L ifestyles /C ulture
One-Dish Chicken Dinners
F O OD
KERI WHITE | JE FOOD COLUMNIST
COOKS LOVE A one-dish
meal. And winter really lends
itself to this type of cooking —
these dishes generally involve
a lengthy simmer or braise
and have a comforting, warm
vibe. I have discovered two
fantastic chicken dishes, one
an oven braise, the other a
stovetop meal. Both were
inspired by recipes I read
about — one in The New York
Times’ food pages, the other
in The Wall Street Journal, but
I tweaked both to my prefer-
ence, my audience (read: vegan
cheese for a meat dish) and
what I had in my fridge. Toss a
simple green salad, and dinner
is done!
Meals like this usually
accommodate larger crowds,
but for many of us these days,
we are not gathering the whole
family, so I have scaled these
accordingly. SUMAC-BRAISED CHICKEN
STEW Serves 2-4
I used a whole bone-in breast
for this, but you could use
whatever bits you like —
thighs, legs, even a whole
fryer cut in pieces would be
fine. I marinated the chicken
overnight, which resulted
in a wonderfully tender and
flavorful dish, but if you don’t
have time for that, fret not. The
braise will do just fine without
that extra step.

But if you do proceed with
the marinade step, you will
use a portion of the spices in
the marinade and the rest in
the assembly of the dish. If you
skip the marinating, just use
the entire amounts listed in the
recipe as you prep the meal.

I served this with spaghetti
squash, which cooked along-
side the stew in the oven. I just
scraped out the squash, tossed
JEWISHEXPONENT.COM it with a bit of salt and pepper,
and dinner was ready.

1 whole bone-in chicken
breast, cut down the
middle, and each breast
cut in half again
(4 pieces total)
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 small onions, divided
2 tablespoons smoked
paprika 1 tablespoons sumac
1 tablespoon salt, divided
1 tablespoon ground cumin,
divided Generous grinding of fresh
cracked pepper
½ teaspoon cinnamon,
divided 4 Yukon Gold potatoes,
cut in large chunks
½ cup chicken stock
In large zip seal bag or sealable
container, mix the chicken with
1 tablespoon olive oil, one of
the onions (sliced), 1 tablespoon
paprika, ½ tablespoon sumac, ½
tablespoon cumin and ½ table-
spoon salt. Rub the marinade
into the chicken, and refrig-
erate it for 2-24 hours. Before
cooking, bring the chicken to
room temperature.

Heat your oven to 350 F.

Dump the chicken in the
pan with onions and potatoes.

In a small bowl, mix the oil
and spices. Pour these over the
chicken, onion and potatoes,
and rub the spice blend over all
ingredients to distribute. Add
the chicken broth, cover the
pan with an ovenproof lid or
aluminum foil and bake in the
oven, approximately 1 hour.

Check the pan periodically to
ensure that the liquid has not
evaporated; if it is nearly gone,
add more broth or water in
¼-cup increments. It should
not be soupy, more like a stew.

The dish is done when
the chicken is totally tender
and the potatoes are cooked
through. Taste for seasoning,
adjust as needed and serve.

Lemon chicken with couscous
Photo by Keri White
the olive oil and vegan cheese,
if using. Set aside.

Generously salt the chicken.

Heat the remaining oil in the
skillet, and sear the chicken on
all sides, about 5 minutes total.

Remove the chicken to a plate.

Add the remaining 2 shallots,
cut in chunks, to the pan, and
cook to brown, about 4 minutes.

Add the couscous, and stir to
coat. Then add the broth and
oregano, and bring to simmer.

Return the chicken to
the skillet, along with any
drippings from the plate, stir,
cover and simmer over low
heat for about 30 minutes until
the chicken is cooked through,
the couscous is tender and the
liquid is absorbed.

Remove it from the heat,
fluff the couscous, top it with
the lemon mixture and then
sprinkle it with chopped
parsley. l
zest in a small bowl. Remove
the peel and pith, then coarsely
Serves 4
chop the lemon, placing all
flesh and juice in the bowl with
I adjusted this dish, inspired the zest. Add the almonds, 1 of
by a recipe I saw in the NYT, to the shallots (sliced thinly), red
my personal preferences.

pepper flakes, 2 tablespoons of
I served it with sautéed
greens, but most any green
Name: House of Kosher Supermarket
vegetable or salad would
Width: 3.625 in
complement this nicely. I would
Depth: 5.5 in
avoid starchy vegetables simply
Color: Black plus one
because the couscous provides
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a good amount of carbs, but
greens, string beans, broccoli
or a green salad would be a nice
counterbalance to this dish.

LEMON CHICKEN WITH
COUSCOUS 1 lemon
2 ounces crumbled vegan
feta or haloumi cheese,
if desired
¼ cup salted almonds,
coarsely chopped
3 shallots, divided
¼ teaspoon red pepper
flakes 4 tablespoons olive oil,
divided 2 pounds boneless chicken
breast, cut in large,
bite-sized pieces
¾ teaspoons salt
1½ cups Israeli couscous
1½ cups chicken stock
½ teaspoon dried oregano
flakes 1 handful fresh parsley,
chopped Zest the lemon and place the
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JANUARY 7, 2021
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