Day 24: Chicken Braises and Eggplant and Zucchini Tian

Braising was one of those terms that, before school, I wanted to learn more about. To me it embodied up-leveling my cooking, learning a technique that might not be super complicated but is widely applicable and generally makes most things delicious. It just sounds fancy and rustic at the same time!Now that I’ve done it a few times, I know that braising just means browning, and then cooking low and slow, either with wet heat (some type of liquid) or covered. Coq au vin is a delicious chicken braise.Browning before the liquid is addedUnfortunately, the chicken braise I cooked in class was not my favorite. It had so much potential: mushrooms, leeks, cream - what’s not to love? But it just didn’t quite turn out. What DID turn out was this fabulous chicken tagine that my classmate made. If you don’t love briny flavors, this recipe probably isn’t for you. But if you find mediterranean flavors like citrus and olives irresistible, you’ll love this dish. We also learned that one of the things that differentiates a tagine from a normal braise is the use of grated onion as the liquid in the dish. Here it just makes it that much more flavorful. If you buy a jar of preserved lemons from the store, they will last forever in the fridge! You only need one for this recipe.

Chicken Tagine with Preserved Lemons

Ingredients:

• 1 preserved lemon
• 1/2  tsp powdered ginger
• ⅛ tsp black pepper
• Pinch salt
• 3 cloves garlic
• 2 tbsp peanut oil (or other high smoke point oil, like canola oil)
• 6 chicken thighs
• 2 tbsp grated onion
• Pinch saffron
• 2 tbsp chopped cilantro, separating leaves from the stems
• ¼ cup pitted castelvetrano olives, cut in half
• 2 tbsp chopped cilantro

Method:

1. In a blender puree the pulp of the lemon with the ginger, pepper, salt, garlic and oil. Cut the chicken with this mixture (you can do this step a day ahead!)
2. Place the chicken and its marinade in a deep casserole with the onion, saffron, cilantro stems, and 1 cup of water. Bring to a boil, lower heat and cook, covered, until the chicken is done.
3. Remove the chicken from the casserole and simmer the sauce until reduced by one third. Add slivered peel from the preserved lemons, the olives and the cilantro leaves
4. Place the chicken in a shallow, ovenproof serving dish (e.g. gratin) and pour the sauce over. Place in a 400 oven until sauce is glazed on top.

Eggplant and Zucchini Tian

Apparently Tian is the dish that everyone *thinks* is ratatouille. It’s essentially stacked, roasted vegetables, slathered in olive oil that melt in the oven and become all jammy and delicious. The vegetables top a layer of onions that have been cooked down with thyme - not quite caramelized but definitely full of that sweet onion flavor. Great dish to make ahead!

Ingredients:

• 1 clove garlic
• ¾ cup olive oil
• 2 large onions, sliced
• Salt and black pepper
• 1 tsp thyme
• 1 pound each zucchini, japanese eggplant, and plum tomatoes

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 400 F
2. Rub the bottom of a gratin with the clove of garlic. In a saute pan, add ¼ cup olive oil and then cook onions until soft. Season with salt and pepper and stir in the thyme. Spread the onion on the bottom of the gratin dish
3. Slice the zucchini, eggplant and tomatoes into ¼ inch rounds. Season generously with salt and pepper. Overlap alternating slices of eggplant, zucchini and tomato on top of the onions. Drizzle the rest of the olive oil on top, and cover with tin foil.
4. Bake covered until until vegetables are tender, about 30 minutes. Then remove the cover and bake for an additional 15-20 minutes.