Frenchified Chicken and Rice
I know what you're going to say: French? Chicken and rice? Zut alors!
OK, maybe you're not going to say that last bit. Still, I'll be the first to admit this dish isn't authentic. Rather, it's one of Bruce's whimsical creations: classic Burgundian tastes in a down-home, American casserole. In other words, darn good comfort food, my kind of thing this time of year. (Well, any time of year, but that's another story.)
Here's how Bruce makes it:
First, while the oven warms up to 350F, he heats 2 tablespoons walnut oil and 2 tablespoons unsalted butter over medium heat in that very same, large, oven-safe casserole he used for the short ribs.
Then he browns one 4-pound cut-up skinless chicken in the fat. He uses the whole thing: back, wings, those gawky flapper wing tips he's cut off, everything except the gutty organs (which got saved back for Dreydl).
And I mean, he browns the chicken. No wimpy beige-ing. Good color is good flavor.
He transfers the chicken to a bowl beside the stove. Back at the pot still over the heat, he adds 2 chopped medium yellow onions and stirs until they're soft and translucent, about 3 minutes.
He stirs and warms 2 minced garlic cloves, 1 tablespoon minced tarragon leaves, 2 teaspoons minced sage leaves, 2 teaspoons stemmed thyme leaves for about 20 seconds. Then he adds 10 ounces sliced cremini mushrooms and lets those go until they release their liquid and that liquid beomes a glaze in the pot, about 8 minutes.
As you can see, by this point there's a lot of browned stuff on the bottom of that casserole. Lots. But no worries. That's all flavor ahead. (I love this shot. I swear, there's nothing fetishized here. It's just our dirty stove underneath our big pot.)
He adds 2 cups long-grain rice (basmati, I believe), gives it a couple stirs over the heat, and then pours in 2 cups red wine and 2 cups chicken broth. Then it's stir, stir, stir as the mixture comes back to a simmer, all to get that luscious caramelized brown/black goodness off the pot's bottom. (Right about here, we can have a culinary-science discussion about the Strecker degradation of amino proteins and their contribution to flavor--or not.)
Once everything's at a bubble, he nestles the chicken pieces back into the stew so they're still sticking out of the liquid. (And now you've read the two big secrets to a successful braise--1) patient browning, 2) this part-in-part-out-of-the-liquid trick). He adds 1 teaspoon salt and a hefty grind of black pepper, covers the whole thing, and shoves it in the oven. I do my best to be patient for 45 minutes.
Voilà, a French-inspired chicken and rice casserole: deep, aromatic, comforting, and tasty.
Mark Scarbrough | Posted on Saturday, February 21, 2009 at 4:54PM | in Casseroles, Comfort Food, Main Courses chicken, comfort food, rice 
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