One Pan, Two Plates (27 page)

There’s so much to love about this dish. It’s full of colorful and healthful vegetables, and the rich coconut milk-based sauce is balanced by the flavors of lemongrass, brown sugar, fish sauce, and red curry paste. Curries can be complicated to make just because they have lots of ingredients, so I trimmed the list to only the major players. You
could
make a more complicated curry, but why would you when this one is so delicious?

........

START TO FINISH
30 minutes

...

HANDS-ON TIME
25 minutes

...

serves 2

........

1 tbsp vegetable oil

1 small yellow onion, sliced

1 small red bell pepper, seeded, deribbed, and thinly sliced

2 tbsp thinly sliced lemongrass (see Tip)

2 tsp brown sugar

2 tsp fish sauce (nam pla)

1 tbsp Thai red curry paste (see “It’s that easy”), plus more if needed

One 14-oz/400-ml can unsweetened coconut milk

2 cups/115 g broccoli florets

4 boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut into bite-size pieces

1 lime, ½ reserved for juice, ½ cut into wedges

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Microwave steam-in-the-bag rice for serving

2 tsp minced fresh cilantro

1.
Heat a 12-in/30.5-cm skillet over medium-high heat and add the vegetable oil. When the oil shimmers, add the onion, bell pepper, and lemongrass. Sauté until the vegetables begin to soften, about 2 minutes. Stir in the brown sugar, fish sauce, curry paste, and coconut milk and bring to a simmer, then reduce the heat to low and cook until the sauce reduces a little and thickens, about 5 minutes. Add the broccoli and chicken and raise the heat to a simmer. Stir to mix everything up. Reduce the heat again to low, cover, and cook gently until the chicken and broccoli are tender and the flavors have blended, about 5 minutes longer.

2.
Squeeze the juice from the lime half into the curry. Taste and fine-tune the seasoning by adding salt and pepper, and/or more red curry paste or lime juice. Mound the cooked rice onto two warmed
plates, ladle over the red curry, and sprinkle with the cilantro. Tuck the lime wedges on the plate (more lime juice means more zing) and serve hot.

tip:
Lemongrass adds a distinctive herbal lemony flavor to Thai food. Look for stalks that have a nice bulb on the end. Trim the root end of the bulb and cut away the green stalk. You should have about 6 in/15 cm of lemongrass to work with. Peel away the tough outer layers until you get to a tender core and slice or mince away.

it’s that easy:
Curries are perennial favorites partly because it is easy to fine-tune their personality to the spice level that suits your taste. I’ve kept the heat level low here because I don’t want to hurt anyone, but you can certainly ratchet up the “pow!” factor by adding more of the red curry paste—just be sure to boost it in small increments. You can find curry pastes in the international section of your grocery store, either in small cans or larger cardboard containers. Store curry paste in the refrigerator after opening and it will keep for months and months. Or freeze small blobs on a baking sheet and then transfer them to a zippered plastic freezer bag to keep frozen for a year or so.

extra hungry?
Add a couple of extra chicken thighs and another stalk of broccoli for those extra-hungry nights.

in the glass:
A Riesling would be very tasty with this dish. Look for an off-dry Spätlese with medium body. Try Kruger-Rumpf Riesling Spätlese for just the right amount of sweet to partner with the spicy curry.

Braised Chicken Thighs

with
WILD RICE, WALNUTS,
and
GRAPES

There’s no end to the versatility of chicken thighs, especially the boned and skinned kind. In this recipe, I paired up champion aromatics celery, carrot, and onion with a popular rice blend containing wild, mahogany, Black Japonica, and brown rices. I really like the chewy, full-bodied rice and earthy walnuts with the refreshing pop of fresh grapes. Try this one on a busy, busy night—it practically makes itself.

........

START TO FINISH
1 hour

...

HANDS-ON TIME
15 minutes

...

serves 2

........

5 or 6 boneless, skinless chicken thighs

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 tbsp olive oil

1 small yellow onion, diced

1 carrot, peeled and thinly sliced

1 celery stalk, thinly sliced

½ cup/100 g wild and brown rice blend (see “It’s that easy”; I use Lundberg Wild Blend)

1 tsp dried thyme

1 cup/240 ml beef broth

1 cup/185 g halved seedless red grapes

½ cup/55 g chopped walnuts

2 tsp minced fresh flat-leaf parsley

1.
Pat the chicken dry and sprinkle all over with salt and pepper.

2.
Heat a 12-in/30.5-cm skillet over medium-high heat and add the olive oil. When the oil shimmers, add the chicken and brown it for about 4 minutes. Turn the chicken and brown the other side for about 3 minutes. Don’t try to turn the chicken if it’s stuck to the bottom of the pan; it will release once it is sufficiently browned. Transfer the chicken to a plate. (It will not be fully cooked at this point.)

3.
Add the onion, carrot, celery, rice, thyme, and ¼ tsp salt to the pan and sauté until the vegetables begin to soften and the rice smells toasty, about 3 minutes. The bottom of the pan should be nice and brown. Add the beef broth to the pan and bring to a simmer, stirring to scrape up the browned bits from the pan bottom. Cover, reduce the heat to low, and simmer for about 25 minutes, then add the partially cooked chicken and any juices accumulated on the plate, nestling the chicken pieces into the pan. Cover again and cook for another
20 minutes. Taste to see if the rice is done. If not, cover and cook until tender; it should be done in another 3 or 4 minutes. Be careful to keep the heat very low so the pan doesn’t scorch.

4.
Stir in the grapes and walnuts. Taste and adjust the seasoning. Mound onto two warmed plates, sprinkle with the parsley, and serve hot.

it’s that easy:
The nuttiness and texture of rice blends is irresistible. You could use just about any blend that you prefer; just be aware that some may take longer to tenderize than others. If you find your rice is taking longer to cook than anticipated, just keep adding liquid so that the pan doesn’t go dry. Extra chicken broth or even water is fine. Check every 3 or 4 minutes until it’s just right: chewy but tender.

extra hungry?
Add a salad of Boston lettuce dressed with a splash of white wine vinegar, a glug of olive oil, and a scattering of blue cheese crumbles. It will partner up classically with the grapes and walnuts.

in the glass:
A flinty Sancerre is just the thing to go with this earthy dish. Look for Foucher-Lebrun Sancerre Le Mont for a bottle with depth, lots of citrus, and just a touch of sweet.

Balsamic-Braised Chicken Thighs

with
FIGS
and
CREAMY POLENTA

Balsamic vinegar and chicken are a classic combination for good reason: the tart balsamic vinegar balances the rich flavor of chicken thighs. I love how the figs chime in with their fruity sweetness in this dish. Add a bed of creamy polenta and the deep, smoky notes of bacon and it all adds up to a whole lot of flavor that’s sure to warm up your taste buds on a cool fall night.

........

START TO FINISH
55 minutes

...

HANDS-ON TIME
30 minutes

...

serves 2

........

5 or 6 boneless, skinless chicken thighs

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

2 slices bacon

2 tbsp unsalted butter

1 small red onion, thinly sliced

2 garlic cloves, chopped

6 fresh or dried Mission or Calimyrna figs (see “It’s that easy”), stemmed and quartered

2¼ cups/540 ml chicken broth

3 tbsp balsamic vinegar

½ cup/70 g instant polenta

1.
Pat the chicken dry and sprinkle all over with salt and pepper.

2.
Heat a 12-in/30.5-cm skillet over medium-high heat and add the bacon to the hot pan. Cook, turning as needed until crispy, 5 to 7 minutes total. Transfer to paper towels to drain.