Paula Wolfert

March in the Kitchen – Italian Beer Can Chicken
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March in the Kitchen – Italian Beer Can Chicken

This recipe comes directly from the cookbook “Mediterranean Clay Pot Cooking” by Paula Wolfert. Ms. Wolfert is also the author of “The Cooking of Morocco” which is the March/April selection of the on-line cookbook book club sponsored by Leah of The Cookbook Guru.

Do you ever become enamored by a writer? Paula has done it to me. It happens with novels, TV programs, and cookbooks. I fall in love with an author and have to read everything he or she has written. I think it’s the way Ms. Wolfert combines and uses spices in unusual ways that catches my imagination, I love the unfamiliar. It’s a new adventure.

She has re-inspired me to use my clay cooking vessels more frequently, I have several and they have been gathering dust in the top cabinets for years. My adaptation of this recipe actually doesn’t use clay as I don’t have a stoneware “beer can” baker (might have to investigate). I do have a much used and appreciated beer can BBQ roaster I purchased from Williams Sonoma several years ago. Trying to perch a chicken on a rocking can of beer is an iffy proposition in the best of times and this handy-dandy contraption solves the problem.  The roasting pan is meant to be used on the BBQ, it has places for either one or two”beer cans” which snap firmly in place. Thus your chicken is not in danger of tipping over and burning you with hot liquid.

Beer Can Roaster

Beer Can Roaster

Surprisingly beer can chicken is quite controversial, many folks say that it doesn’t do a thing to enhance the taste of chicken. There are actually on-line discussions devoted to experiments, both pro and con! I am definitely on the pro side, I think the hot liquid (and metal can) speed the cooking of the chicken from the inside as well as the outside, the flavored liquid (you don’t need to use beer) results in a moist and flavorful chicken.

I was intrigued by this recipe because it calls for juniper berries. There has been a jar of them in my spice drawer for far too long. I wasn’t aware that they are used in Italian cooking.

Beer Can Chicken with an Italian Rub

  • 1 frying chicken, 3 1/2-4 pounds
  • 3 garlic cloves
  • 1 tablespoon of juniper berries
  • 2 teaspoons coarse salt
  • 1 teaspoon dried oregano
  • 1/2 teaspoon black peppercorns
  • 2 whole cloves
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 3 tablespoons olive oil, or clarified butter
  • 2 small lemons, 1 sliced
  1.  Wipe the chicken inside and out with damp paper towels.
  2. Using a mini food processor or a mortar and pestle, pound the juniper berries, salt, oregano, peppercorns, cloves and bay leaf to a paste. Blend in the olive oil or butter.
  3. Slide your fingers carefully between the skin over the breast and legs/thighs of the chicken, separating the skin from the meat. Be careful not to tear the skin.
  4. Insert pinches of the spice mixture under the skin and over the flesh of the chicken. Use any remaining to season the cavity and rub over the skin. Add a few slices of lemon to the cavity as well.
  5. Pre-heat your BBQ to between 350 and 400 degrees F (gas), or prepare a charcoal grill for indirect heat.
  6. Fill your beer can about two-thirds full of water and squeeze one lemon into it, add any leftover lemon slices to the container.
  7. Carefully seat the chicken so its legs straddle the beer can.
  8. Turn off the burners under where you will put the chicken or place the chicken over the spot without coals.
  9. Bake for an hour to an hour and 15 minutes until done to your liking. Check it at an hour as it may cook faster than you expect.

    Italian Beer Can Chicken

    Italian Beer Can Chicken

  10. Remove the chicken and let it rest for at least 15 minutes. Carefully remove the bird off the stand and transfer to a cutting board.
Beer Can Chicken

Beer Can Chicken

 

Beer Can Chicken wih Slow Roasted Carrots and Arugula

Beer Can Chicken wih Slow Roasted Carrots and Arugula

If you are lucky enough to own a stoneware beer-can baker here are the instructions.

  1. Carefully remove the chicken off the stand so the juices run into the bowl. Transfer the chicken to a cutting board and let it rest for 5-10 minutes.
  2. Meanwhile, degrease the juices in the bowl, pour them into a conventional skillet, and quickly boil them down until reduced by half.
  3. Correct the seasoning for salt and pepper and serve with the carved bird.

It was judged a success by the tasters.

I’m taking this to share with the gang at The Novice Gardener, it’s Fiesta Friday #62 at Angie’s place.

Fiesta Friday

 

March in the Kitchen – Marak of Cauliflower with Tomatoes and Olives
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March in the Kitchen – Marak of Cauliflower with Tomatoes and Olives

Marak of Cauliflower with Tomatoes and Olives

Cauliflower

Morak of Cauliflower with Tomatoes and Olives

This recipe comes from Paula Wolfert’s “The Food of Morocco” and is part of an ongoing cookbook book club. You will find all the postings connected to various cookbooks on the blog The Cookbook Guru. “The Food of Morocco” is the choice for March and April of this year.

A Marak is a Moroccan vegetable stew. In her introduction to the dish Ms. Wolfert says “Moroccans often steam or pan-roast vegetables in order to preserve their sweet intense flavor and to endow them with a creamy texture. Here juicy bits of preserved lemon and ripe olives embellish pan-roasted cauliflower.” Being a big fan of cauliflower, and having a head in the fridge, I decided to try it. My usual method of cooking cauliflower is tossing with spices and roasting in a hot oven, so this dish was a departure from habit.

I’m not going to wait until the end to tell you it was a big hit. Especially useful is the fact that it is best served at room temperature and can be made ahead. I would definitely serve this as part of a spread of small plates or as a side dish with roast meat.

This would serve 4 as a side, more if part of a larger spread.

Marak of Cauliflower with Tomatoes and Olives

  • ¼ cup of olive oil
  • 1 medium cauliflower, trimmed, halved, cored, divided into 1-inch florets, rinsed and drained (about 4 cups)
  • 2 teaspoons of sugar
  • 2 ripe or canned tomatoes, peeled (I didn’t bother), halved, seeded, chopped and drained
  • 2 teaspoons sweet paprika
  • 1 ½ cumin seeds, preferable Moroccan (mine weren’t)
  • 4 garlic cloves, peeled
  • 1 teaspoon coarse salt
  • 2 tablespoons chopped flat-leaf parsley
  • Juice of ½ a lemon or to taste
  • ½ a preserved lemon, rinsed, pulp and white pith removed, and slivered
  • 12 green or ripe olives, pitted
Marak of Cauliflower
  1. Heat the oil in a large straight sided skillet on medium-low heat. Add the cauliflower and sprinkle with sugar. Cover with a sheet of parchment paper and the lid, and cook for 10 minutes. Uncover, raise the heat to medium, and continue cooking until all the moisture in the skillet has evaporated and the cauliflower begins to turn golden.
  2. Add the tomatoes and paprika and continue cooking, uncovered, for another 5 minutes.
  3. Meanwhile, crush the cumin seeds (next time I would roast them first) and garlic into a paste with the salt in a mortar or small food processor. Sir in ½ cup of hot water and mix into the paste. Add it to the skillet.
  4. Continue to cook, uncovered, until all the moisture has evaporated and the cauliflower is soft and covered in sauce (about 20 minutes).
  5. Add the parsley and lemon juice, toss, let stand at room temperature for at least 30 minutes until the flavors mix.
  6. Garnish with olives and sliced preserved lemon.
Marak of Cauliflower

Marak of Cauliflower

March in the Kitchen – Chicken Tagine with Prunes and Almonds in the Style of the Rif Mountains
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March in the Kitchen – Chicken Tagine with Prunes and Almonds in the Style of the Rif Mountains

Chicken Tagine – with Prunes and Almonds in the Style of the Rif Mountains

The Food of Morocco

The Food of Morocco

Just writing the title of this recipe transports me to exotic places. It came from a wonderful cookbook, “The Food of Morocco” by Paula Wolfert. This book is the March/April choice of the Cookbook Guru, an online cookbook book club. I have several cookbooks by Ms. Wolfert; they all have a definite Mediterranean slant and are all highly recommended. If you would like to read more posts inspired by the cookbook, click on the link.

She credits the origins of this recipe to the Moroccan writer Mohammed Mrabet, who lived in the Rif Mountains. It seems the people who inhabit the area are very individualistic and do things their own way. The technique of rubbing cumin into the skin of the chicken before cooking is not known in other parts of the country.

First I think we all need a short geography lesson if you were wondering, as I was, “where are the Rif Mountains?” The Rif, or Arabic Al-Rif, is a mountain range in Northern Morocco. It extends from Tangier to the Moulouya River valley near the Moroccan-Algerian frontier. For most of its 180-mile length, the range hugs the Mediterranean Sea, leaving only a few narrow coastal valleys suitable for agriculture or urban settlement. . The higher peaks, including Mount Tidirhine, which at 8,059 feet (2,456 metres) is the loftiest, are snow-capped in winter.The Berbers have inhabited the Rif since prehistoric times and the region’s name comes from the Berber word Arif.

This dish was reportedly cooked for members of the Tangier literary set by Mohammed Mrabet; who is mostly known in the West through his association with Paul Bowles, William Burroughs and Tennessee Williams. He is a writer and artist who makes colorful felt tip and ink drawings in the style of Paull Masson or a more depressive Jean Miro. He is increasingly being recognized as an important member of a small group of Moroccan Master Painters.

Ok, enough back story, here is the recipe:

Chicken Tagine – with Prunes and Almonds in the style of the Rif Mountains

  • One medium-sized chicken, preferably organic and air chilled
  • Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper
  • 2 teaspoons of cumin (she prefers Moroccan which I did not have)
  • 12 ounces of pitted prunes
  • 2 -3 teaspoons of ground Ceylon cinnamon (I used 1 stick of cinnamon)
  • 2 large yellow onions, halved and sliced lengthwise
  • 1 teaspoon ground turmeric
  • 1 teaspoon ground ginger (I used ½ teaspoon of freshly grated ginger)
  • 1 cup blanched whole almonds
  • Vegetable oil such as canola for frying

This is the perfect dish for cooking in a clay casserole, if you have one. It is the first dish I have cooked in my new Emile Henry casserole.

Clay Baker

Clay Baker

  1. Wipe the chicken dry with paper towels, trim away excess fat. Cut off the wings and leg/thighs; leave the breast in one piece. Rub all the pieces with the cumin, salt, and pepper. Let stand at least 1 hour.
  2. Meanwhile, cover the prunes with hot water in a small saucepan and add the cinnamon. Bring to a boil, then turn down the heat and simmer 10 minutes. Set aside.
  3. Place the onions in a wide, shallow casserole, with the turmeric, ginger, more salt and pepper to taste, and ¼ cup of water. Cover, bring to a boil, and simmer for 15 minutes.
  4. Meanwhile, brown the almonds in a few tablespoons of oil in a large skillet. When golden brown, remove them with a slotted spoon to paper towels to drain. Using the same oil, brown the chicken on all sides.
  5. Transfer the chicken to top the steamed onions.
  6. Cover with a sheet of parchment paper, then the lid to the casserole (the recipe as written did not say the lid). Cook on the lowest heat for about 1-1/4 hours.
  7. Uncover and discard the parchment paper. Add the cooked prunes to the casserole and bring to a boil. Remove from the heat. Arrange the chicken breast in the center of a serving dish, place the legs and thighs around and cover all with the prunes and sauce. Sprinkle with almonds to serve.
Chicken Tagine

Chicken Tagine

I made a few modifications to the recipe as written, have a few comments, and changes I would make next time.

  • We thought the chicken was very flavorful but the breast was dry. I would use either leg thigh quarters or all thighs next time.
  • I prefer whole spices to ground as they lose flavor and aroma quickly. You can see my substitutions in the list of ingredients.
  • She did not say to put on the lid of the casserole, after 30 minutes it was not really cooking as there was no liquid to submerge the chicken. I don’t know if this was a mistake or an intentional omission. I finally put the lid on the casserole to finish the dish.

The recipe is beautiful and I love the combination of spices and fruit. I would make it again but use primarily dark meat which would stay moist.

I’m taking this to share with Angie and the gang at the Novice Gardener for Fiesta Friday. Please come and have a virtual taste of all the lovely food.

Fiesta Friday

Fiesta Friday