L ifestyle /C ulture
Spring Chicken Dinner
F OO D
KERI WHITE | JE FOOD COLUMNIST
SPRING HAS ARRIVED
in earnest, and that means a
new crop of seasonal produce
is at the market. I was thrilled
to find a batch of fiddleheads
and promptly planned a spring
chicken dinner around them.

Now, I realize the term
“spring chicken” is often used in
the negative to convey precisely
the opposite, as in “She’s no
spring chicken,” but I’m setting
that impression aside for this
meal — which is seasonal,
delicious and perfect for a cool
spring evening when you want
something comforting but
not heavy.

The chicken dish is ideal for
this time of year: We are not
quite to the warm weather, grill
everything stage, but we have
are in the traditional “roast
chicken” palate, therefore no
moved away from the hearty chili or cumin, curry powder
or coconut milk, it is likely to
stews and roasts of winter.

One technique I recently appeal to even picky eaters.

learned from a cooking maven
friend that put a spring in my SPRING CHICKEN WITH
step—“cleaning” or “fresh- GRAVY
ening” the chicken with lemon. Serves 4-6, depending on size of
She swears by it, claiming that chicken pieces
it really does make the chicken
taste better. The results are If the chicken pieces are large,
beyond reproach, so when I you can cut them. I used split
make this dish I will certainly breasts and cut them into
factor in that step, and will three pieces each. This ensures
integrate it into other chicken quicker, even cooking and
recipes. allows the flavors to permeate
The other great thing more thoroughly.

about this dish is that it cooks
quickly; depending on the
For the chicken:
size of the chicken pieces, it
6 bone-in chicken pieces of
can be done on the stove in
equal size (thighs/breasts/
about 30 minutes with its own
legs) gravy ready to splash over rice,
½ lemon
noodles or potatoes as desired.

2 tablespoons oil
And because the f lavors
2 cups chicken stock
1 onion, chopped
2-3 tablespoons flour
2-3 tablespoons water
SHOP THE
HOUSE FROM
YOUR HOME.

For the seasoning:
1 tablespoon dried thyme
2 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon pepper
Chopped fresh parsley for
garnish, if desired
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20 MAY 20, 2021
Clean the chicken with
fresh slices of lemon by
rubbing the cut sides of the
lemon over the entire surface
and squeezing juice on each
piece. Set aside.

Mix all the seasoning ingre-
dients together in a small
bowl or measuring cup. Coat
the chicken lightly with the
seasoning mixture, sprinkling
it over each piece, and allowing
it to sit for a few minutes or a
few hours.

Bring the chicken to room
temperature before cooking.

Heat the oil in a pan on high
heat until shimmering. Lower
the heat to medium-high.

Add the chicken, bone-side
down, and cook it for about 5
JEWISH EXPONENT
Spring chicken with gravy
minutes (take care not to smoke
or burn). Flip the chicken to
skin-side down and cook until
the skin is crispy and golden,
about 5 minutes more. Remove
the chicken from the pan and
let it rest. Cover the chicken
tightly with foil. (It will not be
fully cooked at this point.)
Lower the
heat to
medium-low and add the
onion; sauté it for about 5
minutes. While the onions
cook, mix the flour and water
to form a thin paste; set it aside.

When the onions are translu-
cent, add the chicken broth,
raise the heat and bring it to a
boil, scraping the browned bits
and incorporating them into
the broth.

Return the chicken and any
juices to pan (skin side up),
cover and simmer on low heat
for about 15 minutes or longer,
depending on the size of your
pieces. Check the largest
piece for doneness. The liquid
should be reduced by about
one-quarter. Remove the chicken from
the pan, keep it warm and add
the flour mixture, whisking
constantly. Bring it to a boil
for one minute to thicken the
gravy, whisk it again and shake
the pan a bit to ensure a consis-
tent texture throughout the
gravy. Taste for seasoning.

Put the chicken back in the
pan, or plate it atop rice or
Photo by Keri White
noodles and top it with the
gravy and fresh parsley.

FIDDLEHEADS Serves 4
These lovely coils are the
culinary embodiment of spring
— green, fresh and fleeting.

The farmer who sold them
to me advised that I blanch the
fiddleheads in boiling water for
a few minutes and then cook
them in a white wine reduc-
tion. So I did.

If you want to add a bit of
richness to the dish, depending
on what else you are serving, you
can put a tablespoon of butter,
margarine or olive oil into the
wine reduction before adding
the blanched fiddleheads.

2-3 cups fresh fiddleheads,
rinsed well
½ cup dry white wine
Salt and pepper to taste
Bring a large pot of salted
water to a boil. Drop the fiddle-
heads in, and cook them for
about 7 minutes.

While the fiddleheads boil,
heat the wine in a skillet with
the salt and pepper, and bring
it to a boil to allow it to reduce,
about 5 minutes, Drain the
fiddleheads and dump them
into the reduced wine. Sauté
them briefly to coat, about 1-2
minutes, and serve. l
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