Herb Poached Chicken With Olive Salsa Over Basmati Rice Recipes

Steps:

• Season chicken breasts with salt and arrange in a deep, large skillet. Cover chicken with vegetables. Add bay leaf, thyme sprigs, and chicken stock to the pan. Place over high heat and bring to a boil, covered. Reduce heat to simmer and cook for 15 minutes. Remove bay and thyme sprigs. Remove the chicken breasts and cut into slices. Return chicken slices to the pan and adjust seasoning, to your taste. Put the couscous into a heatproof serving bowl. Ladle 1 1/2 cups of the hot cooking liquid over the couscous, cover and let stand for 5 minutes. Remove the lid, season the couscous with salt, and fluff with a fork. Put a scoop of couscous into a serving bowl, top with chicken chunks and vegetables. Cover meat and vegetables with some broth. Garnish each serving with chives and parsley.
• Refrigerate or freeze the whole breast pieces for Portuguese Chicken.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
• To make the olive salsa for the chicken topping, slice the root end off the entire head of garlic and turn it upside down, wrap it in aluminum foil and mold the foil so it supports the garlic to allow the cut end to stand upright in the oven. Pour about 1 teaspoon olive oil on the garlic so it slips between the skin and the cloves and wrap with the foil so it is enclosed. Roast for about 1 hour and set aside until it is cool enough to handle.
• In a small bowl combine the tomato, basil, parsley, peppercorns, olives and 2 tablespoons olive oil. Gently squeeze the roasted garlic cloves from the skins into the mixture. Fold everything together and set aside to let flavors integrate.
• For the rice accompaniment to the chicken, melt the butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat and stir in the basmati rice, thyme leaves, salt, and pepper, allowing rice to toast for a few minutes. Then add the chicken stock, bring to a boil, reduce heat to low, cover and let simmer covered and undisturbed for 20 minutes. Remove from heat and let stand 5 minutes.
• While the rice is cooking begin the sauce for the steak. Heat the olive oil in a medium saucepan, over medium-high heat, and saute the shallot until it becomes translucent. Add the mushrooms and cook until they are tender and give up their juices. (While the mushrooms are cooling, begin sauteing the bacon in a separate skillet for the potatoes.) Add the merlot and cook for about 5 minutes. Meanwhile, in a separate small bowl, make a slurry with 1 tablespoon water and the cornstarch, then add the tomato paste and Dijon mustard and mix thoroughly until smooth. Add this mixture to the pan of mushrooms along with demi-glace and parsley. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Turn heat down to medium low, and allow to reduce and thicken.
• While the mushrooms are cooking, heat the oil in the deep-fryer to 375 degrees F or according the manufacturer's instructions for potatoes. Saute the bacon strips in a skillet until crispy. Remove to paper towels to drain and cool to room temperature. Drain excess bacon fat from the skillet leaving a coating in which to saute the onion. Cook until the onion becomes translucent. Deep-fry the baby potato slices until golden and drain on paper towels. Transfer them to the pan of onions, and crumble in the bacon. Toss in the scallions and season with salt and pepper. Cover and keep warm.
• Heat the oven to 375 degrees F for the steak, if you are finishing in the oven.
• In a large saute pan, heat the chicken stock over medium-high heat. Add the basil, tarragon and parsley, bring to a boil to integrate flavors, then reduce heat. This is your poaching liquid. Season the chicken breasts generously on both sides with salt and pepper, rubbing the seasoning in, and place the chicken in simmering poaching liquid. (Remember, you are poaching, not boiling. The liquid should be kept at a simmer.) Poach chicken until cooked through, about 10 minutes, turning breasts midway through cooking period. Remove to paper towels to drain.
• Heat olive oil over medium-high heat in a skillet with oven-safe handles. Season the steaks with walt and pepper. Sear for about 2 minutes per side undisturbed (to let seasonings integrate into the surface of the meat) and then to your preferred level of doneness. Transfer the entire skillet to the oven to finish (about 10 minutes for medium-rare) They can also be cooked on a grill. Let steaks rest, then slice into 1/4- inch thick slices.
• On half of the serving plate, spoon some basmati rice, top with a piece of chicken, and spoon olive salsa over chicken. On the other half of the serving plate, spoon some potatoes, top with a "fan" of steak slices (about 3 ounces of steak or an amount equal to half of a strip steak, per person) and drizzle sauce over sliced steak. Garnish the plate with haricots verts.

Steps:

• Wash the rice twice in cold water to remove impurities and drain through a strainer.
• Add the rice to a large saucepan and cover with cold water until the water reaches about 1/2-inch above the rice. Add a little salt, to taste, and bring the rice and the water to a boil over medium heat. Reduce the heat to low, stir the rice then cover with a tight lid and cook until all the water has been absorbed. The rice normally takes about 15 minutes to cook and should be light and fluffy when cooked. Transfer to a serving bowl and serve.

Steps:

• Wash and prep chicken. Place in roaster.
• Peel the garlic clove by whacking it with the flat of a knife (yes, you could just take the peel off, but the smashing/bruising releases the flavor as well as removing the peel).
• Put the garlic into the chicken's cavity.
• Put 1/2 the sherry into the cavity and sprinkle half over the chicken's breast.
• Sprinkle the Herbs de Provence over the chicken.
• Roast, covered, at 350F for 60-90 minutes depending on the size of the chicken then remove the lid and roast uncovered another 15-30 minutes until the skin is crisp and the chicken is fully cooked.
• If you want a sauce either use the pan juices to make gravy or deglaze the pan with a little white wine. Either would be delicious.

Steps:

• In a medium saucepan, bring 1 3/4 cups water to a boil. Add rice, season with salt, and return to a boil. Reduce to a simmer, cover, and cook just until tender, 16 to 18 minutes. Remove pan from heat; add spinach, cover, and let stand, without stirring, for 5 minutes. Using a fork, fluff rice and mix in spinach.
• While rice is cooking, heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high. Season chicken with salt and pepper. Cook in 2 batches, until browned outside and opaque throughout, 1 to 2 minutes per side. Transfer to a plate (reserve skillet); cover with aluminum foil to keep warm.
• Add wine, olives, and raisins to skillet. Cook over medium-high until wine is almost evaporated, 1 to 2 minutes. Add cup 1/2 water; cook until sauce is reduced by half, 2 to 3 minutes. Serve chicken over spinach rice, and top with sauce.