Poussin Al Mattone Recipes

POUSSIN "SOTTO MATTONE" OR BABY CHICKEN COOKED UNDER A BRICK

Steps:

• To marinate poussin, first slice lemon into rings and place on cookie sheet. In 475 degree oven, or preferably, wood roasting oven, char lemon until very fragrant. Allow lemon to cool and toss with thyme, olive oil and poussin. Marinate at least 2 hours. Prepare eggplant and figs by cutting each in half, drizzle with olive oil, salt and pepper. Grill eggplant and figs and keep warm. Lay poussin skin side down on grill. Place brick atop poussin and grill 3 to 4 minutes. Remove brick, rotate poussin 90 degrees and grill 3 more minutes under brick. Finally flip over poussin and grill 2 minutes without the brick. Assemble on large platter with grilled eggplant and figs. Drizzle dish with fruity olive oil and fresh herbs.

POLLO AL MATTONE

Steps:

• Special equipment: weights such as foil covered bricks or cast iron saute pan
• In a small bowl combine the garlic, crushed red pepper, lemon zest and juice, rosemary, pimenton, and cumin. Drizzle in olive oil until the mixture becomes a paste. Place the chicken into a large bowl and massage with the spice mixture. Let marinate for 12 to 24 hours in the refrigerator or 2 hours at room temperature.
• * If refrigerating the chicken, remove from the refrigerator 45 minutes to 1 hour before cooking to let the chicken come to room temperature.
• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
• Coat a large saute pan with olive oil and bring to a high heat. Season the chicken with salt and pepper. Lay the marinated chicken in the pan, skin side down. Oil the bottom of another large saute pan, lay it on top of the chickens and place bricks or weights in the second saute pan. Cook the chicken until the skin starts to brown, about 5 minutes. Place the whole shootin' match in the preheated oven for about 15 minutes.
• Remove the pans from the oven and remove the weights and the top pan. At this point the skin should be lovely and dark brown. Check the chicken for doneness, it should be cooked through but still succulent and juicy. Remove the chickens from the pan and reserve on a large platter.
• Remove the excess fat from the saute pan and add the white wine. Cook over high heat until the wine has reduced by more than half. Add the chicken stock, season with salt and reduce by half.
• Arrange chicken on serving plates or a platter. Spoon the juices over. Tastes like chicken!

POLLO AL MATTONE

Steps:

• Take a whole chicken and remove "backbone" - The chicken can now be opened to lay flat on cooking surface. The cooking vessel for this dish is a stovetop griddle pan (an extra-large saute pan would work, if necessary). The griddle pan needs to be medium-high when chicken is first placed on surface for cooking. The chicken should be seasoned with gray salt, fresh ground black pepper, and a slight drizzle of olive oil.
• Place skin side to pan first, place a saute pan or another griddle pan on top of chicken to apply pressure and weight while cooking. Cook 5 minutes. Reduce heat to medium to avoid burning, cook additional 10-15 minutes on skin side. Remove weighted pan and turn over. Replace weighted pan and continue cooking 10-15 minutes until done.

BEEF BOURGUIGNON 2

Steps:

• Marinade:
• Stew:
• For the marinade: Combine the garlic, bay leaves, carrots, celery, onions and wine in a large bowl or container. Add the beef; cover and let sit in the refrigerator at least 4 hours or overnight. (This is a really important step: it makes a huge flavor difference.)
• For the stew: Remove the beef from the marinade. Strain the veggies and bay leaves from the marinade and discard. Reserve 2 cups of the marinade.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• Coat a large, wide pan or Dutch oven with olive oil and bring to medium-high heat. Sprinkle the beef with salt and toss with the flour; do not flour the beef until you're ready to brown it. Add the flour-coated beef to the hot pan, but be sure to not crowd the pan; you will need to work in four batches. Brown the meat well on all sides, 12 to 15 minutes. Remove from the pan to a baking sheet.
• After the first two batches, deglaze the pot with 1/2 cup of the reserved marinade, scraping up any browned bits. Drain the liquid into a small bowl. Add more olive oil to the pan to coat and cook the remaining two batches of meat. Add the meat to the baking sheet. Deglaze the pan with 1/2 cup marinade, scraping up any browned bits.
• Add the bacon and cook until it gets brown and crispy, about 5 minutes. Toss in the mushrooms, carrots, celery, garlic and onions, and season with salt. Cook until the mixture starts to soften and becomes very aromatic, about 10 minutes. Add the tomato paste and cook, 1 to 2 minutes. Add the remaining 1 cup marinade and deglaze the pan, stirring up any browned bits, 1 minute. Add the beef. Stir to combine and cook until the wine has reduced by half, 1 to 2 minutes. Add enough of the beef stock to just cover the surface of the beef. Toss in the bay leaves and thyme bundle. Cover the pan, bring the liquid to a boil and put in the oven.
• Cook the beef for 2 hours. During the last hour of cooking time, add the potatoes. Cover the pan with the lid and put the stew back in the oven to cook for an additional hour.
• Remove the pot from the oven and skim off any excess grease from the surface of the stew. Garnish with the chives and serve with crusty bread to sop up all the sauce.

PARTY POUSSINS WITH FESTIVE COUSCOUS

Steps:

• For the poussins, preheat the oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
• Place the poussins in a roasting tin. Pour the oil slowly over the top of the top of the poussins. Rub the oil into the poussins so that they are well coated.
• Place the salt, sugar, cinnamon and paprika in a small clean bowl and mix well. Sprinkle the spice mixture over the poussins. Slice the lemon into quarters and then slice each quarter into 4 so you have 16 small pieces. Place the pieces around and in between the poussins.
• Separate the garlic bulb into cloves and place the pieces around and in between the poussins. Transfer the poussins to the oven and cook for 1 hour to 1 hour 15 minutes, or until completely cooked through. Remove the poussins from the oven and then let them rest for 10 minutes in their tin.
• Place the couscous, sultanas, spices and salt into a microwave-proof bowl and mix well. Add the freshly boiled water to the bowl and then cover the bowl with cling film. Leave the mixture to sit for 10 to 15 minutes, or until the water has been absorbed by the couscous. Remove the cling film from the bowl and stir the couscous with a fork to separate the grains. Carefully pour some of the juices that have collected in the roasting tin of poussins into the bowl. Stir the mixture again and season, to taste, with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Transfer the couscous to a serving dish.
• Slice the pomegranate in half and extract a good quarter of the seeds. Place them onto the couscous. Sprinkle the chopped cilantro (coriander) over the top.
• To serve, place the poussins onto clean plates and place the couscous alongside. Use the oven-charred lemon pieces and garlic cloves from the roasting tin to garnish.