Coconut-Braised Chicken with Chickpeas and Lime by Alison Roman

I’ll admit I came to this recipe with a bit of healthy skepticism. An Indian-Korean fusion dish sounded nice in theory, but could gochujang and cumin really go well together? Thank goodness it’s in Alison we trust (at least when it comes to cooking). I didn’t have to taste this dish to know my doubts were laid to rest. I simply had to smell it… 

This recipe calls for a mix of bone-in, skin-on chicken parts. Instead of trying to cut up a whole chicken myself this time, I bought 1.7 pounds each of legs and breasts. Which turned out to be a good call. With so much rich coconut milk, a darker meat, like thighs, would have felt too heavy. The whiter meat soaked in the fatty coconut and strong spices nicely. But I’m getting ahead of myself… 

The first twenty minutes were spent browning the chicken in my dutch oven, trying to render as much fat as possible. Sadly, much of the skin stuck to my pot, ripping off the skin as I took it out. I kept the heat at medium, like Alison says, and used canola oil too. Perhaps it’s my pot? Maybe the heat was still too high? 

With the chicken browned and the fat rendered, the chicken lies in waiting on a plate while garlic and onion spend time softening in the fat. Then joins the spice brigade: gochujang (Korean chili paste -- find this at Whole Foods or H-Mart), ginger (freshly grated), turmeric (I used the ground kind), cumin, and red pepper flakes. This is one powerful combination, and each spice is essential to the end result, adding dynamic heat, floral and earthy tones, and acidic tang (gochujang is fermented). The spices took no time at all to become fragrant. I added two cans of coconut milk next, along with chicken broth. I’ve recently taken after my pal Margaret and stopped buying cartons of chicken broth. Instead, I bought a Costco-sized jar of Better Than Bouillion and add one teaspoon at a time to boiling water before I start any recipe that requires chicken broth. It takes no time at all to make my own, plus it’s more fridge-space efficient and environmentally friendly! 

I submerged the chicken in the liquid, and sprinkled in a drained can of chickpeas. Now for the fun part: put on the lid and walk away. Forty-five minutes later, the smells of spice and coconut are frankly irresistible. But the stew needs more time. I removed the lid and let everything simmer for another half hour. You’ll know it’s ready when the chicken meat can practically fall off the bone with the smallest nudge. 

Toppings can make or break a dish. Good thing Alison’s suggestions make this dish a hundred times better: namely lime juice (use it liberally), fresh cilantro (sprinkle it freely), and thinly sliced red onions (enjoy). These three elements elevated the dish from being too heavily dominated by the coconut milk and chicken fat. I made the effort to chop up more for leftovers too – they’re that essential. For the record, Alison suggests fish sauce and peanuts as well, but I felt they were unnecessary. 

This dish is hands-down in my top three Alison-chicken dishes. It requires moderate effort and skill for such flavorful and filling results. Plus, I’m a huge fan of Indian and Korean flavors, so it’s no surprise that this dish won me over. The other top two are her Slow-Roasted Oregano Chicken with Buttered Tomatoes (no surprise there), and Crispy Chicken Legs with Rosemary, Tiny Potatoes, and Sour Cream. I also love when a dish makes enough for leftovers. Quick tip: before storing the rest in a container, try separating all of the chicken from the bones. It takes about ten minutes, but it makes eating leftovers effortless, and less messy. You’ll thank yourself later. 

140 recipes cooked, 85 to go.

Anchovy-Butter Chicken with Chicken Fat Croutons by Alison Roman

Anchovies don’t have the best reputation. I know, because I used to make an “eww” face when someone mentioned them. In the same way that sardines aren’t widely loved, anchovies draw out an almost automatic, negative response. Something about skinned fish submerged in oil with a strong smell. After 7 months of cooking with anchovies regularly, I confess I still get a little grossed out when I open a new tin and coax the tiny fillets out of the oil. They’re not visually appetizing.

Through this project, I’ve come to realize and appreciate the powerful flavor that anchovies contain. When heated, their fishiness practically disappears and I’m left with a salty umami that cannot be replicated by dumping a bunch of salt into something. The saltiness of anchovies add depth without calling attention to themselves. Case in point: after just a few bites of this chicken, my mother-in-law said, “There are anchovies in this? I can’t taste them at all!” Little did she know that almost an entire tin of anchovies were used to flavor the chicken. 

Because anchovies pack so much flavor power, little else is needed to accompany them. This chicken, a 3.5-4lb. bird, gets covered in a thin layer of salt and pepper, before a half stick of room temperature unsalted butter mixed with finely chopped anchovies and garlic gets slathered all over its skin, and even under its skin. Alison encourages us to “really get in there” with the butter. Before sticking this in the oven, I placed a head of garlic, cut crosswise, and several springs of fresh thyme into the cavity of the bird. I placed a red onion, cut into eighths, around the base of the bird to catch the fat drippings. 

The bird spends 25-35 minutes in the oven at 425 degrees. Then the temperature gets adjusted to 350 degrees, the onions get tossed in the rendered chicken juices, and it all spends another 30-35 minutes in the oven. At least, that’s how Alison tells it. I, on the other hand, had yet another chicken incident where the chicken is not at all ready when she says it will be. Yes, I used an oven thermometer and made sure my oven is as hot as it says it is. But everytime one of Alison’s chickens uses this half-an-hour at a higher temp, then half-an-hour at a lower temp method, my chicken is undercooked and I spend the next 20-30 minutes checking it every 5 minutes or so. I need to find the right solution to this problem, which will take some experimentation. Perhaps I don’t turn the temperature so low halfway through. Or I budget in the extra 30 minutes from the get-go so I don’t have a group of hungry people waiting for the chicken to finally finish. I’ve had great success with Alison’s low-and-slow method, where the bird sits for 2.5 hours at a low temp. Maybe I convert her recipes to use this method? (Margaret, any other ideas?) 

The bird was still very tasty, though a little dry on the top layers of meat from all the checking and poking with the meat thermometer. Once the chicken was cooked, I tossed a bowlful of torn sourdough bread in the chicken fat and stuck the pan back into the oven to crisp up. Chicken fat croutons were easily the best part of this dish. 

If I can figure out the oven conundrum, this dish has potential to become a regular in my kitchen. But until then, I’m sticking with the other low-and-slow birds. 

116 recipes cooked, 109 to go.

Eggs and Kale Fried in Chicken Fat by Alison Roman

I love fried eggs. I have since the morning in college that I saw Sarah (a personal hero of mine) dip her toast into the runny egg yolk pooling on her plate. I grew up in a household that cooks egg yolks until very dry. So I had subscribed to the dry egg yolk idea myself. Until Sarah unashamedly revelled in the goodness of a runny yolk and declared it her favorite breakfast. All of my assumptions about eggs went straight out the window. If Sarah can enjoy a bright yellow pool of yolk, you bet I can too. From that day on, I’ve made only over-easy fried eggs, and I always have them with toast. 

Alison Roman has succeeded in upping over-easy fried eggs’ ante by swapping the typical olive oil or butter with chicken fat. To my fellow fried egg lovers, let me tell you, this substitution will rock your egg world. 

“Where does one acquire chicken fat?,” I initially wondered. Never fear, Alison’s got you covered. Yesterday I posted about Crispy Chicken Legs with Tiny Potatoes. Well, the cup and a half of olive oil used to cook the chicken legs can be strained and saved for this very purpose! This leftover oil can be used for other cooking needs as well. For example, I used it to make a batch of Alison’s Roasted Tomato and Anchovy Bucatini a few days ago. 

Just the act of re-heating this oily fat in the pan releases so many irresistible smells - salty chicken, poached garlic, a hint of rosemary. My mouth watered before the eggs were even cracked from their shells. Both the kale and eggs are fried in the fat separately. The kale only spends about 4 minutes in the pan, until it begins to crisp at the edges. The eggs spend about 3 minutes over medium-high heat, making sure the yolks remain full of runny goodness. 

I can’t recommend enough the power of a piece of homemade sourdough bread to drag across the yolk. I imagine a homemade english muffin would have the same effect. 

The crispy chicken recipe yielded about 1 cup of fat. This egg and kale recipe only requires 4 Tbsp, so there is enough for several breakfasts more. I will savor every drop.

42 recipes cooked, 183 to go.