Braised Chicken With Celery Root And Garlic Food

BRAISED CHICKEN WITH CELERY ROOT AND GARLIC

Steps:

• Pat chicken dry and sprinkle all over with salt and pepper. Heat oil in a 12-inch heavy skillet over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking, then brown chicken, starting skin sides down, turning over once, 8 to 10 minutes. Transfer to a plate and pour off all but 1 tablespoon fat from skillet.
• Add butter to skillet and heat over moderately high heat until foam subsides, then sauté celery root and garlic, stirring frequently, until celery root is browned, about 5 minutes.
• Add broth and thyme and deglaze skillet by boiling, stirring and scraping up any brown bits, 1 minute. Return chicken, skin sides up, to skillet along with any juices accumulated on plate, then reduce heat and simmer, covered, until chicken is cooked through, 15 to 20 minutes for white meat, about 25 minutes for dark meat. Transfer chicken to a serving bowl as cooked and keep warm, loosely covered with foil.
• When all chicken pieces are done cooking, transfer sauce and vegetables to bowl with chicken, discarding thyme.

SAUTEED TURBOT WITH BRAISED ENDIVE, CELERY ROOT FLAN, BLACK TRUFFLES, AND GARLIC NAGE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 325°F. Lay endives, cut sides down, in large shallow pan or braising dish with lid. Sprinkle with salt, pour in stock, and arrange orange pieces around pan. Cover and braise until tender, about 25 minutes. (Endive can be prepared 1 day ahead. Cool to room temperature and discard oranges, then refrigerate, covered, in braising liquid. To reheat, add 1/2 cup fresh chicken stock and simmer, covered, over moderate heat until warm, 5 to 10 minutes.)
• Preheat oven to 325°F. Coat ramekins or aluminum foil muffin cups with vegetable oil spray or brush with vegetable oil. In large pot combine celery root and cold salted water to cover. Bring to boil over high heat, then lower heat and simmer, uncovered, until tender, about 25 minutes.
• While celery root is simmering, in small saucepan over moderate heat, warm cream until barely simmering (do not allow to boil), about 2 minutes.
• Force celery root through food mill. Transfer 1 1/2 cups celery root to blender, reserving any leftovers. Add hot cream and process on medium until creamy and smooth, about 1 minute. Add salt and process just until combined, about 10 seconds.
• In large bowl, lightly whisk egg yolks. Slowly add celery root purée, whisking constantly to avoid curdling. Strain mixture through fine-mesh sieve, then ladle into ramekins.
• Transfer ramekins to large roasting pan and add enough hot water to come halfway up sides of ramekins. Cover entire pan with foil, and using toothpick, poke small holes 3 inches apart all over surface of foil to allow steam to escape. Bake until flans are set, 20 to 25 minutes, then transfer ramekins to rack. (Flans can be prepared up to 2 days ahead. Refrigerate in ramekins, tightly wrapped, then reheat in large roasting pan filled with hot water in 325°F oven until warm, about 5 minutes.)
• In small saucepan, combine garlic cloves and cold water to cover by 2 inches. Bring to a boil, then drain, add fresh cold water, and bring to boil again. Drain, add wine, and bring to a boil, then lower heat and simmer until liquid is reduced by 1/2, 2 to 3 minutes. Add chicken stock and bring to boil, then lower heat and simmer until liquid is reduced by 1/2, about 5 minutes. Transfer to blender, add butter and salt, and blend on medium until smooth, about 1 minute. Pour through fine-mesh strainer into small saucepan, cover, and keep warm over very low heat, until ready to use. Whisk before serving.
• Heat cast-iron or stainless-steel pan over high heat until almost smoking, then add 1 tablespoon canola oil. Sprinkle 4 fillets on both sides with salt and transfer, skinned-sides-up (there will be a rosy-colored stripe running up the center of the fish where the backbone was) to pan. Add 1 tablespoon butter and sear, without moving, until undersides are golden brown, about 2 minutes. Turn fillet over, lower heat to moderately high, and continue cooking until just opaque, less than 1 minute. Transfer to paper towel-lined plate to drain, wipe pan clean, and cook remaining fish in same manner.
• Transfer 2 endive halves to center of each plate. Run small, thin knife or offset spatula around inside edges of ramekins to loosen flans, then turn 1 out onto side of each plate. Spoon garlic nage over endive and top with turbot. Grate 1 teaspoon truffle over each fillet and serve immediately.

CHICKEN WITH BRAISED CELERY & CIDER

Steps:

• Heat oven to 190C/fan 170C/gas 5. Heat the butter in a large casserole dish and brown the chicken slowly on all sides; this should take a good 10-15 mins. (Be patient, it will pay off later.) Take the chicken out of the dish, throw in the bacon and cook for 3-4 mins until starting to crisp, then add the onion, carrots and thyme and continue to cook for 4-5 mins until the vegetables soften. Stir the celery into the dish, then nestle the chicken amongst the veg, breast side down. Pour over the cider and stock, bring to a simmer, then roast the chicken uncovered for 1 hr.
• Turn the chicken the right way up and give it 30 mins more, by which point the legs should be coming away. Carefully lift the chicken from the dish. Check the seasoning of the vegetables and serve with the chicken.

MIDWINTER CHICKEN

Steps:

• Cut chicken into serving pieces. Tip--if you divide the breast in 3 pieces lengthwise instead of just 2 the portions will be more even. A very large roaster or stew hen might be big enough to cut the breast crosswise as well into 4 or even 6 pieces.
• Wash and trim the mushrooms.
• Wash, trim, and peel the carrots, onions, celariac and potatoes. Potatoes may be scrubbed and left unpeeled if preferred.
• Cut carrots into 3-inch lengths and cut the celariac into chunks about the size of golf balls. If using celery scrub, trim, and cut into 4-inch chunks.
• Drain tomatoes. Reserve juice for another purpose if desired.
• Heat olive oil in a large, heavy skillet and brown the chicken pieces thoroughly. Drain on paper to absorb excess fat.
• Place vegetables and garlic clove into a large, tightly-lidded roasting pan.
• Arrange chicken pieces on top of the vegetables with the herbs on top of the chicken.
• Pour 1 cup chicken stock into the dutch oven.
• Drizzle 1 tbs sherry evenly over the chicken pieces.
• Roast covered at 250°F for 3-4 hours or until chicken is cooked through and vegetables are tender.
• Remove chicken to a warmed serving platter and keep hot.
• Remove vegetables to a warmed serving bowl, discarding the thyme, parsley, garlic and celery. Keep hot.
• Pour out the pan juices into a bowl and skim away any excess fat.
• Return one cup of the defatted pan juices to the dutch oven along with the cream and the other 2 tbs sherry. Add the celery seed, salt, and pepper. Cook on medium-low heat on the stove top until just simmering.
• Whisk the cornstarch into the milk then add this mixture to the pan. Stir constantly until the gravy simmers. Continue to simmer 2-3 minutes, stirring constantly with the whisk until the gravy thickens. If more gravy is desired there should be plenty of pan juices to make it--just keep the proportions the same to retain the richness.
• Serve each person chicken and vegetables then pass the gravy boat.
• I'd suggest a salad of romaine or butterhead lettuce or buttered green beans as sides and would recommend hearty, crusty bread or rolls to help mop up the gravy.
• If you have a very large platter it would make a pretty presentation to arrange the chicken in the middle surrounded by vegetables, drizzled with the gravy, and garnished with a bit of fresh parsley.