Mark Bittman's Quick and Easy Recipes From the New York Times - Mark Bittman [53]
CHICKEN WITH SWEET-AND-SOUR SHERRY SAUCE
MAKES 4 SERVINGS
TIME: 25 MINUTES
CHICKEN BREASTS ARE so bland that they demand something—a spice rub, a salsa, or a strong reduction sauce. If you start with strong-tasting solids and add a variety of bold liquids, reducing each one to a syrupy consistency, you end up with an intense and complex reduction sauce. The process can involve esoteric ingredients and procedures, or it can be quite straightforward, like this one, which is direct, quick, and easy, especially considering that the result is a dark, complex sauce that can be used in many ways (see the variations).
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon olive oil
½ cup oyster or shiitake mushrooms, trimmed and roughly chopped (shiitake stems discarded or reserved for stock)
¼ cup sliced shallot
2 teaspoons honey
2 tablespoons sherry vinegar or good-quality wine vinegar
⅓ cup dry (fino) sherry
1 cup meat, chicken, or vegetable stock
4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves (1 to 1½ pounds)
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1. Preheat the broiler or start a grill. Put a 10-inch skillet over medium-high heat for a minute or two. Add the tablespoon of olive oil, then the mushrooms and shallot, and turn the heat to high. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the mushrooms brown nicely on the edges, about 5 minutes.
2. Add the honey and stir until it evaporates, less than a minute. Add the vinegar and cook, stirring occasionally, until the mixture is dry, about 2 minutes. Add the sherry and cook, stirring once or twice, until the mixture is syrupy and nearly dry, about 5 minutes. Add the stock and cook, stirring once or twice, until the mixture thickens slightly, about 5 minutes. Reduce the heat to medium-low and keep warm.
3. Sprinkle the chicken breasts with salt and pepper and broil or grill them for about 6 minutes, or until cooked through.
4. When the chicken is done, season the sauce to taste with salt and pepper and strain it if you like; stir in the remaining olive oil. Serve the chicken with the sauce spooned over it.
VARIATIONS
Mushrooms and Shallots with Sweet-and-Sour Sherry Sauce
Sauté about 1 pound fresh mushrooms, sliced (a combination of different mushrooms is best, but you can use all shiitakes or all button if you like), in 2 tablespoons olive oil over medium-high heat. The mushrooms will first give up their liquid, then begin to brown. When they start to crisp up, add ¼ cup minced shallot. Cook for another 3 or 4 minutes, then serve with the sauce.
• Sauté the chicken breasts, using the recipe for Chicken Cutlets Meunière, and serve with the sauce.
• Serve the sauce with poached, grilled, or sautéed shrimp.
GRILLED CHICKEN THIGHS WITH SAUCE AU CHIEN
MAKES 4 SERVINGS
TIME: 30 MINUTES
ONCE IN MARTINIQUE I ate at a restaurant that was so simple that almost all of the food—chicken, tuna, quail, pork, and veal kidneys—was grilled. Not only that; it was all served with the same thin, powerful sauce, made of lime, scallion, chile, and garlic, with loads of allspice. It was the allspice that made the sauce unusual, but there was more to it than that: the garlic and scallion looked uncooked but had lost their harshness and become easily digestible. Furthermore, the base of the sauce was not oil, but water. With the help of a friend who was born on Martinique, I was able to duplicate the sauce at home. It’s called sauce au chien, which means “dog sauce” (a fact I chose not to research too aggressively). And it’s great with almost anything grilled.
1 tablespoon slivered or minced garlic
6 scallions, trimmed and minced
1 jalapeño, habanero, or scotch bonnet chile, seeded, stemmed, and minced, or chile paste (see Notes) or hot red pepper flakes to taste (start with about ½ teaspoon)
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
½ teaspoon ground allspice, or to taste (see Notes)
1 tablespoon peanut, grapeseed, corn, or other neutral oil
8 chicken thighs (about 2 pounds)