Orange & Saffron Chicken Tagine

adapted from a cooks illustrated recipe

You can make this in a dutch oven if you don't have a Tagine

Ingredients:

1/4 tsp. saffron threads
5 tsp. garlic, pressed
1 1/4 tsp. paprika
3 orange zest strips (2 inches long each)- use a vegetable peeler to remove the wide strips of zest.
1 chicken, cut up, (split breasts cut in half, drumsticks, thighs)
Salt, to taste
fresh ground pepper, to taste
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 large onion, halved and sliced 1/4 inch thick
2 medium carrots, peeled and cut into 1/2 inch coins
2 cups gluten free chicken broth
1/2 cup Moroccan olives
2 Tbsp fresh mint, minced
1/3 cup fresh squeezed orange juice (juice from one orange)

Directions:

1. combine the saffron, 4 tsp. of garlic and paprika in a small bowl, set aside.

2. Mince 1 strip of the orange zest and mix with the remaining pressed garlic and set aside.

3. Pat the chicken dry and season with salt & pepper. Heat oil in the Tagine (or dutch oven) over med-high heat until just smoking. Brown half the chicken on both sides, 5 to 8 minutes per side, reducing heat if necessary (cover with a splatter guard if you are using a Tagine) . Transfer chicken to a plate and repeat with remaining chicken. Transfer chicken to a plate again.

4. Pour off all but 1 Tbsp fat from the Tagine. Add onion, remaining orange zest strips and 1/4 tsp. salt and cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally until the onion is softened (5-7 minutes). Stir in the garlic spice mixture and cook about 30 seconds, stir in carrots and broth, scraping up any brown bits.

5. Bring the drumsticks and thigh pieces back to the Tagine & simmer. Cover and simmer for about 10 minutes, then add the breast and wing pieces, cover again and simmer for about 30 minutes (or until all of the chicken is cooked through, -dark meat at 170-175 and the white meat at 160-165 with an instant read thermometer)

6. Transfer the chicken to a serving dish and tent loosely with foil.

7. Skim off any fat on top of the Tagine liquids, add the olives & simmer 4 minutes. Stir in the garlic/orange-zest mixture, mint & orange juice. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Pour the sauce over the chicken and serve.

8. Serve with brown rice.

The 10 cent Diet Gluten Free, Naturally - the cookbook!

Well I finally made the cookbook. Blurb has an option to transfer information from Blogger so I chose to do it that way. I had a couple friends ask me like a hundred times to make this so I did. :)

Easy Veggie soup

We started our soup with some Turkey Stock that we had in the freezer from Canadian Thanksgiving. You could use homemade chicken stock or vegetarian soup stock as well.

Ingredients

4 cups gluten free soup stock
2 medium carrots, chopped small
2 baby bok choy, chopped, with greens separated from the white stalks
2 handfuls of shiitake mushrooms sliced, hard stems removed and discarded (save them for your next soup stock)
1 small bell pepper, seeds removed and chopped into small bite size pieces
1 small onion, chopped fine
1 Tbsp. fresh ginger, finely chopped
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 scallions, greens only, chopped for garnish
salt, to taste
fresh ground pepper, to taste
crushed red chili peppers, to taste
fresh lemon wedges for serving

1 cup Brown Rice- cooked according to the package instructions

Directions:

1. Cook the brown rice according to the package instructions.

2. Heat stock in soup pot over medium heat, add ginger, garlic and chopped onion. When the soup begins to boil, add the carrots, shiitake mushrooms, bell peppers and Bok Choy stalks. Turn heat down to simmer and cook until vegetables are sufficiently done. (add some water if you need too) Salt to taste, add crushed red pepper. Adjust seasonings until satisfied, Stir in the bok choy greens at the last minute.

3. Scoop some brown rice into individual serving bowls, ladle vegetable soup over top. Garnish with scallion pieces and serve with lemon wedges for a little squeeze of freshness.

Easy Chicken Curry for 1

Ingredients:
2 Tbsp. vegetable oil
1/4 tsp. cumin seeds
1 bay leave
2 cardamom pods
2 black peppercorns
1/2 red onion, finely chopped
1 medium potato, washed, cut into cubes and parboiled for about 10 minutes.
1 tsp. salt
1 boneless skinless chicken breast. cut into large pieces

1/2 Tbsp. fresh ginger chopped very very fine
3 cloves garlic, chopped very very fine
1 tsp. ground coriander
1 tsp. ground cumin
1 tsp. chili powder
1 tsp. ground turmeric
1 tomato, chopped until nearly smooth
1 cup gluten free chicken stock (or water)
ground cinnamon for garnish
chopped fresh cilantro for garnish

Directions:

1. Heat the oil in a cast iron skillet and add the whole spices. When they crackle, add the onions and fry over medium heat until they are brown. Stir in the parboiled potatoes and cook for 5 minutes. Add the salt then the chicken. Cook for 5 minutes until the chicken is lightly browned.

2. Add the ginger, garlic, ground coriander, cumin, chili powder and turmeric. Cook for another 6 minutes, stirring constantly, until the spices begin to release their aromas. Stir in the tomatoes and cook for another 4 minutes. Then add the stock & bring to boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer until chicken is cooked through.

3. Adjust seasonings to taste, sprinkle with ground cinnamon, and chopped cilantro.

4. Serve with brown basmati rice and mango chutney.