Street Cart Chicken, Part 2

Join Valerie Abraham as she shares how her upbringing in France, life in America, and marriage to her Egyptian American husband have shaped her unique approach to cooking and hospitality. From Sunday morning coffee and pastries to practical table décor on a budget (including dollar store dishes!), Valerie offers inspiring ideas, kitchen must-haves she uses daily, three favorite book recommendations, and a flavorful menu influenced by multiple cultures. She also reminds us that hospitality is an imitation of God, the ultimate giver of every good gift. We close with a moving, thought-provoking conversation about both giving and receiving hospitality during a season of grief. We're so glad you're here!

Recipes:

Street Cart Chicken (for a crowd!)

(adapted from Smitten Kitchen Everyday, by Deb Perelman, submitted by Valerie Abraham

This dish is a favorite for both family dinners and to feed a crowd! I wrote a scaled-up version

here and left the original measurements that serve 4-6 in parentheses. The “big batch” version here feeds a sabbath dinner crowd for us of about 12 adults and 18 kids. (See notes below.)

Ingredients:

Marinade and Chicken

Juice of 3 lemons (1/2 lemon)

12 garlic cloves, minced. This is approx 1/4 cup minced. (2 cloves)

3 Tbs kosher salt (1 tsp salt)

3 Tbs paprika, sweet hot or smoked (1 tsp)

5 tsps coriander (3/4 tsp)

4.5 Tbs cumin (1 1/2 tsps)

1 tsp ground cloves (a pinch)

3 Tbs oregano (1 tsp)

12 lbs boneless skinless chicken thighs (2 lbs)

6 Tbs olive oil (1 Tbs olive oil)

Rice

6 Tbs olive oil (1 Tbs)

1 Tbs turmeric (1/2 tsp)

5 tsps cumin (3/4 tsps)

8 cups basmati rice (2 cups)

12 cups chicken stock or broth (3 cups)

1 1/2 Tbs kosher salt (1 tsp)

White Sauce

5 1/2 cups plain yogurt (1 cup minus 2 Tbs)

3/4 cup mayonnaise (2 Tbs mayo)

6 Tbs distilled white vinegar (1 Tbs)

1 Tbs sugar (1/2 tsp)

1 Tbs kosher salt (1/2 tsp)

Optional Valerie additions: 1-4 minced garlic cloves and a splash of lemon juice

Assembly

3 16 oz bags chopped lettuce, romaine or iceberg (1/2 head lettuce, chopped or 1 smaller bag)

12 medium tomatoes, chopped (2 medium tomatoes)

3 small red onions, diced (1/2 onion)

4 cucumbers, chopped (1 cucumber)

Salt and pepper, to taste

Cilantro and/or parsley to garnish (optional)

18 pita breads, halved (3 pitas, halved)

Serve with:

Basbousa or Basque Cheesecake

Directions:

Marinate the Chicken

Combine the ingredients for the marinade, and pour into a large ziplock bag. Add the chicken, seal, and slosh it around so that it coats evenly. Let the chicken marinate in the fridge for 30 minutes or up to two days.

Cook the chicken

Heat a large, deep skillet with a lid over medium-high heat. Coat lightly with olive oil. Arrange the cutlets in one layer and do not move them until they’re brown and don’t want to stick anymore, 5-8 minutes. Flip and brown on the second side, which will take 4-5 minutes more. Transfer to a plate. Don’t worry if they’re not 100% cooked yet, you’re mostly prepping them to finish and serve hot at the last minute. Repeat with remaining chicken, then wipe out the pan. [see alternative cooking method in notes]

Make the rice [for the big batch, dividing into two pans may be easier.]

Add the olive oil (6 T or 1 T) to the pan and heat it, then add the spices and rice and toast

together for a minute, stirring. It should smell warm and fragrant. Add the stock and salt, and

bring to a simmer; then reduce the heat to its lowest setting, cover with a lid, and let cook for about 15 minutes. Let it rest for 3-5 minutes before piling it onto a platter.

While the rice cooks, make the sauce, combining all the ingredients in a medium bowl. Adjust seasonings to taste.

Combine lettuce, tomatoes, cucumber, onion in a laaaaarge bowl or platter to make the salad. Season with salt and pepper. The sauce will be your dressing.

To finish

Chop the chicken into bite-sized, uneven pieces. Reheat the empty pan from the rice over

medium-high, add a little olive oil, and add the chopped chicken. Cook, stirring and breaking up the meat with spatula into smaller pieces if desired, until it is cooked through. Add more salt if desired. Transfer to large serving bowl or platter (or scatter on top of rice). Garnish with cilantro or parsley. Serve heaping plates of rice, chopped salad, chicken, and halved pita, topped with white sauce and harissa to taste. Bon appétit!

NOTES:

• The flavors are fun and a little bit different from classic American fare, but still approachable and the only element with real “heat” is the harissa sauce each guest adds to taste, so the Scoville heat scale is entirely adaptable to each person’s preference! My absolute favorite harissa sauce is Pur from Amazon, although many grocery stores will carry the Mina brand harissa in the international foods aisle, and that’s also pretty good.

• I’m including the recipe’s original method of cooking in two stages on the stove, but when making a larger batch, it’s vastly easier to just throw the whole shebang into the oven at 425 for around 30-40 minutes. Make sure it’s browning well by the end with a hint of char. Chop into bite-sized pieces after it’s finished cooking in the oven, no stove needed. 

• One parting note: while I base my own cooking off of this recipe’s written measurements which I’ve left basically untouched except for scaling up, I like to measure with the heart and use heaping measuring spoons to get the extra level of pizazz this recipe deserves. There’s no such thing as too much cumin and garlic. The last time I made this, the cap fell of my paprika as I measured it over the bowl and there was a paprika blizzard. I had no idea how much paprika ended up in the dish. It ended up tasting wonderful! An accident just might create a new recipe. That said, it will also be very good if you make it exactly as written. :)

Street Cart Chicken.pdf

Download PDF • 102KB

Dessert!

Basbousa (semolina cake) - Amira's Pantry

Tips: Matthew makes a 1.5x recipe and bakes in the same size dish as the recipe calls for to

make a thicker basbousa, and swaps a tablespoon of rosewater or orange blossom water

(check your grocery store’s international aisle) for the vanilla in the syrup. If you only have greek

yogurt on hand, thin it out with a couple tablespoon of water/milk. Also when he’s out of ghee,

Matthew just melts butter (bonus if you slightly brown it for nutty flavor!) and it still makes a

delicious cake even without going to the extra step of clarifying that the recipe recommends.

Basque Cheesecake (Tarta de Queso) Recipe | King Arthur Baking

Tips and variations:

This recipe is excellent as written, but I always add the the zest of a lemon or orange and a

splash of vanilla to the batter.

Strawberry Rose variation: Add 2 Tbs rosewater to batter and after baking and cooling cake,

pile a mountain of ripe strawberries on top and sprinkle with toasted pine nuts and powdered sugar. Garnish with small sprigs of mint.

Banana variation: Blend 1/2 ripe banana into batter and add 3 Tbs banana liqueur. Have not

gotten around to developing a garnish for this variation, but if you caramelize some banana

slices “bananas foster” style, you can’t go wrong! Toasted walnuts would also be nice.

Recommended Items:

Dates Fruit | Organic Dates | Coachella's Best Dates – Coachella's Best Organic Dates

(Bahri dates are a family favorite!)

Pepper grinder and salt container:

Peugeot Paris U Select Chocolate Salt & Pepper Grinders | Williams Sonoma

Wall-mounted salt well: I found some identical to the one I love! It looks like you can find them on Etsy and Ebay if you search Blue or Delft “wall mount salt box.”

“To be sure, food keeps us alive, but that is only its smallest and most temporary work. Its

eternal purpose is to furnish our sensibilities against the day when we shall sit down at the

heavenly banquet and see how gracious the Lord is. Nourishment is necessary only for a while; what we shall need forever is taste.” —Robert Capon