Mick's Chicks at the Sheridan School farmer's market offered bone-in skin-on chicken breasts so I ordered some of those. It turns out they were huge; I generally prefer chicken breasts that aren't so big. The 2 half-breasts weighed 2.6 lbs together, almost the 3 lbs called for in Molly Stevens' recipe for 4 halves. I also got the parsnips at the farmer's market.
This is a great recipe for parsnips and creates a nice, wintry sauce that keeps the breasts from seeming too dry. I did overcompensate too much for their size and kept them in the oven a bit too long. They were a bit tough, though I attribute that in part to their size. But these are quibbles -- the meal was delicious.
Very simple: Fry 4 slices of thick-cut bacon cut into 1/2-in strips in 2 Tbl olive oil until just crisp, about 6 min. Remove with slotted spoon and drain off all but 2 Tbl of fat. Salt and pepper the chicken breasts and brown, starting skin side down, for 4 to 5 min on each side (and a further 2 min on the fat end for big ones like this). Remove and set aside. Saute 1 large minced shallot for 1 min and add 2 c. hard cider. Deglaze and reduce to 1/2 c. Add 1 Tbl chopped rosemary and a further 1/2 c. cider and reduce to 3/4 c. Then put in 1 lb parsnips, peeled and cut into 3-in x 1/2-in sticks (cut out woody core), spread bacon pieces over that, place chicken skin side down, cover with parchment paper sticking out over pan, cover and put in 325 degree oven. After 25 min., turn chicken pieces and braise another 20 to 25 min. until breasts are cooked through. If parsnips are not tender or sauce is too soupy, remove chicken and cook further on stove.
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