Lemon Chicken Stew -- North African Cuisine

The book from which this recipe comes is Medieval Cuisine of the Islamic World, by Lilia Zaouali.

ISBN 978-0-520-26174-7

However, it is in the chapter on contemporary North African cuisine.  So while it is not terribly historical, it is from a region I wanted to explore.  And it looked good!

The medieval recipes are translated but unredacted and make for some interesting reading.  One I want to try some time soon is on page 65, "Marinated Olives with Thyme" and one I am dubious about trying is on page 64, "Fish Drowned in Grape Juice."  Yes, you take a live fish and immerse it in grape juice so it will "thrash about and swallow the juice until its body is filled with it."

Getting back to what I did do, I present to you (from page 148)

Lemon Chicken Stew

1 chicken (about 3 1/2 pounds), cut into pieces
4 tablespoons olive oil
salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
1/4 teaspoon ground white pepper
2 medium (or three small) potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced
1 medium onion, peeled and thinly sliced
2 tomatoes, thinly sliced
2 small lemons, thinly sliced
1 bunch fresh parsley, leaves only, finely chopped

Moisten the best pieces of the chicken (thighs, wings, and breasts) with a tablespoon of the oil and season them with a pinch of salt, the cinnamon, and half the turmeric and white pepper.

Arrange the potato and onion slices in the bottom of a terrine.  Sprinkle them with salt and the rest of the turmeric and white pepper, and add enough water to cover them completely.  Add the remaining 3 tablespoons of oil and mix well.  Arrange the chicken pieces on top along with the tomato and lemon slices.

Put the terrine into a preheated medium oven and cook for about 45 minutes, turning the chicken pieces from time to time.  Before serving, sprinkle with the chopped parsley.

My Notes

I used three pounds of boneless, skinless chicken thighs, black pepper instead of white, two potatoes, half of the shown onion, and 1 1/2 of the shown lemons.  The parsley was skipped.

Instead of a terrine I used a round casserole dish.  The recipe did not say to cover the dish, so I didn't.

Filled to the brim and ready to cook

The oven was heated to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and it took 1 hour and 20 minutes to ensure the meat was cooked through.

I didn't turn the chicken much as the dish was very full and I worried about spilling and splashing.  Just a few times at the end to make sure the meat was cooked thoroughly.

The Verdict

Success!  This was quite good.  The tomatoes and lemons cooked to tender and started melting into the sauce around the meat.  I could taste the lemon juice in the sauce -- it made the sauce "sparkle" in flavor -- and yet the potatoes and onions were still robust enough to make this dish more than just chicken in sauce.

I was glad I sliced the lemons as thinly as I could as they get eaten (rind, white, and pulp) with everything else, adding a nice twist in flavor.  The turmeric makes the sauce an orangey-yellow and that is attractive against the other specks of spices and colors from the tomatoes and lemons.

A beautiful presentation

If I were to do this again, I would put in less water with the vegetables or perhaps use broth instead.  The rounded bottom of the casserole dish fooled me, I think, into putting in more water than I really needed to make a good sauce.  It did taste a little thin on flavor.

I would also use more spices than called for, especially salt.  This says a lot because I don't usually salt my foods.  My guest taster discovered that seasoned salt was a good enhancement and from that, I conclude that increasing the amount of cinnamon and pepper would be the right thing to do.  This could be because of too much water for the sauce but perhaps not.

The stew was perfect served with rice.  I would add a cucumber salad to it next time, too.

Dig down deep to get the onions and potatoes

More on Brawn en Peverade

Last night I made Brawn en Peverade but I made a variety of modifications.

The first was that I didn't have my usual spice selection available (it's a long story!) so I had to get creative.  Instead of the specified mace, pepper, cinnamon, and cloves, I used Grains of Paradise, cardamom, and cinnamon.

I'm pretty new to using Grains of Paradise; they are considered a pepper substitute.  They do have a peppery-bite that is strong before they are cooked and milder afterwards.

The spice combination was very fragrant while cooking.  The meat and gravy had a lovely flavor, too.  I really liked it!  One thing about the Grains of Paradise -- they had a "slow peppery bite"; that is, first I tasted their flavor then shortly thereafter a light pepper burn spread across my tongue.  Not unpleasant at all! 

In my first attempt at this recipe, I loved the gravy but noticed it was a bit gritty when I first made it.  So my thoughts then were to start soaking the dried bread crumbs in the wine and wine vinegar when the meat went into the oven.  I did that this time but without the results I had hoped for.  The gravy was not gritty, however it never did thicken properly.  I had to make adjustments to get it to thicken.

Also, I used white wine instead of red and the flavor was good.

Brawn en Peverade -- Pork in Pepper Sauce

My favorite receipt book for medieval cookery is Pleyn Delit ("plain delight"), which has the subtitle of "Medieval Cookery for Modern Cooks".  The first two authors listed, Constance B. Hieatt and Brenda Hosington, are professors of English and linguistics (respectively) with an emphasis on medieval studies.  The third author, Sharon Butler, was also an Old English specialist and artist.  All the recipes are verified and based on manuscript readings; "Authenticity of composition, taste, and appearance are the book's main concern."

Publisher:  University of Toronto Press

The receipts are interesting; not all "weird" or "shocking" so as to make you think that medieval people ate nothing but cow's udders and dormice (we'll leave that to the Romans!).  I've tried a number of them and have found them to be worthwhile and often delightful.  What I like is that they include the original recipe written in its original form, which could be in Old English or Middle English.  Once you get used to reading and interpreting these languages, you can see for yourself how well the modern, redacted versions were done.

This is receipt #76, Brawn en Peverade.  The receipts are numbered, not the pages.

3 lbs boneless pork tenderloin or 4 lb lean, tender pork roast (not small chunks)
24 very small onions (1 inch diameter) or fewer slightly larger ones, peeled
1 tsp salt, or to taste
1/2 tsp each mace, freshly ground pepper
1/8 tsp cinnamon
pinch ground cloves
3 tsp wine vinegar (I used balsamic)
2 cups beef broth (I used chicken broth, which was what was on hand)
3 Tbsp red wine
1/4 breadcrumbs or 1 - 2 slices of bread, soaked in the wine
optional:  pinch saffron, sandalwood spice  (I skipped this part)

Brown pork in a frying pan, then put it in a casserole with onions, salt, spices, and 1 tsp of the vinegar.

Browned in the frying pan

The spices

After the spices were sprinkled on

Pour the beef broth over, cover tightly, and cook in a 350 degree oven about 1 1/2 hours, until meat is done.  Remove it to a serving platter and slice neatly.  Keep it warm in the turned-off oven while making sauce.

Right out of the oven

Strain cooking juices into a bowl, reserving onions.  Blend breadcrumbs or soaked bread with wine and 2 tsp vinegar until very smooth; beat in cooking juices and stir in a saucepan with the reserved onions until sauce is hot, smooth, and thick; then pour sauce over the meat on its platter and serve.

The sauce is nearly ready

Dinner is served.  I should have garnished it with parsley!

The Verdict:  This was very, very good.  Easy to make and tasty to eat.  I served it with a tossed green salad and homemade sourdough bread, and felt I had made a worthwhile dinner.  I was especially happy to discover that the pepper is a nice flavor but is not overwhelmingly so.  (I am not always fond of pepper in my food.)

My notes: 
I used pearl onions, which worked well.

After I measured the spices into the bowl, I mixed them together and used my fingers to sprinkle them evenly over the meat and onions.  Then I dribbled the vinegar over the meat and the onions.

I would not use balsamic again because it is not acid enough -- when I first tasted the sauce I wanted more of a vinegar "bite", so I mixed in about a teaspoon of rice vinegar and that made it right.  Also, I used a fairly mild red wine and I think I would use a more robust-flavored one next time. 

My interpretation of the directions caused me to put the breadcrumbs in with the wine when making the sauce; next time I will start soaking the breadcrumbs when the meat goes in the oven.  The problem is that the sauce was gritty at first; after it sat for awhile that went away and was more pleasant.  **In case you haven't done this before, the bread crumbs are the thickener for the sauce; it is a healthier method that using a roux because a roux uses butter.  Bread crumbs are a very medieval way to thicken a sauce. I keep a container of them in my freezer. 

Finally, I did not put the reserved onions into the sauce until it had begun to thicken.  My experience is that big chunky items like that get in the way of whisking the sauce, so once the sauce was smooth and thick, I added the onions and heated them through.

I can and have recommended this book to others who are interested in medieval cooking.  It is a good way to get started understanding this fascinating cuisine.