At last count I have around 300 cookbooks but use a small percentage of them on a regular basis, often forgetting to cook from those that served me so well in the past such as my collection of Bobby Flay or Jamie Oliver cookbooks. New cookbooks that I’ve acquired gain my attention and preference instead. But when I tire of these I return to the collection and find dishes that I never made before or overlooked. Recent re-discoveries have included “The Three Star Recipes of Alain Senderens” (veal cutlets with lime and ginger cream); “The Best from Helen Corbett’s Kitchen” (stuffed pork chops) or, among others, “Bakewise” by Shirley Corriher (touch of grace buttermilk biscuits).
A re-discovered recipe for lemon pound cake found in the Grand Central Cookbook by Portland, Oregon cookbook writer and bakery owner Piper Davis and Ellen Jackson
Another recent example of this occurred when I was thumbing through Donald Link’s “Down South– Bourbon, Pork, Gulf Shrimp and Seconding Helpings of Everything.” He’s a James Beard Award winning chef for his many restaurants that he runs in New Orleans. The last recipe that I made in the book was for his Aunt Sally’s recipe for coconut pie, one of the most delicious examples from his treasure trove of family recipes. I usually make it in the winter when seasonal berries and fruit are unavailable.
My various cases of cookbooks scattered throughout my loft
So the other day I marveled that in the 5 years that I owned the book I was never tempted by his recipe for Smothered Chicken found on page 97. This alone fortified my contention that you should look through your library of forgotten tomes because you’re apt to find some seriously good stuff.
Smothered chicken with potatoes, carrots and pearl onioins
Its simple list of ingredients included everything that I had in my pantry. The dish is just plain spectacular with great taste and texture, yet contains nothing out of the ordinary except for good ingredients
I used a free-range chicken and made a quick chicken stock because I thought it better than using one from a container. The recipe called for dried thyme instead of fresh. I almost always use fresh herbs over dried, but I had just bought a new jar of thyme from spice purveyor Gryffon Ridge; nothing worse dried herbs gone by. Good quality dried herbs do impart an intense flavor over fresh.
The dish enjoys long and slow cooking to develop flavor and richness. I cooked the dish in a slow oven instead of on the stove top; it’s easier to control steady simmering in the oven.
I made a few other changes to the recipe like omitting the hot sauce and adding small peeled local potatoes, carrots and frozen pearl onions so it became a true one-dish meal. My favorite potatoes these days are the local variety called pinto, which are available at Goranson’s stand at the Portland farmer’s market. They’re a sweet and velvet-textured yellow flesh variety.
Smothered chicken with potatoes, carrots and pearl onioins
Ingredients
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 1 farm chicken weighing 3 1/2 to 4 pounds, cut into 8 pieces
- About 1/4 cup vegetable oil
- Heaping 1/4 cup flour
- 1 medium onion, peeled and sliced thin
- 1 small jalapeño pepper, seed and diced
- 2 garlic cloves, peeled and minced
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 heaping teaspoon dried thyme
- 1-quart homemade chicken stock
- 3 to four medium sized potatoes, peeled and quartered
- 3 to 4 carrots peeled and cut into large chunks
- 1 cup or more good quality frozen pearl onions
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.
- Season the chicken pieces generously with kosher or sea salt and freshly ground pepper. Put the flour on a large plate and lightly dredge the chicken pieces in the flour, shaking off the excess; reserve the flour leftover on the plate.
- Heat the oil in a large Dutch oven (preferably cast-iron such as Le Creuset) over medium-high heat. When the oil is hot, fry the chicken pieces in batches so you don’t crowd the pot until golden, about 5 minutes per side. Remove the browned chicken to a plate lined with paper towels.
- Once all the chicken has been browned, add the remaining flour to the oil in the pot and cook, stirring, over medium-low heat to create a medium-brown roux, 4 to 5 minutes. Add the onion, jalapeno, garlic, bay leaves and thyme, stirring for about 3 minutes more.
- Pour in the broth and bring to a simmer while stirring carefully until slightly thickened. Return the chicken to the pot and bring to a gentle simmer; add the vegetables. Return to the simmer. Cover and put the pot in the oven to cook for 1 to 1 1/2 hours or until the meat is fork tender. Or cook on the stove top at a gentle simmer.
- To serve spoon the chicken and vegetables onto plates, covering with plenty of sauce. It’s a good idea to have some biscuits or good bread on hand to soak up the sauce.
Notes
Adapted from Donald Link's "Down South" recipe for smothered chicken, which he likens to a classic French fricassee.
