Roasted Chicken with Fennel

I'm participating in the VegOut! campaign from Recipe for Success. It's a positive way to say "Eat Your Veggies!" Try a bunch of different vegetables - the goal is 30 veggies in 30 days - and see how you like them. Find some new ones you may not have known you liked and just eat more of them. Americans don't eat a lot of vegetables. Research shows that eating them is good for your health. You may be surprised to learn that you don't need to eat a lot of them - a meta-analysis showed that 4 servings a day is the sweet spot. Less than 4 is sub-optimal but more than 4 didn't seem to confer any greater health. So, get to 4. It's not that hard to eat that many. Stick to ones you like, nothing wrong with that. But, eat more of them!

This recipe uses a somewhat unusual vegetable: fennel. Fennel has a subtle licorice taste. You can eat it cooked or raw. It's used a lot in Italian cuisine where it goes by the charming name of Finocchio.

Note: This dish needs to marinate overnight for the full development of flavor.

Chicken Roasted with Ginger, Fennel, and Tomatoes
(serves 4-6)

Rub
1 Tablespoon olive oil
2 Tablespoons grated ginger
1 teaspoon fennel seeds, lightly crushed (see Note)
2 cloves garlic, minced
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon black pepper

4 - 6 chicken thighs, bone-in and skin-on (about 2 pounds)
1 head of garlic cloves, unpeeled
1 head of fennel, cored and sliced thinly
1 large onion, thickly sliced
1 14 oz. can diced tomatoes, undrained
1 cup dry white wine or vermouth
2 Tablespoons olive oil
salt and black pepper

Combine all the rub ingredients in a small bowl. Rub the chicken thighs with this, making sure you get most of it between the skin and the flesh of each thigh. Place the thighs in a large (big enough to hold the chicken and all the vegetables which you'll add later) glass or ceramic baking and marinate, covered, in the fridge overnight.

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Scatter the garlic, fennel, onion, and tomatoes around the chicken. Pour in the wine, drizzle the oil on the veggies, and season the whole thing with more salt and black pepper. Cover with foil. Bake for 1 ½ hours until chicken is completely cooked. Remove the foil and increase the oven temperature to 450°F. Put the chicken back in the oven and roast at this higher temperature until the skin gets browned and crispy. Serve over rice or roasted potatoes.

Note: To crush fennel seeds, smash them with the flat bottom of a skillet.

New Year's Resolution: Celebrate Veggies!

Happy New Year!

In 2015, School of Eating Good is going to celebrate veggies. There will be more veggie based recipes posted here. There are plenty of veggie recipes already but even more are coming. They won't be vegetarian, though there will be plenty of those too. A little bit of meat, if you don't object to meat for ethical reasons, is a great way to get most folks more excited about vegetables. As eaters, we need to tilt things a bit more to the veggies, beans, and whole grains and a bit less to animal products (and here's why).

This recipe for roasted broccoli uses cheese, olive oil, and some nuts to make things more interesting. Not that plain roasted broccoli is bad. It's wonderful. But, we all like variety, don't we?

Roasted Broccoli with Cheese & Nuts
(serves 5-6)

1 ½ pounds broccoli
2 Tablespoons olive oil
a few sprinkles of kosher salt
a few light sprinkles of black pepper
2 Tablespoons nuts (see Note)
¼ cup shredded Parmesan or Manchego cheese

Preheat the oven to 425°F. If you are using broccoli florets, pour them onto a large rimmed baking sheet. If you are using broccoli heads, trim off the end of the stem end. The stems can sometimes be tough, so you may have to peel thick stalks. Cut the broccoli however you like but keep the pieces in large-ish pieces (see photo above). Drizzle with the olive oil and toss to coat. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Roast for 12 minutes. Turn the pieces with a spatula. Sprinkle on the nuts and the cheese and continue roasting until nuts are toasted, cheese is melted and broccoli is tender, about another 5 minutes.

Note: you can use whatever nuts you like. Chopped walnuts, pistachios, cashews, or silvered almonds are all good choices.

Mahi-mahi roasted with Tomatoes

Mexico is a country of rich coastal fisheries. There is a long Pacific coastline, the Bay of California, the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean. Therefore, it is no surprise that there is a lot of great fish cooking going on there. Fish is probably not what most people think about first for Mexican food. Yes, fish tacos have a gained a foothold in the US but these represent Ensenada, a single Pacific city's contribution to seafood cookery (and even that has been refracted through the lens of California cooking in the US). No denying the deliciousness of Baja fish tacos but there is much more swimming in from Mexico, a country with a rich and varied cuisine.

This is a simple yet impressive dish that uses the flavors of Mexico to great advantage. Though the recipe says mahi-mahi (called dorado in Spanish speaking countries), you could use fillets of rockfish, snapper, or corvina. Mahi-mahi is a delicious meaty fish. It's very common worldwide, so it is considered sustainable.

Mahi-Mahi Roasted with Tomatoes and Cilantro
(serves 4, costs $16 when mahi-mahi is $8/lb)

4 fillets of mahi-mahi, 5-6 oz. each, skin removed
salt and black pepper
2 Tablespoons olive oil
1 bunch of scallions, thinly sliced
1 large clove garlic, minced
1 cup minced cilantro (or use parsley if you don't like cilantro)
4 large plum tomatoes, diced (or use 3 cups drained diced canned tomatoes)
¼ cup tequila mixed with ¼ cup water

Preheat oven to 450°F. Season mahi-mahi on both side with salt and pepper. Use 1 teaspoon of olive oil to grease a 9"x9" baking dish. Mix together the scallions, garlic, most of the cilantro (reserve about ¼ cup for garnish), tomatoes, ½ teaspoon salt, and ¼ teaspoon black pepper. Place ½ of the tomato mixture in the baking dish and lay the fish on top. Top with the remaining tomatoes. Drizzle with the rest of the olive oil and pour the tequila-water mixture around the fish. Bake for 20 minutes. The exact time will depend on the thickness of the fish fillets; mahi-mahi is usually 1" thick. The fish is done when it's no longer translucent and flakes easily with a fork. Garnish with cilantro and serve. Good with rice with spaghetti or roasted potatoes.

Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Bacon

It's getting to the tail end of Brussels sprouts season. They are a cool weather crop so now's the time to get some before they disappear for the summer. I know, you hate Brussels sprouts. So many people have only had them boiled to death, and I have to say, they are horrendous little cabbages when overcooked. But, roasting brings out their sweetness and they maintain their crisp texture. There's just a little bit of bacon in this, enough to impart the smokey flavor but not much actual bacon. My favorite bacon is Farmland brand; it's not as salty as many of the major brands, but still very tasty.

Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Bacon
(serves 6)

1 ½ pounds Brussels sprouts, rinsed and cut in half
2 slices thick sliced bacon (or 3 slices regular thickness), diced
2 large shallots, peeled and cut into quarters
2 Tablespoons oil
salt and pepper
1 ½ Tablespoon fruity vinegar like Sherry, red wine, or balsamic

Preheat oven to 375°F. Place the Brussels sprouts on a rimmed cookie sheet large enough to hold them all in one layer. Distribute the bacon and shallots. Drizzle on oil, and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Toss it all around a bit. Roast for 10 minutes. With a wide pancake spatula, mix it all around. Roast for another 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and sprinkle with the vinegar. Serve immediately. Leftovers can be refrigerated and reheated but they will smell more cabbage-y when reheated and the texture will be softer.

Brussels Sprouts - roast 'em to love 'em

We know Brussels Sprouts have a bad reputation. Often they are boiled to death and take on an aggressive cabbage aroma and flavor. It's not the Brussels sprouts' fault. We just need a better way to cook them. Enter roasting. We blogged about vegetable roasting last year and we mentioned Brussels sprouts but you probably didn't seriously consider them. It's not on most people's list for most desirable vegetable. You should try them. They get sweeter and their flavor mellows when they are roasted. They are very nutritious like most of their cabbage-family relatives.

When you shop for Brussels sprouts, look for bright green ones. If they have yellowing leaves, they have been hanging around too long. They should be firm and try to get sprouts that are all the same size; they will roast more evenly. Use them within a few days because they will start to yellow if stored too long.

When you are ready to roast, preheat your oven to 375-400° F. Trim them up by slicing off the tough stem end. Rip off any bruised or damaged leaves. Cut the sprouts in half. Place them on a rimmed baking sheet and toss with 1 Tablespoon olive oil per pound of sprouts. Sprinkle lightly with salt and pepper. Roast them for 20-30 minutes. You want them to get well-browned in spots but be careful not to overcook them.

You can serve them as is. You can squeeze on a little bit of lemon juice. You can toss them with some sliced roasted red peppers, like in the photo. You can toss in some chopped nuts like almonds, walnuts, or pecans. The sweetness of the nuts complements the sprouts nicely.

Try a new vegetable - give roasted Brussels sprouts a chance!

Roasted Vegetables - all sorts

Roasted Veggies are a quick, easy and a very tasty alternative to steamed vegetables. Roasting concentrates flavors by evaporating some of the moisture and ups the ante by browning. Browning means flavor. I'm sure someone is looking at the above picture of roasted carrots thinking "Those are burned!" but they are not. As we say in the restaurant kitchen, they are well-caramelized. :-) Trust me. I ate them and they aren't burned.

Roasted veggies are great right out of the oven (careful! they are mighty hot) and they are great as a leftover. They can be added to soups, salads, omelets. Even a delicious snack, hot or cold.

The procedure for roasting is the same: grease up the veg, give a generous sprinkling of salt and pepper, and stick in a hot oven until just tender. Give them a stir halfway cooking to even up the browning. How long it takes depends on how big you cut the chunks of vegetable and how dense the vegetable is (carrots and Brussels sprouts are dense, broccoli and asparagus are not).

A hot oven and oil are key ingredients. No oil and the vegetables will steam. Not hot enough, the vegetables will overcook before they brown. But, once you figure it out, it's really easy.

Be careful when mixing different vegetables. It works if they will all cook in a similar amount of time. So, carrots and Brussels sprouts will work but carrots and green beans will not. When the green beans are done, the carrots will still be raw and by the time the carrots are done, the green beans will be sad, wilted and overcooked. Or plan to throw the green beans in after the carrots have had some alone time in the oven.

Here's some good vegetable choices for roasted vegetables. Roasting temperature is 400° F.

• Asparagus: 10 minutes for medium stalks, 5-7 for skinny stalks
• Beets: 30 minutes for baby beets, an hour for bigger beets. I like to leave them whole because they are easier to peel that way.
• Broccoli: 10 minutes
• Brussels sprouts: 30 minutes
• Carrots: 25-30 minutes
• Cauliflower: 25 minutes
• Green beans: 10 minutes
• Mushrooms: 10-20 minutes, whole. I don't like them raw in the middle so I cook them 20 minutes.
• Potatoes: 25-45 minutes, cut into chunks. Fingerlings can be roasted whole.
• Sweet Potatoes: 30 minutes cut in chunks
• Winter squash: 30 minutes, cut into chunks