Rich flavour on a budget
Cook herbes de Provence Chicken now or freeze it unbaked
Ask a budget-minded meal provider how often chicken is on their menu and the answer, usually, is: whenever it’s on special at the supermarket.
Breasts are the favourite chicken cut for U.S. cookbook author Karrie Truman. Thirteen of the chicken recipes in her book, Seriously Good Freezer Meals (Robert Rose, $29.95), are for chicken breasts. Thighs, which many prefer for their added flavour and moisture, rate two recipes, and there are five dishes made with sliced, chopped or ground chicken.
Truman, a trained recipe developer from Kennewick, Wash., includes bulk measurements with many recipes, so you can make double, triple or even larger quantities to stock your freezer.
Successful cooking for the freezer requires some different techniques, she explains carefully with each of the 150 recipes, each of which may also be prepared and served at once.
With this dish, if you plan to freeze it, prepare it and freeze it unbaked, then thaw and bake, Truman says. Serve with rice, a green vegetable and crusty bread. This is an excellent, beautifully produced book, as appealing to those who cook foods at once as to those who like to stock the freezer. Serves: 6
1 tbsp (15 mL) red wine vinegar 1 tbsp (15 mL) olive oil
1/2 tsp (2.5 mL) fresh lemon juice
1/2 tsp (2.5 mL) minced garlic 2 tsp (10 mL) Dijon mustard 1 1/2 tsp (7.5 mL) herbes de Provence herb mixture
1 tsp (5 mL) salt
1/4 tsp (1 mL) freshly ground pepper
6 bone-in skin-on chicken thighs (each about 6 oz/170 g)
1 onion, thinly sliced
1. In a medium bowl, combine vinegar, oil, lemon juice, garlic, mustard, herbes de Provence, salt and pepper. Add chicken thighs, turning in the mixture to coat them thoroughly.
2. Oil a 13 by 9 in. (33 by 22.5 cm) baking dish and spread onion slices evenly on the bottom. Arrange chicken thighs, skin side up, on the onion slices. Pour remaining marinade evenly over the chicken.
3. To eat now: Preheat oven to 375 F (190 C) and bake pan of chicken, uncovered, for 50 minutes, or until juices run clear when pierced with a fork.
4. To freeze: Tightly wrap the pan of chicken in plastic wrap, pressing wrap down gently around the chicken to remove air. Cover with aluminum foil and freeze.
5. Thaw in the refrigerator for 24 to 48 hours. Remove plastic wrap and foil. Bring to room temperature. Bake as above.