Bacon Nation: 125 Irresistible Recipes (23 page)

1 can (14½ ounces) diced tomatoes, with their juices

2 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves

⅛ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

2 teaspoons chopped fresh oregano leaves

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

2 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley (optional)

1
Cook the bacon over medium heat in a large heavy saucepan or Dutch oven until the bacon is lightly browned and most of the fat is rendered, 7 to 10 minutes, stirring often and adjusting the heat as necessary. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the bacon to a paper towel-lined plate to drain, reserving 1 tablespoon of bacon fat in the saucepan.

2
Heat the bacon fat over medium-high heat until it shimmers, about 1 minute. Add 4 of the chicken thighs, skin side down, and cook until the skin is well browned, about 5 minutes. Using tongs, turn the chicken thighs over and brown the second side, 4 to 5 minutes. Transfer the browned chicken thighs to a plate and brown the remaining 4 thighs. When the chicken is cool enough to handle, remove and discard the skin. Drain off and discard all but 1½ tablespoons of fat from the pan.

3
Add the onion, bell pepper, carrot, and fennel or celery to the pan. Cook over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables begin to brown, 6 to 7 minutes. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute, stirring often. Stir in the flour and cook, stirring constantly, to blend well, about 1 minute. Add the white wine and let simmer for about 1 minute, scraping up any brown bits from the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon. Stir in the chicken stock, tomatoes with their juices, thyme, red pepper flakes, oregano, and half of the drained bacon. Add the browned chicken thighs and any juices that have accumulated on the plate.

4
Cover the pan, let the stew come to a simmer, adjusting the heat as necessary, and let simmer until the chicken is cooked through, about 30 minutes. Add the remaining bacon and let simmer, uncovered, until the thighs are very tender when pricked with a fork, about 5 minutes. Season the stew with salt and black pepper to taste, and garnish it with the parsley, if using.

Serves 6

Paella is one of those dishes, like pizza, that everyone seems to like. Go ahead and mention paella to a friend; we’re willing to bet you will raise an affectionate smile. There is something about the almost magical way that the juices in all the ingredients swell into the rice to produce a creamy, savory, elegant, and complex flavor that is just short of divine. The soccarat—or rice crust—that forms where the rice comes in contact with the cooking vessel is as delicious as the crust on a thick, charbroiled steak. (Please note, if you don’t get a crusty soccarat, which happens to the best of us, the paella will still be delicious.) Some people shy away from using saffron because it is an expensive ingredient but, in this dish, the experience is truly worth it. And using bacon in place of the traditional Spanish chorizo, a peppery sausage, provides smoky, savory drippings for sautéing the chicken and shrimp, giving them more flavor!

5 slices thick-cut bacon, cut crosswise into ½-inch-wide pieces

Extra-virgin olive oil, if necessary

5 to 6 cups low-sodium chicken stock, or more as necessary

½ cup dry white wine

12 colossal shrimp (1¼ to 1½ pounds), peeled and deveined, shells reserved for the stock

2 large pinches saffron threads, crumbled

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

3 skinless, boneless organic chicken thighs (about 1¼ pounds total)

½ large onion, grated on the largest holes of a box grater

2 medium-size ripe tomatoes, cut in half and grated on the largest holes of a box grater (skin discarded)

6 medium-size garlic cloves, diced

1 tablespoon seeded and diced jalapeño pepper

½ teaspoon pimentón de la Vera (Spanish paprika)

1⅔ cups Arborio rice

18 mussels, scrubbed and debearded (see
page 171
)

1 whole roasted red bell pepper, cut into long 1-inch-wide strips

1 cup frozen peas

⅓ cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley or cilantro

1
Cook the bacon in a large skillet over medium heat until the bacon is browned and most of the fat is rendered, 7 to 10 minutes, stirring often and adjusting the heat as necessary. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the bacon to a paper towel-lined plate to drain. Pour all of the bacon fat into a small bowl. Add enough olive oil to the bacon fat to measure ¼ cup and set it aside.

2
Place 4¼ cups of the chicken stock in a medium-size saucepan. Cover the pan and let the stock come to a boil over high heat. Add the white wine and shrimp shells and let come to a boil. Then, reduce the heat as necessary and let simmer, partially covered, until the shrimp shells impart their flavor, about 10 minutes. Strain the stock and return it to the saucepan. Add the saffron, season with salt and black pepper to taste, and set the shrimp stock aside.

3
Trim any excess fat off the chicken thighs. Cut any large pieces in half crosswise. Season the chicken with salt and black pepper to taste. Pour the reserved ¼ cup of fat into a 13- to 14-inch paella pan and heat over medium-high heat. Add the chicken thighs and cook until lightly browned on both sides, 2 to 4 minutes per side. Transfer the browned chicken thighs to a platter and set aside. Add the shrimp to the paella pan and cook until just lightly browned on both sides, 1 to 2 minutes per side. Shrimp get rubbery if overcooked, so watch them closely. They will fully cook later in the recipe. Transfer the shrimp to a plate and set aside.

4
Set the paella pan over medium heat. If the pan is too dry, add 1 or 2 tablespoons more of olive oil. Add the onion and cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the tomatoes, garlic, jalapeño, and pimentón and cook, stirring occasionally, until the mixture—the sofrito— turns a very deep red and has the consistency of a thick fruit sauce, 15 to 20 minutes. (If the sofrito sticks to the pan or starts to burn, lower the heat and add a little water.) The paella can be prepared up to this point several hours or even a day ahead. Cover the bacon, shrimp stock, chicken thighs, shrimp, and sofrito and refrigerate them separately.

5
About 1 hour before you are ready to serve the paella, bring the shrimp-flavored stock back to a simmer in the saucepan over medium-high heat. Place the paella pan with the sofrito over the largest burner of your stove (if necessary, you can place the paella pan over two burners). Heat the sofrito over medium-high heat, add the rice, and cook, stirring and coating the rice with the sofrito, 1 to 2 minutes.

6
Spread the rice in the paella pan in an even layer. Add the reserved bacon and pour in the simmering shrimp-flavored stock. Shake the pan a little to evenly distribute the rice. Do not stir the rice after this point. Adjust the heat to bring the broth to a vigorous simmer and turn the pan occasionally to distribute the heat so that the rice cooks evenly. When the rice and the stock are at about the same level, after 8 to 10 minutes, reduce the heat to medium-low.

7
Heat the remaining chicken stock in a small saucepan over medium heat. Add ½ to 1 cup of stock and cook the rice for about 5 minutes longer, rotating the pan to distribute the heat evenly. Taste a grain of rice that’s nestled just below the top layer. It should be al dente, with a little firm bite. If the rice is not cooked, and all the liquid is absorbed, add another ½ cup (more or less as needed) of stock to the pan and cook the rice for 5 minutes longer. Repeat this process until the rice is done but still firm to the bite.

8
Add the chicken and mussels, hinged side down, burying them in the rice as much as possible. Cook until the mussels just begin to open, about 5 minutes, depending on their size. Add the shrimp, pushing them into the rice, the roasted pepper strips, and the peas. If necessary add just enough stock to keep the rice moistened. Cover the pan (use aluminum foil if you don’t have a large lid) and cook the paella until the chicken and shrimp are cooked and the mussels have fully opened. Discard any mussels that have not opened.

9
To make the soccarat, increase the heat to medium-high and rotate the paella pan as you cook the paella for about 2 minutes longer to brown and caramelize the bottom layer of rice. You will hear the rice crackle as the soccarat (the crust) forms. If it starts to burn, remove the paella pan immediately from the heat.

10
Sprinkle the paella with the parsley or cilantro, set the paella pan in the center of the table, and invite your guests to help themselves.

Serves 2 to 4, depending on the size of the hens and appetite of the diners

Cornish game hens are kind of like the food version of the Holy Roman Empire. Voltaire said of this crazy quilt of mini countries and languages that it was neither holy, nor Roman, nor an empire. So far as we can tell these delicious birds aren’t from Cornwall. They are domesticated animals so they aren’t really game. They are young chickens bred for juicy white meat. Their great virtue is that you can cook a whole hen to serve one, maybe two, people. Not to be deterred by the fact that they aren’t really game at all, we prepared ours with a robust bacon brandy stuffing as if they were full-flavored game birds. Surely no wild Scottish grouse or Georgia quail ever made a bolder flavor statement.

2 Cornish game hens (about 1½ pounds each, see Notes)

Olive oil, as necessary

5 slices thick-cut bacon

¾ cup finely chopped shallots (about 2 medium-size shallots)

¼ pound fresh button, cremini, chanterelle, or baby portobello mushrooms, stems trimmed, mushrooms wiped clean and coarsely chopped (about 1½ cups)

2 medium-size cloves garlic, minced

1 cup dry medium-ground homemade bread crumbs (see
page 32
)

¼ cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

2 tablespoons brandy or sherry

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 tablespoon butter, if necessary

Store-bought chutney, such as Major Grey’s mango chutney, for serving (see Notes)

1
Remove the livers, if any, from the hens, coarsely chop them, and set them aside. Remove and discard the gizzards and hearts, if any. Rinse the hens under cold running water and pat them dry with paper towels. Trim off any excess fat around the cavities of the hens.

2
Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 425˚F. Grease the bottom of a roasting pan lightly with olive oil.

3
Chop 4 of the slices of bacon into ¼- to ½-inch pieces and cook them in a medium-size skillet over medium heat until lightly browned and most of the fat is rendered, 5 to 8 minutes, stirring often and adjusting the heat as necessary. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the browned bacon to a paper towel-lined plate to drain. You should have about 2 tablespoons of bacon fat in the skillet. If necessary add enough olive oil to the skillet to measure 2 tablespoons. Reserve 1½ tablespoons of the bacon fat in the skillet, and pour the remaining 1½ teaspoons into a small bowl, and set it aside.

4
Add the shallots to the skillet and cook over medium-high heat until softened, 2 to 3 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in the mushrooms and cook until slightly softened, about 1 minute, stirring often. Remove the skillet from the heat, let cool about 1 minute, and using a rubber spatula, scrape the mushroom mixture into a medium-size mixing bowl.