Bottega - Michael Chiarello [16]
COURT BOUILLON
2 cups diced yellow onions (about 2 large onions)
1 cup diced peeled carrot
1 cup diced celery
8 cups cold water
10 black peppercorns
1½ tablespoons sea salt, preferably gray salt, or kosher salt
1 fresh thyme sprig, or ½ teaspoon dried thyme
2 pounds chicken wings
AGRODOLCE SAUCE
1 cup Champagne vinegar or white wine vinegar
½ cup sugar
½ cup finely chopped red onion
½ teaspoon fennel seeds, toasted (see Chef’s Note)
Pinch of sea salt or kosher salt
½ teaspoon Calabrian chile (see Resources), or ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
Corn, peanut, canola, or any neutral oil for deep-frying
2 cups buttermilk
Fritti Flour
FOR THE COURT BOUILLON: In a stockpot, combine the onions, carrot, celery, water, peppercorns, salt, and thyme and bring to a boil over high heat. As soon as it boils, reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer for 10 minutes.
Add the chicken, reduce the heat to the lowest setting, and simmer for 30 minutes. Remove from the heat and let the chicken stand in the liquid until cool, at least 30 minutes. (See Chef’s Note, below.)
FOR THE AGRODOLCE SAUCE: In a medium saucepan, combine the vinegar and sugar and bring to a boil over high heat. Stir until the sugar is dissolved. Add the onion, fennel seeds, and salt; reduce the heat to medium-low; and simmer until it reaches the consistency of maple syrup, about 10 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the Calabrian chile. Taste and add more chile if you like it very spicy. Set aside.
In a large, heavy pot, heat 3 inches of oil over high heat until it registers 375°F on a deep-fat thermometer. Pour the buttermilk into a shallow bowl and the fritti flour in another shallow bowl.
Dip each chicken wing into the buttermilk and then roll in the fritti flour to coat. Cook about 6 coated chicken wings at a time in the hot oil until just slightly darker than the color of honey all the way around, about 4 to 6 minutes. Using tongs, transfer the wings from the oil to the agrodolce sauce and turn them to coat evenly. Shake off the excess and transfer the wings to a plate. Repeat to cook the remaining wings. Serve hot.
CHEF’S NOTE: Don’t be in a hurry to pull the chicken from the court bouillon. If you let the chicken cool in the liquid, it will absorb the liquid and stay tender and juicy. If you pull the chicken out before the liquid is cool, the chicken will be dry.
Pesto Arancini Stuffed with Mozzarella
MAKES 16 ARANCINI; SERVES 4
Arancini, or rice-balls filled with melting cheese, are for leftover-risotto days. I never make the rice from scratch when I’m making arancini at home. If you don’t have leftover risotto, you can make these balls from cooked Arborio rice, but be sure to add a teaspoon or two of salt while the rice cooks. (Honestly, you’re better off making a big pot of risotto—see “The ABC’s of Risotto,”—and then making arancini the next day.)
Arancini remind me of my friend Mariano Orlando. He always made arancini the Sicilian way, his rice balls the size of oranges. We talked once about arancini and he kept saying in Italian, “telephone wire,” making a motion with his hands as if to stretch a length of cord. “What are you saying?” I asked him. “Why are you talking about telephone wire?” The cheese, Mariano said, should stretch like a telephone wire when you take a bite from a perfect arancini and pull it away from your lips.
Our arancini don’t have that same telephone wire of cheese; we use a little less cheese in the middle and a lot more cheese in the risotto. You can add more cheese to the middle if you want to go for the telefono filo effect. If you want to make these a few hours ahead, pour panko crumbs into a baking dish and rest the arancini on the panko before covering the dish in plastic wrap and refrigerating.
3 cups leftover risotto or cooked Arborio rice, cooled
1½ cups