Game 2 was a heart stopper and AJ rose to the occasion and pitched a brilliant game. I have been considering a chicken stew for a World Series post and after one down home guy like Burnett saved our bacon, and another in Andy Pettitte was pitching today, I figured that a one pot country meal was in order. I wrote about Oliver’s books in an essay for the NY Times back in 2005 and nothing has changed…his books make me want to cook…not that I need all that much prodding to get in the kitchen…or watch baseball for that matter. Enjoy the three game stretch..eat well… and Go Yanks!
Jamie Oliver’s Special Chicken Stew
Ingredients
salt and freshly ground black pepper
4 spring chickens or poussins
1 small handful of fresh parsley, leaves picked, stalks kept
1 bunch of fresh tarragon, leaves picked, stalks kept
4 teaspoons wholegrain mustard
2 heaped tablespoons plain white flour
extra virgin olive oil
1 white onion, peeled and finely chopped
2 cloves of garlic, peeled and finely sliced
½ celery heart, trimmed back and finely sliced
2 good knobs of butter
2 wineglasses of crisp white wine
2.25 cups stock
3 gem lettuces, quartered
1 small bunch of seedless grapes, washed and halved
Preheat the oven to 180ºC/350ºF/gas 4. Season your baby chickens inside and out and stuff each of them with the parsley and tarragon stalks. Using your forefinger, carefully part the skin from the breast meat and smear a teaspoon of wholegrain mustard into each bird. Rub the flour all over the chickens so they are covered in a thin layer. Keep any flour that falls off.
In a snug-fitting casserole-type pan, fry your chickens in 3 good lugs of olive oil on all sides for 10 minutes until golden. Remove them to a plate and then fry off the onion, garlic and celery in the pan. Add the butter and spare flour and continue to fry for about 4 minutes, scraping off any goodness that is on the bottom of the pan. Add your 2 glasses of white wine and allow the liquid to reduce by half, then put the chickens back into the pan. Now pour in your stock – it should come to about half-way up the chickens. Make yourself a cartouche. Wet it so it’s flexible then tuck this in and around the pan.
Place in the oven and cook for around 50 minutes to an hour until the chickens have crisp skin and the thigh meat falls off the bone. Remove the chicken to some nice serving bowls – ones that can hold a bit of sauce – and place your pan back on the hob. Add the lettuces, grapes, parsley leaves and tarragon leaves and simmer for a couple more minutes. Correct the seasoning carefully and spoon this sauce next to the chicken.
