One-Pot Ginger Chicken and Rice

Ingredients:

4-6 chicken thighs (bone-in)
3/4 tsp kosher salt
2 large shallots, finely chopped
8 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 two-inch piece of ginger, peeled & chopped
2 cups basmati rice, rinsed
1 tablespoon soy sauce

1.  Pat chicken dry and season with salt.  Arrange, skin side down, in a cold, dry medium dutch oven and set over medium heat.  Cook, undisturbed, until skin is golden brown and crisp and easily releases from the pot, 8-10 minutes.  Move thighs around to different spots and continue to cook until deeply browned, 3-5 minutes longer.  Transfer chicken to a plate.  Let pot cool for two minutes.

2. Set pot over medium-low heat; add shallots, garlic, and ginger and cook, stirring constantly, until very fragrant but not browned, about 2 minutes.  Stir in rice and cook, stirring constantly for 1 minute.  Stir in soy sauce, pinch of salt, and 3 cups of water.  Nestle chicken back into rice mixture in the pot, skim-side up.  Increase heat to medium and bring to a simmer.

3. Immediately cover pot, reduce heat to low, and cook 25 minutes.  Remove from heat and let the chicken and rice sit for 10 minutes.

Slow Cooker Hot & Sour Chicken Soup

1 whole chicken (3-1/4 pounds)
2 medium carrots, coarsely chopped
2 stalks of celery, trimmed & chopped
1 large onion, chopped coarsely
10 cups water
2 stalks of lemongrass (4 inches), bruised
1 piece fresh ginger, grated (2-1/2 inches)
2 fresh long red chile peppers, sliced thinly
1/2 cup lime juice
1/2 cup fish sauce
3 tsp brown sugar
1 can, 15 ounces, mushrooms, drained
2 baby bok choy, trimmed and chopped
6-1/2 ounces vermicelli noodles
1/2 cup firmly packed cilantro leaves

1. Remove and discard fat and skin from chicken.  Place chicken, carrots, celery, onion and the water in a 4-or 5-quart slowcooker.  Cook, covered, on low for 8 hours.

2.  Carefully remove chicken from slowcooker; shred the meat using two forks.  Discard bones.  Strain the cooking liquid through a seive; discard the solids.

3.  Return the strained liquid to cooker with lemongrass, ginger, chiles, lime juice, fish sauce, sugar, mushrooms and chicken.  Cook, covered, on high for 30 minutes.  Stir in bok choy.

4.  Meanwhile, place noodles in a medium heatproof bowl, cover with boiling water; stand 10 minutes and drain.  Divide noodles among serving bowls.  Ladle hot soup over noodles.  Serve sprinkled with cilantro. 

Lamb Stew with Lemons and Green Olives

This flavorful lamb stew is brightened with lemon, green olives, and yogurt sauce.  Recipe courtesy of the Beekman Boys. 

Prep time: 30 Min
Cook time: 2 Hours30 Min
Total time: 3 Hours

3 lbs lamb shoulder, cut into 1 inch pieces
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
3 garlic cloves, sliced thin
2 medium onions, thinly sliced
3 teaspoons minced fresh ginger
2 teaspoons smoked paprika
2 teaspoons coriander seeds
1 teaspoon cumin
5 whole cardamom seed pods
1 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1 3-inch cinnamon stick
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar
2 bay leaves
1 tablespoon salt
4 large carrots, sliced thin
1 small lemon with ends cut off, sliced in half, then again ¼ slices. **If using large lemon, use half.
1 cup white wine
1  qt jar of diced tomatoes
3 cups chicken stock
1 ½ cups pitted fresh green olives
½ cup chopped cilantro leaves
For Sauce:
1 cup  chopped flat leaf parsley
1 ½ cups plain yogurt (not greek)
Zest of one lemon

Heat oil over medium high heat in heavy, large covered dutch oven. When oil begins to “ripple” add half of the lamb cubes. Brown thoroughly, stirring occasionally. Approximately five minutes. Once browned, transfer to paper towel lined plate with slotted spoon. Add second half of lamb cubes. Repeat.

Once all meat is browned and removed from pot, pour off any excess fat/oil if necessary, leaving about 3 tablespoons behind. Saute garlic and onions in the oil until soft. Add carrots and ginger. Sautee for an additional 2 minutes. Add lemon and white wine. Scrape up bits of burned meat from bottom of pot. Add spices. Add tomatoes and stock. Transfer meat back to pot, bring to boil. Reduce to very low simmer.

Simmer uncovered for approximately 2 hours, or until meat is very tender. If liquid level seems to drop far below meat, add more stock or water. Allow sauce to reduce and thicken during the last 30 minutes.

Add olives during the last 10 minutes of simmering.

Remove from heat. Stir in chopped fresh cilantro.

Make yogurt sauce: combine yogurt, chopped parsley and lemon zest. Stir.

Serve stew hot either in bowl or over couscous. Pour ¼ cup yogurt sauce over individual servings.

Chicken with Ginger

This recipe is courtesy of Mark Bittman of The New York Times.

We were lucky to get lots of fresh ginger this season from Dan of The Lone Acre farm in Southold. I use our cast iron skillet to make this dish.

Yield 4 servings
Time 40 minutes

Ingredients
1/2 pound ginger, the fresher the better
1 Tablespoon of sugar, optional
1 Tablespoon of sesame, peanut or olive oil
1 3-4 lb chicken, cut into pieces
salt and pepper
1/2 cup chicken stock or water
1 Tablespoon of soy sauce
Juice of 1 lime
Chopped cilantro for garnish

1. Pre-heat oven to 500 degrees. Peel ginger, and mince 1 Tablespoon; set aside. Thinly slice remaining ginger. (If extremely fibrous, put it in a small saucepan with sugar and 2 cups of water , and bring to a boil; simmer 10 minutes then drain.)

2. Put oil in an ovenproof skillet large enough to hold all the chicken, and place on stove over med-high heat. Add chicken, skin side down, and cook, rotating pieces and adjusting heat as necessary, until chicken is well-browned on one side -- about 10 minutes. season with salt and pepper, then scatter sliced ginger around pieces; turn and season again. Transfer pan to oven; cook 20 minutes, or until all pieces cooked through.

3. Return skillet to top of stove, drain off any excess fat and add stock or water along with soy sauce. Cook over med-high heat until sauce is slightly reduced, then stir in lime juice and minced ginger. Taste and adjust seasoning. Garnish and serve.