Chicken On The Cutting Edge

You know you're on the cutting edge of your local culinary community when the check-out clerks at the grocery store down the hill (which didn't smell the last time I visited, so it's proving to be a viable place to shop) don't recognize most of the produce you have placed on the conveyor belt.

At least the store has shallots, ginger, fennel, Boston lettuce and radiccio, which was not the case when we moved here six months ago.

And you will need these ingredients to make the following chicken recipe, which is truly divine, with a little green salad. The chicken tastes like you braised it for many hours, which you did not because it takes less than two, and it looks so festive you could serve it for Thanksgiving instead of that other bird. Or, you could take the dried out pieces of the other bird and revive them with the nectar-y glaze from this recipe:

Chicken with Yams, Fennel and Ginger
From D’Artagnan’s Glorious Game Cookbook, by Ariane Daugin, George Faison and Joanna Pruess

Serves 4

2 tablespoons clarified butter
1 tablespoon fruity olive oil
4-6 chicken pieces, skinned, washed and dried
1/2 cup Armagnac or cognac
1 cup chicken broth
1/2 cup dry white wine
2 cups very thinly sliced fennel
3 tablespoons sliced shallots
2 tablespoons sliced garlic
1 1/2 pounds sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2 inch thick slices (about 3 cups)
1 cup loosely packed dried apricots (preferably whole pitted apricots rather than apricot halves) cut into 1/4-inch dice
1 tablespoon peeled, finely sliced, fresh gingerroot
5 4-inch rosemary sprigs
2 4-inch thyme sprigs
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
1/3 cup toasted sunflower seeds (optional garnish)

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.

In a large skillet, heat the butter and oil over medium-high heat until hot, but not smoking. Add the chicken pieces and brown on both sides, 5 to 7 minutes per side. Transfer to a large Dutch oven.

Pour off the butter mixture into a small bowl and set aside. Deglaze the pan with Armagnac or cognac, stirring up any browned bits from the bottom. Add the broth and wine, increase the heat to high, and boil until the liquid is reduced by one-fourth. Pour the broth mixture over the chicken in the casserole.

Wipe out the skillet and heat 2 tablespoons of the reserved butter mixture over medium heat. Add the fennel, shallots, and garlic. Cover and sweat until softened, 5 to 6 minutes; add to casserole.

Add remaining ingredients except the seeds to the chicken and mix. Cover and bake for 1 3/4 to 2 hours, or until the meat falls off the bones. Sprinkle with seeds, if desired, and serve.