Tuesday, May 08, 2007

Of Morels and Pancetta, Anchovies and Lemons

Reading week is here, the last of the school year. It's the week when I should be finalizing papers, getting ahead on my reading for the next three weeks, pre-writing sermons. But, no. Not me. Well, I am certainly doing some of that. But, I am also indulging in cooking that is slightly more complicated than my fare of late. Sunday night, I made chicken with morel Madeira sauce, baked potatoes and lemony green beans. Tonight, I fixed tilapia with anchovy caper butter, roasted red potatoes with lemon and petits pois with pancetta. For me, the morel Madeira sauce was a little too sweet, but I am picky about sweet and meat together. It was inspired by one of the recipes of the great Ina Garten (if you do not have her cookbooks & do not watch her show, you must remedy that!) and J loved it. Otherwise, I was very happy with the meals.

Chicken with Morels
1/2 oz. dried morels, soaked for 30 minutes in 3 cups of very hot, salted water
3 skinless, boneless chicken breasts
Salt & pepper
Flour for dredging
1/4 c. butter
1/4 of a Vidalia onion, chopped
1/2 tbsp. minced garlic
1/2 c. Madeira
1/2 c. sour cream (light is just fine)
1/2 c. half and half (subbed for heavy cream to make it a little lighter)
1 tbsp. lemon juice

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Rinse morels well and pat dry. Season chicken, then dredge in flour. Melt half the butter in the skillet and brown chicken well. Place in casserole and set aside. Add the rest of the butter to the skillet, along with the morels, onion and garlic. Cook, stirring, about 2 minutes. Add wine and cook on high until reduced by half. Add the rest of the ingredients & bring to a boil. Allow to boil until it starts to thicken, 5-10 minutes. Adjust seasonings. Pour oven chicken and bake until just heated through, about 10 minutes. Serves 3.

Lemony Green Beans
1 lb. green beans, stems & strings removed
1/4 stick butter
A few drops of olive oil
Juice of 1 lemon
Sea salt & pepper

Cook green beans using your preferred method. I like mine steamed lightly & I use an electric steamer, but do whatever you like best & find easiest. Heat butter & oil together until butter is melted. Stir in lemon juice, salt & pepper. Add beans and toss to coat. Serves 4.

Tilapia with Anchovy Caper Butter
1 lb. tilapia filets
1 clove garlic
1/8 tsp. salt
1 stick butter, room temperature
2 tsp. minced capers
2 anchovy filets, minced & mashed to paste
2 tsp. lemon juice
Pepper to taste

Make the anchovy butter first, starting by mashing garlic and salt into a paste. Add the rest, mashing with a fork until thoroughly combined. Roll into 6" long log and wrap in wax paper. Chill an hour before serving. If, like me, you are inclined to forget that you need to start things far in advance, though, you can pop it in the freezer for 15 minutes or so and it will be tolerably solid. You may even prefer it less hard so that it melts faster...my wife does! Bake fish, drizzled with a little olive oil, in a 350 degree oven until tender and flaky and utterly lacking translucence. Serve with anchovy caper butter. This served the three of us, but J & Pie ended up growling at each other over the last piece of fish and we all wanted more. There will be plenty of butter, so make as much fish as your crew will eat! I should think it would be delicious on any kind of fish. J wants to try it on steak next.

Roasted Red Potatoes with Lemon
6 small red potatoes, quartered
A tablespoon or two of olive oil
Salt & pepper to taste
2-3 tsp. lemon juice

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Toss potatoes with oil, salt & pepper. Put on baking sheet and roast for about an hour, stirring every so often. Sprinkle with lemon juice & stir. Roast another minute or two. Serves 3.

Petits Pois with Pancetta
1 oz. pancetta, chopped
1/2 c. chopped Vidalia (any onion will do, I just like Vidalias & had them on hand)
1 clove garlic, minced
3 c. frozen petite peas
1 c. chicken broth (I use canned, the low fat, low sodium kind)
Scant 2 tsp. sugar
Salt to taste

Sauté pancetta in pre-heated skillet on medium-high heat until crispy. Remove from pan. Sauté onion & garlic in grease until tender. Add the rest, setting aside the pancetta. Simmer 5 minutes, or until peas are tender. Toss in pancetta and serve hot. Serves 6. J is a big fans of peas & says these are the best.





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