Mark Bittman's Quick and Easy Recipes From the New York Times - Mark Bittman [61]
3. Pour most but not all of the cooking juices out of the skillet. Put the skillet over medium-high heat and add the shallot; sprinkle with a little salt and pepper and cook, stirring, until the shallot is tender, about 2 minutes. Add the vinegar and raise the heat to high. Cook for a minute or two, or until the powerful smell has subsided somewhat. Add ½ cup water and cook for another 2 minutes, stirring, until the mixture is slightly reduced and somewhat thickened. Stir in the butter if you like.
4. Return the chicken and any accumulated juices to the skillet and turn the chicken in the sauce. Serve immediately.
VARIATIONS
Paul Bocuse’s Poulet au Vinaigre
In step 1, brown the chicken in 7 tablespoons butter. In step 3, add 3 tablespoons butter to the reduced vinegar sauce.
• Substitute chopped garlic or onion for the shallot.
• Add an herb to the chicken as it’s browning: a sprig of fresh tarragon (or a big pinch of dried tarragon), a few fresh thyme sprigs (or 1 teaspoon dried), or 5 or 6 bay leaves.
• Use champagne, rice, or white wine vinegar.
• Add about 2 tablespoons capers to the vinegar as it reduces.
• Stir a tablespoon or more of Dijon mustard into the sauce just before serving.
CHICKEN WITH APRICOTS
MAKES 4 SERVINGS
TIME: 40 MINUTES
CHICKEN WITH DRIED apricots is hardly a new idea, but it’s almost always too sweet, and the routine addition of cinnamon and cloves makes the whole thing taste more like dessert than dinner. Take them away, add a little vinegar to counter the fruit’s sweetness, improve and simplify the cooking technique, and you have a beautiful dish for a winter meal.
1 cup dried apricots or other fruit
¼ cup red wine vinegar
½ cup red wine
1 chicken, cut into serving pieces
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 medium onion, chopped
1. Put the apricots in a small bowl (or a 2-cup measure) and add the vinegar, wine, and about ¼ cup water to cover. Let soak while you brown the chicken.
2. Turn the heat to medium-high under a 12-inch nonstick skillet and add the chicken, skin side down. Cook, rotating the pieces (not turning them) so they brown evenly. When they are nicely browned—take your time—turn them so they are skin side up and season with salt and pepper. Make a little space in which you can add the onion and cook, stirring the onion occasionally, until it has softened a bit, a minute or two.
3. Add the apricots and their liquid and bring to a boil; cook for a minute, then turn the heat to low and cover. Cook until the chicken is done, 15 to 20 minutes; do not turn while it is cooking. Remove the lid, raise the heat, and season the chicken well with salt and pepper. Boil out any excess liquid; you do not want the sauce to be too watery. Taste and adjust the seasoning if necessary and serve.
VARIATIONS
• A few fresh thyme sprigs, added at the beginning of step 2 and discarded before you serve the chicken, add another dimension to this dish.
• A tablespoon or two of butter, stirred in at the end, will make the sauce considerably richer. Or you might render some bacon, remove it, and brown the chicken in the bacon fat; crumble the bacon and stir it in at the end of cooking.
COQ AU VIN WITH PRUNES
MAKES 4 SERVINGS
TIME: 1 HOUR
THE CHICKEN MUST be well browned before the rest of the dish is cooked, and in this instance there is no hurrying the process. Take your time and brown each piece of chicken well; especially if you’re cooking for eight or more, this will take a while, as you’ll have to brown in batches.
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 chicken, cut into serving pieces
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 large onion, chopped
¼ cup minced salt pork or bacon (optional)
1½ teaspoons minced garlic
¾ pound pitted prunes
½ to ¾ bottle Burgundy, Pinot Noir, or other fruity red wine
4 tablespoons (½ stick) butter (optional)
Minced fresh parsley for garnish
1. Put the oil in a large skillet, preferably