Thursday, January 14, 2010

Chicken Cacciatore and Moroccan Cod Stew


When I decided to explore other cuisines, I realized I couldn't run too far from the Mediterranean. And I'll be honest, chicken cacciatore is about as Italian (American) as it gets. However, it was chicken over polenta and that was different (at least for me).

I took a cacciatore recipe from Lidia Bastisomethingorother. It was good, but the cooking time of 35 minutes for the chicken didn't leave it as tender as I wanted. It's possible I overcrowded the pan or used too much white meat, but after reading some other recipes, it seems I should have just let it go for another 10-15 minutes.

But that's not why I decided to break the silence of nearly 3 months. I was hungry, had leftovers, and fish that wasn't going to last much longer. More importantly, I had a chocolate cake my fiance and her friend had just baked that needed about 10 minutes to cool. Ok, I needed a meal that took 15 minutes start to finish.

It's really simple:
1) Make couscous and set aside
2) heat sliced garlic (2 cloves), chopped basil (handful), cinnamon (couple dashes), chili (to taste), and moroccan spice in saute pan (with lid nearby). Toss in the cod (and shrimp if you have!), let it saute for a minute, add half a can of tomatoes (14 oz), pull to a boil, and then simmer for 8 minutes. Eat with lemon juice, salt, and pepper.

Yum! Possibly better than the chocolate cake that followed, although it was close.

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