simple yet rich and comforting dish, and decided to make my own.  We happened to have about 5 heads of garlic on hand, so I decided to roast lots of garlic as well, and to incorporate it into my side: green beans.

Chicken:

1 small roaster chicken, giblets removed

3/4 lemon (cut a whole lemon into quarters)

1/4 large white onion, sliced

extra virgin olive oil

1/2 tsp thyme

1/2 tsp rosemary

3 cloves garlic, thinly sliced

18 cloves garlic, whole

2 cups baby carrots

salt and pepper to taste

Green beans:

1 lb trimmed green beans

4 cloves garlic, minced

1/4 white onion, diced

Gravy:

Chicken drippings (all)

2 to 3 tbsp white flour

1/2 cup dry white wine

1/2 cup water

1 cup chicken stock

Preheat oven to 425.  In a roasting dish with sides, stuff the chicken with 1/2 lemon, cut into 2 pieces, sliced onion, and 3 or 4 whole garlic cloves.  Tie the legs together tightly with twine (I didn't have any, so had to use a strip of twisted cheesecloth!) so that nothing falls out of the cavity while cooking.  Under the chicken's skin, drizzle about 1 teaspoon of extra virgin olive oil on each breast, and rub around so it covers the breasts evenly (and get your mind out of the gutter!).  Then in your cupped palm, mix together a scant half teaspoon each of thyme and rosemary.  Rub this also under the skin, and try to spread it around evenly over the breasts.  Finally, insert the slices of garlic under the skin, and try to cover the breasts completely.  If you tear the skin, don't worry too much; you can pin it back with a toothpick if the meat is too exposed.

Toss the carrots and remaining whole garlic cloves (I recommend 3 to 4 cloves per person, so maybe 15 total) in a bit of olive oil, just barely enough to lightly coat.  Arrange in roasting pan around the chicken, squeeze 1/4 of a lemon over the whole thing, and put in the oven.  Cook with a tent of aluminum foil over the chicken for the first 40 minutes.  Then remove the foil and cook uncovered for another 10 - 15 minutes.  Baste occasionally with pan juices.  To test for doneness, remove the tie from the legs and cut into the crease between the leg and the breast.  There should be no pinkness or blood.  Juices should run clear.

While the chicken cooks, parboil the green beans.  When they are slightly tender but still quite crisp, remove from heat, drain, and rinse with ice cold water to stop the cooking process.  In a saucepan, saute onion and garlic in a drizzle of olive oil about 10 minutes, until soft and caramelized.  Your house should smell delicious by this point!  Just before serving, add the green beans and saute for about 5 minutes.  Salt lightly to taste.

When chicken is ready, remove from oven and rest for about 10 minutes in a dish with sides (to catch additional drippings that may emerge).  Tilt the roasting pan to the side and scoop out as much fat as you can without sacrificing the little scribbly brown bits of chickeny flavor.

Add about 1-1/2 tablespoons of flour to the remaining drippings and whisk to incorporate.  When smooth, transfer to a saucepan, and add the stock and wine.  Stir or whisk continuously while over medium heat to reduce.  If you stop stirring while the heat is on, the gravy will separate.  When reduced to your desired thickness, taste and add salt and pepper.  

Going back to your chicken, you can now remove it from its resting place and place on a 

carving board.  If there are any additional drippings, whisk in another tablespoon of flour to create a roux, and then add to the gravy, stirring over medium heat.

Carve the chicken, make sure the beans are hot, and serve with the roasted carrots and garlic cloves, and some white rice.  Gravy can be served on top AND on the side!  You might even want to smear some of that roasted garlic on baguette slices.

This goes extremely well with a cold sauvignon blanc.

Spicy Chicken Soup

This recipe is an update on my previous chicken soup recipe, and I think it's better. It involves most of the same ingredients, but has a lot more flavor. It gets a rich herbal flavor from oregano, some sweet earthiness from shiitake mushrooms, and a little kick of heat from some cayenne pepper.

2 stalks celery
2 cups chopped baby carrots
1/2 large turnip
1 bulb fennel
1 pkg sliced shiitake mushrooms (about 8 oz)
6-7 cloves garlic
1/2 tsp salt
black pepper to taste
1 tbsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper, or more to taste
1 split chicken breast, on bone, with skin

Chop celery, carrots, turnip, and fennel into a 1/4 inch dice. Mince the garlic or push through a press. Put all of this into a large stockpot, and add the salt, pepper, cayenne, and oregano. Place the chicken on top, and add enough water to cover everything.

Bring to a boil, then reduce to a slow simmer. Cook for about 15-20 minutes, until chicken is cooked through. Remove chick breasts from pot and set aside to cool. Turn heat off the soup and let that cool as well.

When chicken is cool enough to handle, remove the skin and discard it. Cut chicken off the bone and into small pieces. Return to pot, and add the shiitake mushrooms as well.

Bring back to a boil and reduce immediately. Simmer about 5-10 minutes, and taste. Adjust seasoning as needed.

Serve with a large spoonful of white rice cooked according to package directions.

Classic Chicken Soup

I love this soup at any time of year, and now that the temperature is finally starting to decline a tad, I just couldn't resist the urge. The picture shows the bed of veggies in the pot before adding chicken and water.

1 split chicken breast, on bone, with skin
5 stalks celery, halved lengthwise and chopped
2 cups baby carrots, chopped
3 cloves garlic, pushed thru press
1/2 yellow onion, diced
1 bay leaf
1 heaping tsp dried oregano
salt and pepper to taste
water

Possible starches:
1/2 box penne or other bite-size pasta
1 cup white rice
1/2 bag egg noodles

In large stockpot, make a bed of herbs & veggies: onion, carrots, celery, garlic, bay leaf and oregano. Place the chicken breasts on top. Pour in enough water to just cover the chicken.

Bring to a boil, then lower heat and simmer for at least 45 minutes. Take pot off heat, and with a tongs, remove chicken breasts. Place chicken on a plate and allow to cool enough so that you can touch it without burning yourself. Once cooled, remove and discard skin. Slice chicken off the bones, and discard bones. Chop chicken into very small pieces and return to pot.

Some people like to refrigerate the soup to allow the fats to solidify on top, so you can scoop them off and get rid of them, but I don't. There is so little fat in chicken breast already that I feel you really shouldn't sacrifice the flavor this way.

Finally, cook the starch of your choice according to package directions. I like noodles, my husband likes rice, and my daughter is a pasta fanatic, and since all three work very well, I use them interchangeably.

When ready to serve, scoop a generous spoonful of your starch into a bowl. Ladle soup, including plenty of broth, on top. Voila!

Note: you can also make this with potatoes instead of a pasta or rice. Simply add about 1 1/2 to 2 cups peeled and chopped red potatoes to the pot just AFTER it has boiled (otherwise they get overcooked and mushy).

Chicken a la Sianessa

I made this recipe up based on what was in my fridge, and when I served it, I didn't think about plating it in a pretty way -- I had been tasting it throughout the cooking and I was too impatient to eat a plateful to bother with art. So no picture. But trust me, this is really yummy: rustic, comforting, and vaguely Germanic.

5 or 6 med red potatoes, chopped
1 pkg portabello mushrooms, stems removed and reserved
1 pkg chicken stock
sea salt
1/2 tsp or more black pepper (critical!)
olive oil
2 cloves garlic
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 yellow pepper, diced
1/2 tsp celery seed (critical!)
small handful fresh parsley, minced
3 or 4 strands fresh thyme
1 sm. onion, diced
1 1/2 lbs skinless boneless chicken breast fillets
cooked bite-size pasta, such as gemelli or rotini

Toss mushroom caps and potatoes with about 1 tbsp olive oil. In a casserole pan, pour about 1 cup stock, and add the chopped potato, mushroom caps, 1/2 the yellow pepper, salt & pepper, thyme and about 1/2 the onion. Cover loosely with tin foil and put in a 350 oven till potatoes are soft.

In a saucepan, saute the remaining onion, the garlic, and mushroom stems. Add the remaining yellow pepper. When onion is translucent, add about 1 cup stock and the celery seed, parsley and more thyme. Bring to a boil, then bring down to simmer. Reduce to about half.

Pour mushroom stem mixture into the food processor, add 1/2 cup cream and puree until very smooth. Push through a fine sieve. Pour back into saucepan and add more salt, celery seed, and black pepper to taste. The celery seed and black pepper are particularly lovely flavors in this dish, so don't skimp!

With a slotted spoon, remove potatoes, mushrooms and bell pepper from casserole dish; set aside. Pour remaining liquid into the sauce. Bring to a low, gentle simmer and allow to reduce a bit to intensify flavor.

While sauce is simmering, cook pasta according to package directions.

Now bring out chicken fillets. Place in casserole pan and cover with heavy cream, turning to coat. Sprinkle with black pepper and thyme. Cover loosely with tin foil and put in oven about 14 minutes, turning at least once. To finish, turn oven to broil and remove tin foil. Allow chicken to brown on the outside and get a bit crackly at the edges.

When you're ready to eat, put the potatoes and mushrooms back in the casserole dish with the chicken and put back in the oven about 4 minutes (not on broil!) to heat. When hot, remove all solids and set aside for plating. Quickly pour the remaining liquid from the casserole into your food processor. Pour all the sauce in as well, and process the lot for about 30 seconds.

Because most of this dish is a not very gorgeous beige color, I recommend plating it in an artful way. Toss the pasta in the sauce and make a flattish pile of pasta in center of a plate. Mound potatoes and mushrooms in the middle of the puddle. Then lean the browned chicken with a small drizzle of sauce on top. Garnish with parsley or snipped chives. There should be plenty of extra sauce, and I recommend making it available via a gravy boat, so that it can be sopped up with pasta, bread, fingers, or whatever. My husband literally licked the plate when I made this!

I think this would be really nice with a cold roasted red beet salad. Just roast beets in a 425 oven for about 40 minutes (more or less depending on size). The skins should just slip off, then chill, chop, and dress with a light, tangy, dijon vinaigrette and toss with some diced red onion and maybe a bit of watercress. Yum!