Wednesday, February 08, 2006
Roast Chicken with Herbs and Lime
I found a shoe today. Yes, a man's shoe. By the side of the road. It was a nice-looking shoe at that. Obviously, I didn't stop to inspect it closely, but cycling past it looked like a faily new Timberland boot. That got me thinking... How do you just lose a shoe? Is it that someone was driving down the road when his foot started itching, so he took his boot of to scratch his foot and accidentally threw it out of the window? Or was it someone walking, whose bootlace became untied so he accidentally stepped out of his shoe? Or was it two blokes fighting and one decided to throw a shoe at the other? And whatever the case was, did the owner not notice that one leg suddenly shrunk by an inch and one foot turned cold and wet? Was it a case of "Strange, these new boots. One is really nice and comfy, but the other one doesn't really stand up to the job?" And when he finally did notice, why did he not retrieve the missing boot? Did he not think he might need it at some later date? "Never mind, mate. I got another one." I suppose what you find in the streets of a city says a lot about its inhabitants. I don't remember finding perfectly wearable clothing anywhere else I've lived. In Munich this was because people are just too ... hmm, what are they ... law-abiding, conservative, thrifty or just anally retentive? Probably a bit of each, but they are not big on littering. And in all other cities this shoe would have long been on someone else's foot. So what do we learn from this? Dubliners don't mind getting rid of things they no longer need in public places, but the city is home to very few homeless people desperate enough to collect rubbish. Surprisingly, this is a pretty good sketch of this place, at least in my opinion. It was added to by two of my colleagues during lunch today. When I told them about my find and openly wondered where it had come from, they were both amazed that I had not come up with the answer myself. "It's quite obvious," they explained. "Some bloke got drunk, stumble home and lost a shoe along the way. And when he finally woke up again, he could not even remember having gone out let alone where he'd been. So he ditched the wet sock and the other shoe and carried on as before. People around here tend to have replacements for such items that are easily lost, because it just isn't a rare occurence in their lives, so they have to be prepared." Well, I'm glad we solved that mystery.Dinner on the other hand did not
need thinking about today. I'd had a great day, was keen to cook and, most importantly, had some chicken legs waiting for me at home. The rest of the meal was, as it is on most days, dictated by the contents of our fridge. Tesco had delivered 10 kilos of fertiliser-free spuds on Sunday that were just waiting to be tested, and I had a lime, some mushrooms and a bag of organic baby kale left in the fridge, all of which really wanted to be eaten. With a bit of imagination, this combination looks decidedly like lime and herb roast chicken legs with buttered potatoes, steamed kale and pan-fried mushrooms. Don't you agree?And this is how you get there without having to imagine anything: For the chicken:
enough chicken pieces for two people (I generally use two legs and two thighs, but obviously breasts work fine if you prefer them)
1 lime, cut into eight pieces
6 to 8 cloves of garlic, left in their skins
1 tbsp butter
2 tsp mixed herbs (such as thyme, basil and, oregano), either dried or fresh (use a little more if using fresh herbs
For the mushrooms:
2 handfuls of mushrooms, sliced (I used button mushrooms, but, obviously, most mushrooms would work here)
2 tbsp olive oil
a pinch of cumin
salt and pepper to taste
For the kale:
350 g kale leaves (weighed without the stem), rinsed, dried and very roughly chopped
½ onion, finely chopped
2 tbsp butter
a dash of white wine vinegar
salt to taste
For the potatoes:
6 to 8 small potatoes, cleaned but left in their skins
a large knob of butter
Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius. For the chicken, melt the butter in a pan over low heat. Arrange the chicken pieces and limes in an ovenproof dish, sprinkle with the herbs and drizzle with butter. Tuck the garlic underneath the chicken. Put the dish in the oven. Leave to roast for about 1 hour, or until the skin is crispy and the juices run clear. Baste occasionally with the pan juices.
When the chicken has been in the oven for about 30 minutes, put the potatoes in a medium size saucepan, cover with water and bring to the boil. Salt and allow to cook through. They want about 20 minutes in boiling water.
Once the potatoes are boiling, start the kale. Melt the butter in a large saucepan, then add the onions and fry over medium to low heat until translucent.
When the onions are cooked, get ready to fry the mushrooms. (If you are using wild mushrooms, wait a little longer. They do not take as long to cook and are not nice if they stay in the pan too long.) Heat the oil in a large frying pan over medium high heat. As so often, size matters here. If your pan is too small or the walls are too high, the mushrooms will steam rather than fry. This does not mean that they will be inedible, but it does not really go with this dish.
Anyway, while the butter is melting, add the kale to the onions. Add a little bit of boiling water (very little!), cover and reduce the heat to low. Once the oil in the pan is hot, add the mushrooms. Lay them out in a single layer and allow to cook undisturbed until they are beginning to shrink and release their juices. (Do stir them if they appear dry, though. But whatever you do, do not add liquid.) Turn them over and continue frying until browned on all sides. Season with cumin and salt.
When the chicken is cooked (which should be half way through the kale and mushroom cooking time), pull it out of the oven and rest, undisturbed, in a warm place until the rest of the dinner is done. This allows the meat to reabsorb the juices.
When the kale is soft, add a dash of vinegar and remove from the heat. Drain the potatoes and add the butter. Cover and allow to melt.
To serve, arrange two chicken piece on a plate, arrange the roast garlic cloves, kale and potatoes around it and top with the mushrooms. Drizzle the potatoes with butter and the chicken with its pan juices.
Christine at 10:00 pm
