Chicken Pot Pie

Today's recipe is adapted from Jacques Pepin's 'Complete Techniques'. I had a lot of chicken meat left over from last night's roast chicken and needed to find a use for it.

How many potpies you can make obviously depends on how much leftover cooked chicken you have. I had enough to make 4 pies, each in a 4-inch oven-safe ramekin. Take 3/4 cup white wine, add 3/4 cup chicken stock (preferably homemade), a dash of dried thyme and 1/2 small onion, sliced, and combine them in a pan, bring them to a simmer for 20 minutes, then strain the liquid through a fine sieve. Reduce the liquid to a volume of 3/4 cup (this took me 8 minutes of boiling), then add 2 tsp beurre manie (rub 1 tsp softened butter into 1 tsp flour) and whisk until smooth. Boil 5 minutes, then add 3/4 cup heavy cream and return to a boil. Taste and adjust seasoning with salt and pepper.

Meanwhile, boil some salted water. Add 2 small carrots, peeled and diced, and boil for 2 minutes. Add 1 rib celery, diced, and boil another 30 seconds. Add 1/2 cup frozen peas and boil a further 30 seconds. Strain and reserve.

Distribute cooked chicken (cut into small chunks), vegetables and sauce between ramekins, being careful not to fill all the way to the top. Take a sheet of puff pastry (you could make your own, but I bought a package of frozen dough - I used half of a 1 lb package). If frozen, allow it to thaw first, then roll it out to a thickness of 1/8 inch (my pastry was already this thick), and cut 4 rounds (each a little larger than the top of the ramekin). Beat 2 egg yolks, and brush each round with egg on 1 side. Place each on a ramekin, eggy side downwards. Press gently around sides of ramekin. Try to keep the pastry taut. Brush the tops with egg and refrigerate the pies for 1 hour.

Preheat your oven to 375 F. Bake pies on a sheet tray for 30 minutes. Serve straight away. Enjoy!

Note 1 - If you do not have leftover chicken, you could poach some raw chicken pieces in the wine and stock (keep simmering until cooked through) - you decide how much meat to use based on how many people you have to feed.

Note 2 - Metric Info: 4 in = 10cm; 3/4 cup = 180ml; 1/2 cup = 120ml; 1 lb = 450g; 1/8 in = 3mm; 375 F = 190 C.

Chilled Soba Noodles

Here is a good way to use up any leftover dashi (Japanese sea stock - see 'Japanese Noodle Soup' post). As everything is served cold, start well before you intend to eat.

Start by boiling water for the noodles. Do not salt the water - soba noodles are usually already salted. Add the noodles and cook until done. Drain and cool (start by letting them sit in cold water, then drain and chill in the refrigerator).

In a saucepan, combine 1 cup dashi, 1/2 cup mirin and 1/4 cup soy sauce. Bring to a boil, simmer for 5 minutes, cool (pour into metal bowl; sit on ice or in ice water) and chill in refrigerator. This is enough sauce for 3-4 appetizer portions.

When ready to serve, toss noodles with a little sesame oil (no more than a teaspoon or so) and serve with the sauce on the noodles or on the side.

This recipe is based on one of the same name in 'Asian Cook' by Terry Tan.

Note 1 - If you cannot find any of the ingredients for the sauce (or are feeling lazy), you can actually buy it in a well-stocked grocery store (in the Asian section). Look for the word 'tsuyu' on the bottle.

Note 2 - Metric info: 1 cup = 240 ml; 1/2 cup = 120 ml; 1/4 cup = 60 ml.

Potstickers

Today I had a hankering for potstickers. Potstickers are Asian dumplings that are browned in oil in a pan, then liquid is added, the pot is covered and they finish cooking by steaming. You could make whatever filling you like for the potstickers. I like to use ground pork.

Start by mixing 10 oz ground pork with 1 scallion, sliced, a small piece (1/4 inch) of ginger, peeled and grated, 1 clove of garlic, minced, a splash of sesame oil, a pinch of salt, a grinding of black pepper and 1 tsp Chinese five spice powder.

Set out some wonton wrappers (found in the refrigerated section of the supermarket, with the tofu - you can use square or round, but round is probably better) and place a small piece of filling in the middle. Wet the edges of the wrapper with water and fold the wrapper in half, sealing in the filling. If you are using the square wrappers, you can cut off the corners and press around the edges to seal.

To cook, get a lidded pan warm on medium heat. Add a little oil, swirl it around to coat the pan, and then add your potstickers, spacing them out. Allow them to get a nice browned crust on the bottoms, then add a small amount (about 1/4 cup) of water and add the lid quickly. Be careful - it will steam. Allow it to continue to steam for a few minutes until the liquid is all evaporated (keep an eye on the pan and check it when the steam stops - if you let it sit, the potstickers will burn). Carefully remove the potstickers from the pan and serve with a dipping sauce.

A simple sauce might have some soy sauce, a little chili (you could use sriracha, chili or red pepper flakes or fresh chili), a pinch of sugar and a little acid (you could use rice vinegar or lime juice). Adjust the amount of all of these components to your taste.

Note 1 - This recipe makes enough potstickers to serve 3 people as a generous-sized appetizer. If you make more than you need, they can be frozen (flour them if they are at all damp; a zip-lock bag is a good container to use).

Note 2 - If you do not have five spice powder, you can omit it from the recipe.

Note 3 - Metric info: 10 oz = 280 g; 1/4 inch = about 5 mm; 1/4 cup = 60 ml.

Green Curry Mussels

So, I still had some mussels left over from the Japanese Noodle Soup I made last night. After checking the cupboards, I realized I had enough ingredients to make this recipe, based on an appetizer we had at Leunig's Bistro in Burlington, VT a while back.

Start by inspecting your mussels. I used just short of 2 lb. Rinse them, debeard (pull the hair that is hanging out, if there is one) and discard any which are broken or will not close when tapped (these ones are probably dead and should not be eaten). Rope-cultured mussels are best as they tend not to have any grit in them.

Mince 1 clove of garlic, a small 'finger' of ginger (peeled), and dice 1/4 onion. Sweat in oil until softened. Stir in just over 1 tbsp Thai green curry paste (usually found in jars in the Asian section of the supermarket) and cook for about 1 minute. Add about 1/4 cup white wine, stir to mix the paste in and turn up the heat to bring the mixture to a boil. Add the mussels and cover the pan. Steam until all of the mussels have opened (you can remove them as they open if you wish). Discard any mussels that do not open (but give them a chance to do so), and remove them to a clean bowl and keep warm.

To the sauce in the pan, add 1/2 can (7 floz) coconut milk (shake the can before opening) and about 1/4 cup of cream or half and half. Allow to simmer and reduce for a few minutes until thick. Add a little lime juice, a pinch of sugar and salt to taste.

To serve, pour the sauce over the mussels in bowls. Garnish with shredded mint, basil and sliced scallions. This would be great with some jasmine rice, but I ate it with some bread.

Note 1 - If you don't have any white wine, you can substitute an equal volume of water.

Note 2 - Vary the herb garnish as desired based on what you have available. Cilantro would also be good.

Note 3 - Metric info: 2lb = 900g; 1/4 cup = 60 ml; 7 floz = 200 ml.

Miso Soup

I love miso soup. It is easy to make once you have all the ingredients and just as good as that served in Japanese restaurants.

First, you need dashi. To make this, follow the instructions in my last post - 'Japanese Noodle Soup' - or, if you already made a batch for the soup, save the strained ingredients, add them to 1 qt of water and bring to a simmer for 20 minutes. If you have any more bonito flakes, add up to about 1/3 oz, remove from the heat ands allow to stand 1 minute (if not, skip this step), then strain.

Put 2-3 tbsp miso in a small bowl and whisk in a little warm dashi to make a paste. Make sure the dashi is off the heat (it should be hot but not boiling) and stir the miso paste into the dashi. Add garnishes if desired - I like tofu cubes, wakame seaweed (follow instructions on package to rehydrate) and sliced scallions - and serve.

This should yield 2 good-sized servings of soup.

Note 1 - Instant dashi granules can be purchased instead of making it. These are not as good but are more convenient.

Note 2 - The ingredients for miso soup can be found at a well-stocked Asian market or higher-end supermarket.

Note 3 - Metric info: 1 qt = about 1 litre; 1/3 oz = 10g.

Japanese Noodle Soup (Ramen)

I have been craving ramen noodles ever since reading Momofuku (David Chang and Peter Meehan) just after Christmas. I ate them at Asiana Noodle Shop in Burlington, VT, a week ago, and wanted to try making them myself. My version deviates from David Chang's, but is simpler and uses only some of the same ingredients. Much as I love pig in its many incarnations, I was craving seafood, so that was my basis for my soup.
The soup can be split into 4 parts - broth, noodles, protein and garnish. The broth is the hardest part, but only because the ingredients are a little difficult to find. I made a Japanese sea stock ('dashi'), but you could substitute a shellfish stock or even a chicken stock if you wish (preferably homemade).

Dashi (broth)
Put 5 cups of water into a saucepan. Add 1 oz of kombu seaweed (this comes in thick sheets) and bring slowly to a boil over medium-low heat. I also added a few dried shiitake mushrooms and a few thin slices of fresh ginger, but these ingredients are not essential. Once your stock is boiling, add about 1/2 oz bonito flakes (dried fish, otherwise known as katsuobushi), remove from the heat and allow to stand for 1 minute. Strain the stock through cheesecloth or a fine sieve. Keep the fish flakes and seaweed for miso soup (see my 'miso soup' post). Season your broth with a little soy sauce, mirin and (if necessary) salt. This should be enough broth for 2-3 servings.

Noodles
I couldn't find packages of just ramen noodles, so I bought an instant ramen package (making sure first that the seasoning was in a separate packet) and used just the noodles, following the instructions on the side - boil for 3 minutes.

Protein
This is really up to you. You could go vegetarian and use tofu. You could use meat, seafood or a mix. I used shrimp (which I poached gently in the broth until cooked through), salmon (cut into small pieces and poached in the broth until cooked through), mussels (steamed in a little water until they open - I chose to remove them from their shells), scallops (seared in a very hot pan until a crust formed, then flipped and cooked for a very short while on the second side) and squid (sliced as for calamari then poached in broth for about 1 minute).

Garnish
I used a hard cooked egg (I cooked mine just short of hard - cover with cold water, bring to a boil, remove from the heat, cover and allow to sit for 12 minutes, then cool in cold water. Remove the shell and cut in half). I also used some bean sprouts, hijiki seaweed (dried - soak in cold water 30 minutes; drain) and sliced scallions.

Assembly
Put noodles in heated bowls. Add cooked seafood to warm broth to heat through. Divide between bowls, pouring broth over the noodles. Sprinkle garnish over the top. Serve.

Variations
Besides varying the protein ingredients and garnishes, you could use a different broth, or turn your dashi into a miso broth (follow instructions in my next post - 'miso soup') - if you do this, do it before seasoning the broth, as miso is salty. You could also use different noodles. I tried rice noodles (soak in boiling water 15 minutes; drain) and udon noodles (boil in unsalted water until tender). The following pictures show two other soups, both with a miso broth, one with rice noodles, the other with udon noodles.



Note 1 - Kombu, bonito flakes and hijiki can be found in a well-stocked Asian market or high-end supermarket.

Note 2 - If hijiki cannot be found, you can use wakame or nori seaweed in its place.

Note 3 - You can buy instant dashi granules if you wish (although it is better when you make it yourself). Just follow the instructions on the packet.

Note 4 - Metric info: 5 cups = 1.2 litres; 1 oz = 28g.

Mushroom Risotto

I love risotto. There is rice (admittedly, other forms of rice can be very good, but...) and then there is risotto. In my opinion, the highest incarnation of the humble grain. Anyway, enough waffling. To the recipe...

Start by heating up some stock. I used almost 1 quart of stock (this recipe fed 3-4 people). Homemade stock is preferable to bought (try my chicken stock recipe on the blog), but is not essential. If you have any dried mushrooms or edible stalks, add them to the broth and simmer them in it until soft. I used dried porcini and chanterelle mushrooms, which added a lot of flavor to the broth. Once simmered, strain the mushrooms out of the broth, reserving the broth, slice the mushrooms and set aside. Keep the strained broth warm over low heat.

Saute about 8 oz sliced fresh mushrooms (preferably a mix of different mushrooms) in butter, with salt and pepper, until soft. Add the sliced simmered mushrooms towards the end. Set aside.

While the mushrooms are cooking, cut a few shallots (or half a small onion) into very small dice. Mince 1 garlic clove. Put a little olive oil in a smallish, high-sided pan, place over medium-low heat, add the shallots and garlic and a little salt and sweat until translucent. Add 1.5 cups risotto rice (the most commonly available kind is arborio, but carnaroli or vialone nano are also great) and a slug of olive oil, and stir, coating the rice with oil and heating it through. Increase the heat to medium and add enough white wine to just come up to the top of the rice (up to about 1 cup). Keep an eye on the rice, stirring occasionally until the wine is absorbed. Add some hot stock (at least 1/2 cup) and continue to cook, stirring occasionally. Add more stock as the previous batch gets absorbed. After a little while (expect the whole process to last around 20 minutes from when you add the wine), you should notice the rice grains beginning to 'plump up'. Start tasting them occasionally at this point. You can stir the sauteed mushrooms into the rice now. Your goal is for the rice grains to be tender (no hard center) but not mushy. As soon as you reach that point, you can reduce the heat and finish the risotto.

To finish the risotto, stir in 1.5 tbsp butter, diced and 1/2 to 3/4 cup grated parmesan cheese (or asiago, romano or any other hard Italian cheese) until melted. Taste the risotto and season to taste. If you used homemade stock, it will probably need more salt; if you bought stock, you may not. Add a little freshly ground black pepper and serve. Enjoy!

Sorry, no photo this time. I forgot, and then we ate it all!

Note 1 - If you run out of stock before the risotto is done, heat up some water and add as needed.

Note 2 - I like to add corn (fresh or frozen) to the rice along with the sliced mushrooms, and add chopped parsley when finishing the risotto.

Note 3 - Metric info: 1 quart = about 1 litre; 8 oz = 225g; 1 cup = 240ml.