Country Captain Soup Food

LEE BROS. COUNTRY CAPTAIN

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• Pour the broth into a small saucepan and bring to a boil over high heat. Put the currants in a small bowl and pour enough broth over them to cover. Set aside. In another small bowl, combine the curry powder, garam masala, salt, and black pepper and reserve.
• Scatter the bacon in a 4 to 6 quart enameled cast-iron pot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Stir the pieces around occasionally until the bacon is firm and just golden brown, about 5 minutes. With the slotted spoon, transfer the bacon to a small bowl and reserve.
• Pour off all but 2 tablespoons of fat from the pot, reserving the excess fat in a small bowl. Brown the chicken thighs in batches over medium-high heat, taking care not to crowd them in the pot, until they are golden brown, about 5 minutes per side. Add the reserved bacon fat, 1 teaspoon at a time, if the pot becomes too dry. Remove the chicken and reserve in a medium bowl.
• Add 2 teaspoons reserved bacon fat to the pot (if there is none left, use 2 teaspoons canola or vegetable oil). Add the chile and toast the chile in the fat, about 30 seconds per side, until very fragrant.
• Add the carrots, bell peppers, onions, and garlic and cook until slightly softened, about 6 minutes. Add the tomatoes, spice mixture, ginger, and the currants and their broth. Reduce the heat to medium-low, and simmer until the tomatoes have cooked down to a puree and the sauce has thickened around the vegetables, about 8 minutes.
• Nest the chicken thighs gently in the vegetable sauce so that the skin side faces up and is above the surface of the gravy. Tent the pot loosely with foil and transfer to the middle rack of the oven. Bake until the country captain resembles a roiling stew around the chicken thighs, about 20 minutes. Remove the foil and bake until the sauce has thickened further and the chicken skin is just beginning to crisp, about 15 minutes more.
• Remove from the oven, skim any excess fat from the surface, and season to taste with salt and pepper. Discard the chile. With tongs, transfer 3 thighs to each of 4 wide, deep bowls filled with 1 cup hot white rice. Spoon the sauce over the chicken and the rice and garnish with the reserved bacon, almonds, and parsley.

COUNTRY CAPTAIN

Steps:

• Heat the oven to 325 degrees.
• Combine the flour, 2 teaspoons kosher salt, 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper and the thyme in a bowl. In a large skillet, melt the butter over medium-high heat until it foams. Dredge the chicken in the flour mixture, shaking off excess, and fry, in batches if needed, until browned on all sides, about 8 minutes. Transfer the chicken to a plate and drain off all but 1 tablespoon of the fat in the skillet.
• Return the skillet to medium heat, add the bacon and fry until crispy. Transfer to a plate. Once cool, crumble and set aside.
• Add the onion, pepper, celery, garlic, curry powder and 1 tablespoon of the currants to the skillet and sauté over medium-high heat until soft and fragrant, about 7 minutes. Stir in the tomatoes and their juices, bring to a boil and simmer over medium-low heat for 10 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
• Spread 1 cup of the tomato sauce in the bottom of an ovenproof casserole large enough to hold the chicken snugly in one layer. Arrange the chicken on top. Pour the remaining sauce over and around the chicken. Cover tightly with foil and bake for 35 minutes. Remove the foil and cook for 15 minutes more.
• Top with the crumbled bacon, remaining currants and slivered almonds. Serve with cooked rice and any condiments you wish.

30 MINUTE SOUTHERN CLASSIC: COUNTRY CAPTAIN CHICKEN

Steps:

• Bring water to a boil in a medium saucepan. Add butter and rice and return water to a boil. Reduce heat to low and cover the pot. Cook rice 20 minutes or until tender. Turn off heat and fluff rice with a fork.
• Combine flour and paprika in a shallow dish. Season chicken with salt and pepper. Cut each chicken breast and thigh in 1/2 on an angle. Coat chicken pieces in paprika seasoned flour. Wash your hands and chicken work surfaces thoroughly.
• Heat a large skillet over medium high heat. Add oil to the pan. Brown chicken pieces, 3 minutes on each side, and remove from the skillet. Add butter to the pan, then stir in peppers, onions and garlic. Season the veggies with salt and pepper and saute them 5 to 7 minutes to soften. Add curry, stock, tomatoes and raisins. Slide chicken back into the skillet and simmer over moderate heat for 5 minutes to combine flavors and finish cooking the chicken through. Place skillet on a trivet and serve the chicken from the pan. Garnish the Country Captain's chicken with sliced almonds. Transfer rice to a serving dish and garnish with chopped scallions.

COUNTRY CAPTAIN CHICKEN WITH RICE

Steps:

• Season chicken with thyme, kosher salt, and black pepper.
• Heat oil in a 5-quart Dutch oven over high heat. Place chicken pieces, skin-side down, in hot oil and cook until golden brown, 2 to 5 minutes. Transfer chicken to a plate; drain and discard oil.
• Reduce heat to medium and add bacon to the Dutch oven. Cook and stir until bacon is browned and crispy, 7 to 10 minutes. Transfer bacon to a paper towel-lined plate. Chop into smaller pieces.
• Cook and stir onion, celery, bell peppers, and garlic in the Dutch oven over medium heat until soft, about 10 minutes. Add chopped tomatoes, 3/4 cup reserved tomato liquid, currants, raisins, curry powder, butter, bay leaves, salt, and black pepper; bring to a simmer, reduce heat to medium-low, cover the Dutch oven with a lid, and simmer until sauce is thickened, about 30 minutes.
• Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C).
• Return chicken to Dutch oven and spoon sauce over the top. Cover the Dutch oven with a lid.
• Bake in the preheated oven until chicken is tender, about 1 hour. An instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the thigh, near the bone should read 165 degrees F (74 degrees C).
• Press 1/2 cup rice into a small bowl and invert onto a plate to remove. Set 2 pieces of chicken on rice and spoon sauce over the top. Repeat with remaining rice, chicken, and sauce. Garnish each with bacon, currants, peanuts, and parsley.

COUNTRY CAPTAIN CHICKEN

Steps:

• Cut chicken into 8 pieces.
• Wash pieces and pat dry.
• Coat THE CHICKEN PIECES with a mixture of the flour, salt and pepper.
• Heat the butter and oil in a large skillet; brown the chicken on all sides over medium high heat.
• Remove the chicken with a slotted spoon and add the onion, green pepper, garlic, curry powder and thyme.
• Stir over low heat to loosen the browned particles.
• Add the stewed tomatoes . . . and then return the chicken to skillet, skin side up.
• Cover and cook slowly until tender, 20 to 30 minutes.
• Stir the currants into the sauce and serve accompanied by almonds.

COUNTRY CAPTAIN CHICKEN

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°. Place chicken in a large bowl. Mix flour, 1 teaspoon salt and pepper; sprinkle over chicken and toss to coat. In a Dutch oven, heat oil over medium-high heat. Brown chicken in batches on all sides; remove from pan., Add onions, peppers and garlic to drippings; cook and stir over low heat until tender. Increase heat to medium-high. Add curry powder; cook and stir 1 minute longer. Stir in tomatoes, currants, parsley, thyme and remaining salt. Bring to a boil. Return chicken to pan., Bake, covered, 35-45 minutes or until chicken is tender. Skim fat. Serve chicken and sauce over rice; sprinkle with almonds and, if desired, additional parsley.

COUNTRY CAPTAIN SOUP

Steps:

• Heat oil in heavy large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add onion, bell pepper and garlic; sauté until vegetables soften, about 5 minutes. Add chicken, curry powder, ginger and crushed red pepper; stir 2 minutes. Add 4 cups broth, tomatoes and apple and bring to boil. Reduce heat and simmer 20 minutes. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and refrigerate. Bring to simmer before continuing.)
• Stir orzo and currants into soup and simmer until orzo is just cooked through, about 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Ladle soup into bowls. Garnish with cilantro and dollop of yogurt.

COUNTRY CAPTAIN

Steps:

• In a small bowl, cover currants with warm chicken stock. Set aside.
• Fry the bacon in a nonstick skillet over medium heat until crisp, drain on paper towels, crumble and reserve. Drain all but 3 tablespoons bacon grease from pan.
• Heat grease in the skillet over medium heat. Dredge chicken in seasoned flour. Shake off excess and cook in grease until tender, about 30 minutes, turning pieces frequently for uniform browning.
• Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Remove chicken to a bowl. Add celery, onions, bell pepper and garlic to drippings in pan. Sauté vegetables, about 5 minutes. Strain stock from currants and add stock to skillet along with the tomatoes, curry, brown sugar, salt, thyme, mace and pepper.
• Stir tomato mixture, bring to boil and reduce heat to low. Cover and simmer for about 10 minutes.
• Place chicken pieces in a large shallow baking dish, cover with tomato mixture and bake for 30 minutes. Sprinkle with reserved currants, almonds, parsley and the crumbled bacon and return to oven for 10 to 15 minutes more. Serve hot with steamed rice.

SAUCY COUNTRY CAPTAIN CHICKEN

Steps:

• Flour and brown chicken in pot. (Remove skins before hand if you prefer.).
• Remove chicken and set aside on a platter.
• Sautee garlic, onion and mushrooms in same pot until onion is translucent. No need to add more oil.
• Add spices, then wet ingredients, then browned chicken.
• Simmer 45 minutes, or until chicken is completely cooked through.
• Per your preference, serve chicken whole over rice, or remove meat from bones, and add back into stew.
• Cooking with the bones in adds a lot of flavor.