Poussin Al Mattone Food

POUSSIN "SOTTO MATTONE" OR BABY CHICKEN COOKED UNDER A BRICK

Steps:

• To marinate poussin, first slice lemon into rings and place on cookie sheet. In 475 degree oven, or preferably, wood roasting oven, char lemon until very fragrant. Allow lemon to cool and toss with thyme, olive oil and poussin. Marinate at least 2 hours. Prepare eggplant and figs by cutting each in half, drizzle with olive oil, salt and pepper. Grill eggplant and figs and keep warm. Lay poussin skin side down on grill. Place brick atop poussin and grill 3 to 4 minutes. Remove brick, rotate poussin 90 degrees and grill 3 more minutes under brick. Finally flip over poussin and grill 2 minutes without the brick. Assemble on large platter with grilled eggplant and figs. Drizzle dish with fruity olive oil and fresh herbs.

POLLO AL MATTONE

Steps:

• Special equipment: weights such as foil covered bricks or cast iron saute pan
• In a small bowl combine the garlic, crushed red pepper, lemon zest and juice, rosemary, pimenton, and cumin. Drizzle in olive oil until the mixture becomes a paste. Place the chicken into a large bowl and massage with the spice mixture. Let marinate for 12 to 24 hours in the refrigerator or 2 hours at room temperature.
• * If refrigerating the chicken, remove from the refrigerator 45 minutes to 1 hour before cooking to let the chicken come to room temperature.
• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
• Coat a large saute pan with olive oil and bring to a high heat. Season the chicken with salt and pepper. Lay the marinated chicken in the pan, skin side down. Oil the bottom of another large saute pan, lay it on top of the chickens and place bricks or weights in the second saute pan. Cook the chicken until the skin starts to brown, about 5 minutes. Place the whole shootin' match in the preheated oven for about 15 minutes.
• Remove the pans from the oven and remove the weights and the top pan. At this point the skin should be lovely and dark brown. Check the chicken for doneness, it should be cooked through but still succulent and juicy. Remove the chickens from the pan and reserve on a large platter.
• Remove the excess fat from the saute pan and add the white wine. Cook over high heat until the wine has reduced by more than half. Add the chicken stock, season with salt and reduce by half.
• Arrange chicken on serving plates or a platter. Spoon the juices over. Tastes like chicken!

POLLO AL MATTONE

Steps:

• Take a whole chicken and remove "backbone" - The chicken can now be opened to lay flat on cooking surface. The cooking vessel for this dish is a stovetop griddle pan (an extra-large saute pan would work, if necessary). The griddle pan needs to be medium-high when chicken is first placed on surface for cooking. The chicken should be seasoned with gray salt, fresh ground black pepper, and a slight drizzle of olive oil.
• Place skin side to pan first, place a saute pan or another griddle pan on top of chicken to apply pressure and weight while cooking. Cook 5 minutes. Reduce heat to medium to avoid burning, cook additional 10-15 minutes on skin side. Remove weighted pan and turn over. Replace weighted pan and continue cooking 10-15 minutes until done.

RAVIOLO AL UOVO

Steps:

• Cover the porcinis with hot or room temp water and allow to sit for 30 minutes. Remove from the liquid with a slotted spoon before dicing into small pieces.
• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
• Toss the chanterelles with olive oil and season with salt. Put on a sheet tray and roast in the oven until golden brown, about 15 minutes. Reserve for garnish.
• To a saute pan over medium-high heat, add the guanciale and render until crispy. Transfer the guanciale with a slotted spoon onto a paper towel-lined plate. To the guanciale fat in the pan, add the sage leaves and fry until crispy, about 30 seconds. Season the sage leaves with salt. Crumble the sage and set aside. Reserve the guanciale and sage for garnish.
• In a medium bowl, combine the ricotta, Parmigiano, parsley, 2 whole eggs and the diced porcinis; mix well and season with salt.
• Dust a clean work surface lightly with all-purpose flour and lay out 2 sheets (at least 12 inches long) of the rolled Chef Anne's All-Purpose Pasta Dough; brush them lightly with water. Equally space 4 dollops of the ricotta mixture on each pasta sheet, then use a spoon to make a "nest" or small hole in the center of each dollop. Carefully separate the remaining 8 eggs one at a time and put a yolk in each ricotta "nest" the ricotta should lovingly nestle each yolk (if a yolk breaks, scoop it out with a spoon and don't use it).
• Cover each sheet of ricotta "nests" and egg yolks with another sheet of pasta. Use your index fingers to press around each ricotta nest to seal the edges, then use a fluted ring cutter or dough roller to cut around each ravioli (they should be 3 to 4 inches in diameter). Reserve the ravioli on a tray generously dusted with semolina.
• Bring a large pot of well-salted water to a boil. In a large saute pan, melt 1/2 stick of the butter and add 1/4 cup of the chicken stock (you're going to use the remainder for your next batch); add a sage sprig and season with salt. Bring this to boil and reduce to a simmer.
• Add 4 of the ravioli to the boiling water and cook for about 2 minutes, no more. Using a spider or slotted spoon, carefully transfer the ravioli from the water to the pan with the butter and chicken stock and cook for 2 to 3 minutes. If the sauce reduces too much, add a few drops of the pasta cooking water. The sauce should cling to the ravioli in a buttery hug. Repeat with the remaining 4 ravioli, using the remaining 1/2 stick butter, 1/4 cup chicken stock and 1 sprig sage to make the sauce.
• Transfer the ravioli to serving plates, 1 per plate. Spoon a little extra sauce over each one and finish with a sprinkey-dink of the grated Parm, guanciale, chanterelles and fried sage.
• Put the flour on a clean dry work surface. Make a hole (this is also called a well) in the center of the flour pile that is about 8 inches wide (bigger is definitely better here). Crack all of the eggs and the yolk into the hole and add the olive oil, water and salt.
• Using a fork, beat the eggs together with the olive oil, water and salt. Using the fork, begin to incorporate the flour into the egg mixture; be careful not to break the sides of the well or the egg mixture will run all over your board and you will have a big mess! Also, don't worry about the lumps. When enough flour has been incorporated into the egg mixture that it will not run all over the place when the sides of the well are broken, begin to use your hands to really get everything well combined. If the mixture is tight and dry, wet your hands and begin kneading with wet hands. When the mixture has really come together to a homogeneous mixture, THEN you can start kneading.
• When kneading, it is VERY important to put your body weight into it, get on top of the dough to really stretch it and not to tear the dough. Using the heels of your palms, roll the dough to create a very smooooooth, supple dough. When done, the dough should look VERY smooth and feel almost velvety. Kneading will usually take from 8 to 10 minutes for an experienced kneader and 10 to 15 for an inexperienced kneader. Put your body weight into it, you need to knead! This is where the perfect, toothsome texture of your pasta is formed. Get in there and have fun! When the pasta has been kneaded to the perfect consistency, wrap it in plastic and let rest for at least 1 hour. If using immediately after that, do not refrigerate.
• Roll and cut the pasta into the desired shape. How smooth and supple!

TIE ME UP POUSSIN WITH MADEIRA SAUCE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.
• Wash and pat dry each poussin. Tuck 1 sage leaf under the skin of each breast. Season the inside of each cavity liberally with salt. Stuff each cavity with 1 lemon wedge and a generous amount of fresh thyme, rosemary, and sage. Truss each poussin (see Cook's Note**). Evenly coat each poussin with 2 tablespoons of the butter. Place the poussins breast side up on a baking tray and refrigerate for 20 minutes to let the butter harden.
• Heat large saute pan over high heat and place poussin in pan breast side up. Sear for 2 minutes and then place in oven. Roast for 40 minutes, or until the juices run clear from the hip joint (about 160 degrees F). Remove from the oven. Set the poussins aside in a warm place to rest for 10 to 15 minutes. Skim most of the fat from the saute pan and set aside drippings to finish Madeira Sauce. Remove the butcher's string from poussins. Serve each person 1/2 poussin drizzled with 1 to 2 ounces of the Madeira Sauce. Garnish on a bed of greens with pomegranate seeds.
• After skimming most of the fat drippings from the pan, return the pan to medium heat. Add the Madeira and simmer until the liquid is reduced by two thirds. Add the heavy cream and bring to a boil. Remove pan from heat, swirl in butter. Season with salt and serve with poussin.