oregano
Crockpot Chicken, Peruvian style
I have rekindled my relationship with my slow cooker. I have started using it at least once a week, and this week, I’ve used it twice so far. There is something SO satisfying coming home to the aroma of home cooking.
The common complaints I’ve heard about chicken in the crockpot are:
- It dries out
- It gets overcooked and shreds, losing its texture
- it doesn’t get nicely browned
I have solved these for our family by using bone-in chicken, rather than boneless, skinless chicken breasts. If I am going to be out of the house all day, I make sure that the chicken is either cut in large pieces, or, as in this recipe, whole.
Also, to remedy #3, I removed the chicken at the end, and broiled it for a few minutes, to give it a nice brown color, and crisp up the skin a bit.
I mimicked the flavors of the Peruvian pollo a la brasa for the marinade.
Crockpot Chicken, Peruvian style
1 roasting chicken (mine was about 8 lb)
1 onion, sliced
4-6 cloves of garlic, smashed with the flat side of a knife, and peeled
¼ cup white vinegar
½ cup extra virgin olive oil
juice of ½ lemon
1 tablespoon cumin
1 – 2 tablespoons paprika
salt and freshly cracked black pepper, to taste
1 teaspoon oregano
1 packet sazon (optional), or 1 additional tablespoon cumin
Place chicken in crock of slow cooker. Separate skin from breast carefully.
In a separate small bowl, mix all other ingredients (onion through oregano – and sazon or cumin, depending on which you are using). Pour over chicken, and rubbing on the skin, and getting some under the skin that you loosened from chicken breast.
Cover and cook on high for 4-6 hours, or low 8-10 hours.
Remove from slow cooker onto a large baking tray or sheet. Place under broiler for 5-10 minutes until nicely browned.
**Tip: I folded two long sheets of aluminum foil into strips, placed them first in the slow cooker, with the ends long enough to hang over the side,crisscrossing them in an X-shape. Then I placed the chicken on top of the foil, so that I could lift the chicken out. (this has to be done carefully, with the tray right next to the crockpot….please don’t try to cross a room holding the chicken this way 🙂 ) The aluminum foil sheets have to be folded over several times to be strong enough to hold the chicken.
Crustless Noodle and Roasted Vegetable Quiche
I had some leftover cooked wide egg noodles and some roasted vegetables from a previous meatloaf meal. The meatloaf was eaten up right away, and neither leftover side dish would have been enough on its own, so I decided to make them both into a sort of crust-less quiche.
(There was about 1 cup of chopped noodles and 1 cup of chopped vegetables, but you could do a little more of one, and a little less of the other, total volume of filling is what is important rather than ratio)
Crust-less Noodle and Vegetable Quiche
2 cups noodles + vegetables
3 eggs
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
½ cup milk
3/4 cup Greek yogurt
½ teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon oregano
½ teaspoon nutmeg
2 Tablespoons bread crumbs
salt and freshly cracked black pepper, to taste
Preheat oven to 350F.
In a mixing bowl, mix eggs, cheese, yogurt, milk, and spices. Add noodles and vegetables and stir gently to combine.
Pour into oiled 9″ pie plate. Sprinkle with bread crumbs.
Bake for 40 minutes. Let stand 10 minutes.
Chicken Fricassee
Chicken Fricassee, Puerto Rican or Cuban style, is one of my favorite chicken stews. I like it with rice, red or black beans, and salad. If I have unripe plantains, I also love tostones to complete the meal.
You don’t have to allow the extra time to marinate, but I prefer the flavor of the chicken when I have time for that step. When I am making a stew such as this one, I sometimes marinate right in the pot I am going to use and put it all on the stove once it comes to room temperature.
This reheats very well and tastes even better the next day.
Fricase De Pollo – Chicken Fricassee
4 lb chicken, cut up, or the equivalent # of bone-in pieces of your choice
1 tablespoon cooking oil
1 onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1/2 bell pepper, or 2 mini sweet peppers
1/2 teaspoon oregano
1/2 – 1 teaspoon sweet paprika
1 teaspoon Penzey’s adobo (or omit, and double the cumin)
1 teaspoon cumin
1-2 bay leaves
4 – 8 ounces canned tomato puree, or 2-4 tablespoons tomato paste
1/2 cup cilantro, chopped
1/2 cup orange juice or bitter orange
3-4 potatoes, cut into large chunks
Season chicken with oil, onion, garlic, pepper, and spices. Allow to marinate at least one hour, up to over night.
Bring chicken to room temperature. Heat heavy bottomed pot over high heat. Add chicken, including all seasoning ingredients, and bay leaves. Stir over high heat to brown the chicken for about 5 minutes , then cover the pot and reduce heat to low and allow to cook till chicken and onions to release their juices, about 10 minutes.
Add potatoes, cilantro, juice, and tomato sauce. Stir over med-high heat a couple of minutes.
Add water just to cover the chicken. Allow to come to a boil on high heat. Cover and reduce heat to low, simmering for 45 minutes, until chicken is tender and potatoes are cooked.
Variation: If you do not want to marinate or don’t have time for that step, you can puree all the ingredients except for the chicken and potatoes. Brown the chicken in oil, then add the puree and allow to sweat out the flavors with the chicken. Continue by adding the potatoes and water as in the above recipe.
Optional ingredient: 1/2 cup pimento-stuffed olives, left whole. If using, add with potatoes.
Slow-cooker variation : This recipe works in the slow cooker as well, but you should reduce the amount of water to half the level of the chicken. Also, see above variation to puree the seasonings, cilantro, juice, and tomato sauce.
Note about the tomato puree: You can adjust the amount of tomato puree used if you like it less tomato-ey. I used the entire 8 ounces here, because I was in the mood for a really pronounced tomato flavor this time, but I usually use less and it tastes just as good to me either way.
Part of the Recipe Of the Week round up
