Chicken Stuffed with Sage, Fennel and Bread

Active cooking time: 15-20 Minutes

Total cooking time: Approx. 1 hour

Serves baby and 6 adults [or 2 adults with leftovers for everyone]

This recipe is so easy I almost didn’t post it. But friends have been asking for the simple dishes, so here it is – the easiest and one of the best. I love it for those reasons, but also because though not a grain of salt is added, the dish is savory and satisfying. The sage infuses the chicken and the stuffing and if that hasn’t convinced you, it uses those end pieces of bread no one ever eats – so if they’re sitting in your freezer, liberate your shelf space with this simple recipe.

2 small chickens [2.5-3 pound each, or 1.3 kilo each], organic if you can 

Leftover bread – any kind that doesn’t have nuts

Fresh Sage

Fennel, leek and other root vegetables [peeled if some are earmarked for a younger baby]

Chicken or vegetable broth

Clean chickens and stuff with bread broken into pieces, a handful of fresh sage, and if you’re so inclined, chopped fennel. You can cook this dish in the oven or on stove top: 

On the stove, put chickens in a large pot with about 4-5 cups of broth – there is no need to cover the chickens, and watered down broth is fine [some white wine is fine too for older babies and toddlers]. Bring to a boil and meanwhile add leek and chopped root vegetables – carrot is great with this recipe, as is potato and fennel. Simmer, cover and leave until chicken is cooked through. You may want to remove the chicken and let the vegetables cook longer if you want them soft for baby. 

In the oven, place the stuffed chicken, vegetables and broth in a large clay baking dish and roast until chicken is cooked through, basting every 20 minutes or so. Remove chicken and cook vegetables longer if you want them softer for baby.

For baby: remove some of the chicken, both dark and light, and puree if necessary. Baby can also get the root vegetables from this dish, again pureed if necessary. Chicken and vegetable should be served with a grain. Buckwheat works great with this, or try the stuffing.

For adults: Lightly salt chicken, vegetables and stuffing [optional]. Serve with plenty of the broth on top of the stuffing.

8 Ideas for Chickpeas

This is the dish I was going to post today: Cod with Miso-Ginger dressing, served on a bed of smoked-paprika chickpeas. It was going to be impressive. It was going to wow my guests, a culinary couple I love to surprise. I “invented” the dish by combining two leftovers a couple of weeks ago – a chickpea tapas with a fish entree – and the Spanish-Japanese fusion result was too good not to include in this blog. But sadly, as you can see, I haven’t posted as planned. My husband got the flu, and then Cai got a virus. We cancelled the dinner plans. I had the thawed cod in the fridge, chickpeas that had been soaked overnight, a sick husband and baby, very little time and something had to give. So I took the simplest route – cooked the chickpeas, pureed them, and discovered that homemade Humous, still warm from the cooking, is better than any Humous I’ve ever had, and I live in the Middle East. Trust me on this one – buy the chickpeas dry, soak for 24 hours, and then cook for 1-2 hours until soft. Set aside some for baby – either whole or pureed with water depending on age and preference – and then below I offer a few ideas for the rest. When life gives you chickpeas, you know what to do.

1. To make Humous, puree cooked chickpeas, adding some extra virgin olive oil, salt, and then enough water [you can use the water leftover from cooking the chickpeas] to create a paste. Others might want to add Tehina [sesame paste], garlic, parsley and lemon juice, but personally, I thought the pared down Humous was divine. See the photo on this page.

2. For addictive Tapas, sprinkle chickpeas with vegetable oil, salt and smoked paprika, and then fry lightly or bake.

3. More Tapas – we had a version of this dish in Bar Pinotxo in Barcelona: Saute garlic, onion, parsley, raisins that have been pre-soaked in hot water, and pine nuts. Add the chickpeas, heat through and season with salt and pepper.

4. Like with the cannellini beans [January 15, 2009 on this blog], toss with olive oil, lemon juice and leaves from sprigs of fresh thyme. Even better when chickpeas are still warm.

5. Add to a Tabouli salad: Using cooked couscous or bulgur, add finely chopped tomato, cucumber, onion, mint or parsley leaves. Dress with olive oil and freshly squeezed lemon juice. For an added kick, crumble some feta cheese on this classic Mediterranean salad.

6. Make a quick curry by heating vegetable oil, adding a teaspoon of cumin seed, coriander seed, cardamom seed, dry fenugreek and fennel seed. Wait until seeds “pop”, add chopped onion, sauté for at least ten minutes, add a cup of chopped tomatoes, a stick of cinnamon and then the chickpeas. Heat together on low for 10-20 minutes. Serve with rice or any grain. [I will be posting again on Indian cooking in this blog].

7. Add to Mahlouba [Feb 1, 2009 post] or Chicken Bulgur salad [Dec 16, 2008 post]

8. Toss into any salad, soup or stew.

Mahlouba [a Sneaky Risotto with Chicken]

Serves baby and 4 adults with leftovers

Active cooking time: 20 minutes

Total Cooking Time: 40-60 minutes

Once upon a time, I stood over the stove and cooked risotto, stirring and adding broth and wine with patience and care. I will do this again, one day, and while I'm at it will get all my digital photos printed and put them in albums. For now, I offer this “sneaky” risotto, packed with flavor and suitable for both baby and adults. The recipe is also inspired by 'Mahlouba', a Palestinian dish which means 'upside-down', because when it's done, the pot is flipped and the contents poured onto a platter.

Vegetable oil

1 onion, diced*

3 tsp cardamom 

1 whole chicken, cut into parts

3 chicken breasts or boneless chicken thighs

2.5 cups uncooked brown rice

Chicken or vegetable broth

Salt and pepper

Parsley or Coriander [optional]

Heat 2 tbsp oil in a large pot. Add onion, saute for about 2 minutes, then add cardamom. Add other root vegetables if desired, then the chicken, followed by the dry rice. Pour in more than enough broth to cover everything. Bring to a boil, lower to simmer and cover. Cook until all liquid is absorbed – this will probably take longer than the rice cooking instructions. 

For baby: remove the chicken breasts or thighs and some of the rice for baby, puree if necessary. Serve with a cooked vegetable.

For adults: Add salt and pepper, and serve with chopped coriander or parsley.

*add vegetable peel from “baby leftovers,” or add any chopped root vegetable to this dish with the onion – cauliflower works well, as does carrot, potato and kohlrabi.

Spaghetti with Broccoli-Wine Pesto

Serves baby and 2 adults

Active cooking time: 30 minutes

Total cooking time: 45 minutes

This recipe comes from Cossimo, a friend of ours from Florence who has made us some of the best meals we’ve ever had. His spaghetti did not have the white wine, but the first time I tried the dish at home, it came out dry. [I can only imagine the amounts of olive oil Cossimo used that night, but I say this with admiration]. When cooking broccoli for baby, this is a great way to fix something simple for mom and dad while you’re at it. 

500 gm broccoli 

4-5 garlic cloves, crushed and chopped

1/2 cup dry white wine

1 serrano chili, chopped

Olive oil

Salt 

Pepper

230 gm spaghetti

1. In a large pot, cover broccoli with water, bring to a boil and lower to simmer. Leave until broccoli is soft. [If time is short, boil broccoli on high].

2. Heat water in large pot for pasta.

3. In a separate pot or pan, heat 2-3 tablespoons of olive oil. Add garlic and saute on medium-high heat for about a minute, stirring occasionally. Add wine and serrano chili. Leave on medium-high heat for about 10 minutes. Add a little salt and pepper.

4. Cook pasta and drain. Set aside some of the pasta for baby.

For adults*:

5. Return pasta to pot, add garlic-wine mix and toss. Add 3/4 of the drained broccoli and mix, setting aside some for baby. The broccoli will break up and coat the spaghetti like a pesto. 

6. Dress generously with olive oil and salt to taste. Toss and serve.

For baby:

7. Baby gets the pasta, broccoli and a protein – chicken works well, ricotta or cottage cheese also complement the dish.

*Serving suggestions: This pasta works beautifully on its own. But you can easily serve it with chicken [you can use the chicken from the Basic Chicken recipe for baby, see Dec 16 2008 post] or grilled fish.