Kirk Arnott wrote:The suggested food match for the Jumilla in the latest wine advisor sounds delicious (chicken sauteed with caramelized onions, garlic, bay and thyme over short pasta). any chance the recipe will be in the food advisor, or that we could somehow otherwise get our hands on it?
Good question, Kirk! I might just do it ... I rarely make up my mind about these columns until it's time to write them, being an old deadline junkie who needs adrenaline to get creative.
How about a short description for now, and maybe flesh it out as a full recipe either in Thursday's edition or later.
Short version: In a skillet or nonstick saute pan, melt olive oil and butter (this is a dish in which I think a little of both is good, both for flavor and to help discourage the butter from burning). Put in four to six chicken pieces - as Jenise will tell you, I usually use all thighs because I like the deep flavor of dark meat - and brown them well on both sides. Take the chicken out to a warm plate and sautee a bunch (okay, about 1 cup) of coarsely chopped onion) in the same pan. When they're soft and starting to brown well, put the chicken back in. Deglaze with a splash of white wine, then add several sprigs of fresh thyme, a bay leaf and a couple of smashed garlic cloves. Stir, reduce heat to low, cover and cook for about 30 minutes, turning the chicken pieces occasionally. I put in just a little chicken broth toward the end to make more of a sauce for serving over pasta, but you certainly wouldn't have to do that, and it would go as well with rice, potatoes or bread. I liked the mix of flavors very well - the onion and herb flavors were quite bold and suffused the chicken, and as I said, it struck me as a sort of France-meets-Italy dish with enough oomph to stand up to a rather high-alcohol red.
I realize this is a little short on exact ingredient amounts and step-by-step procedure, but it's pretty simple.
