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madbakerThis week's Resolution Recipe: Romania di polli [Pomegranate Chicken].
1.5 lb boneless chicken thighs
1 Tbsp rendered lard
4 oz onion, chopped (I used spring onion, both white and greens)
2 Tbsp wheat starch
1 cup unsweetened pomegranate juice
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ginger
I used boneless chicken thighs for ease of preparation. The spices (along with salt and pepper) are common in other recipes in this work.
Powdered wheat starch is available commercially in Middle Eastern markets. It is also sold in Asian groceries as "non-glutinous wheat flour".
Sources: Anonimo Toscano, Libro della Cocina. Ariane Helou trans, 2013.
What worked: I made this as part of a "virtual cooks' play date"; I simmered it in a pipkin over coals on our fire table in the back yard for several hours (alongside the curvy upstairs neighbor). The pomegranate fruitiness came through and it was reasonably good over farro. It was brown glop, but tasty brown glop.
It was easier than I was afraid it might be to get unsweetened bottled pomegranate juice.
What didn't: Because this was ~tourney conditions, I don't really have an adapted recipe. I heated a pipkin, added lard and let it melt, added the chicken and onion, and stirred it to cook for a while. Eventually I mixed the pom juice and starch, poured it in, and added the spices. Then I simmered it until we were tired of sitting there.
There was a lot of liquid generated from the chicken and onion simmering; I had planned to only use 1/4 cup pomegranate juice to keep this as chicken in sauce rather than a full-on pottage, but I had to add more just to get flavor. It needed a bit more salt and possibly more spice.
Will I make it again? I still have plenty of pom juice left and I'd like to document it better, so yes.
Fry the chickens with lard and onions, and grind unrefined starch in a mortar, and dilute it with strong or sweet pomegranate juice: press and strain it well, and put it with the chicken, and boil it a little, and stir it with a spoon, or beat it, and add spices. And if you do not have pomegranate, you can make this with herb broth. (Anonimo Toscano, late 14th - early 15th c.)Translator's note: this phrase, amido non mond(at)o, (literally, starch that is "unpeeled" or "unclean"), appears in a couple of recipes in this collection. Several interpretations and explanations have been suggested; the one I find most appealing is that the starch is still in lump form (a late step in its processing) and needs to be cleaned of impurities and then ground into a finer powder.
1.5 lb boneless chicken thighs
1 Tbsp rendered lard
4 oz onion, chopped (I used spring onion, both white and greens)
2 Tbsp wheat starch
1 cup unsweetened pomegranate juice
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ginger
I used boneless chicken thighs for ease of preparation. The spices (along with salt and pepper) are common in other recipes in this work.
Powdered wheat starch is available commercially in Middle Eastern markets. It is also sold in Asian groceries as "non-glutinous wheat flour".
Sources: Anonimo Toscano, Libro della Cocina. Ariane Helou trans, 2013.
What worked: I made this as part of a "virtual cooks' play date"; I simmered it in a pipkin over coals on our fire table in the back yard for several hours (alongside the curvy upstairs neighbor). The pomegranate fruitiness came through and it was reasonably good over farro. It was brown glop, but tasty brown glop.
It was easier than I was afraid it might be to get unsweetened bottled pomegranate juice.
What didn't: Because this was ~tourney conditions, I don't really have an adapted recipe. I heated a pipkin, added lard and let it melt, added the chicken and onion, and stirred it to cook for a while. Eventually I mixed the pom juice and starch, poured it in, and added the spices. Then I simmered it until we were tired of sitting there.
There was a lot of liquid generated from the chicken and onion simmering; I had planned to only use 1/4 cup pomegranate juice to keep this as chicken in sauce rather than a full-on pottage, but I had to add more just to get flavor. It needed a bit more salt and possibly more spice.
Will I make it again? I still have plenty of pom juice left and I'd like to document it better, so yes.
no subject
Date: 2020-05-05 05:24 pm (UTC)