Citrus Grilled Chicken and Black Rice Bowl

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Citrus marinated chicken.  Anti-oxidant rich black rice. Crunchy veggies.  WINNING!  This is a super simple summer supper we will be enjoying again & again.

Start with the dressing.  Into a medium bowl add:

Zest and juice of 2 tangerines

Zest and juice of 1 lemon

3 tablespoons olive oil  (if you have lemon or blood orange olive oil, use it!)

 

1/2 tsp. Himalayan pink salt

1/2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper

Stir the ingredients to incorporate and add 3 Tbsp to:

1 lb boneless, skinless chicken thighs in a zip top bag or glass bowl to marinate 2-4 hours.  (And YES!  You can use boneless, skinless breasts – just make sure not to overcook as this cut will tend towards drying out – we just prefer the thighs, especially if you are planning for leftovers.)

 

So, now you have some time ~ about 2-4 hours.  You can prepare the salad to chill in the fridge.

1 cup carrots, cut into matchsticks

1/2 cup cucumber, cut into matchsticks

2 cups dark greens, chopped fine

1 bunch green onions, diced

1 handful fresh mint, chopped fine

About half an hour before the meal, preheat your grill and make the rice.  You can use *any* rice, but for extra nutrients the black rice (funny, because it looks dark purple) is rich in super plant compounds (trust me!)  Send your honey out to grill the chicken and get busy!

I love rice.  I love making rice.  I love eating rice.  Here’s how I do it:

Heat a medium saucepan and add 1-2 Tbsp. of fat.  (grass-fed butter, coconut oil, olive oil, you get the idea…)

Stir in 1 cup of black rice and let the fat coat each grain.  Stir and coat.  Let it go until you begin to see a little browning and smell a “toastiness” – yes, I made that word up – but, I don’t know a better one.  Just let the heat and fat bring a little love to the rice.   Don’t let it burn.  If it does, start over.  It will taste like scorched popcorn and that’s just tragic.  Have your cooking liquid ready!!  I used 2 cups of chicken broth but you may need to follow the directions on your particular rice.   Once you get the love on your rice, pour in the liquid (water, water and veggie broth, chicken broth/stock) and bring to boil.  Cover with a tight-fitting lid and reduce heat to simmer.  Mine was perfect in 18 minutes.

Remove the salad from the fridge and add in the cooked rice.  Add the reserved dressing.  Taste it for seasonings.  Perfect!!  Slice the chicken thighs and serve alongside your citrus creation.  Next time, I will top with sliced avocado and another drizzle of blood orange olive oil.

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Jaeger Schnitzel

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Pronounced  “Yeager” (like Chuck Yeager), Jaeger Schnitzel is a hearty and deliciously decadent meal.  It was a birthday request from my honey and I was happy to make one of his all-time favorites.  He ordered Jaeger Schnitzel many years ago in German restaurant and was blown away.  This is my take on that experience with apologies in advance to any deviations from authentic German recipes.

1 lb venison cutlets (pork, beef, chicken or turkey are all acceptable substitutes)

2/3 cup all purpose flour, in a bowl seasoned with:  1 teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon black pepper, 1 teaspoon garlic powder and 1 teaspoon Chipotle chili powderphoto 1 (18)

Stir the seasonings into the flour and lightly coat each piece of venison.  photo 4 (11) I will mention this is not “breading”,  just a light coating of seasoned flour that sticks to the natural moisture in the cutlets.  Heat up a medium skillet and add 3 Tbsp. fat.

I used Spectrum shortening.  images

It’s organic and performs nicely in high heat.  You can find this at most health food stores and larger grocery stores.  Once the pan is hot, gently place the cutlets in the pan being careful to avoid crowding.  photo 1 (19)

Once you’ve got the meat going, prepare your veggies for the mushroom sauce:  photo 2 (20)

5 baby portabella mushrooms

1/2 red onion

2 sticks celery

1/2 poblano pepper

3 cloves garlic

In a food processor, finely mince all the veggies, scraping down the sides as needed.   It should look about like this when the veggies are ready to go.

photo 3 (15) I ♥♥♥ a soffritto!  It allows me to sneak in lots of extra veggies!

Back to the browning cutlets ~ cook the meat in batches, adding additional fat if needed.  Usually 3-5 minutes on the first side then 2-3 minutes on the second side.  You’ll know when it’s done.  Then, place the meat in a 200 degree oven on a baking sheet to hold warm while you make the sauce.

Use the same skillet in which you cooked the cutlets, removing any really dark or burned bits.  Spoon your soffritto veggies into the pan and begin stirring.  The moisture from the soffritto will begin “pull up” the crazy flavor from the pan.  This is a good thing.  Cook and stir the soffritto for 5-7 minutes, scraping up the deliciousness from the bottom of the pan.  I added a little more fat here to loosen things up.  photo 5 (12)

 

It’s also around this time you will need to start the rice.  I like organic basmati.  Place 1 cup rice in a pan and turn on the heat to medium high.

Give the rice a swirl of olive oil.  photo (7) Let the rice heat up and stir it to coat each grain with the oil.

Once it begins to smell slightly toasted but *BEFORE* the rice begins to brown, add 2 cups of beef broth.  photo 1 (20)

Place the lid on pan, reduce the heat to simmer and let it go for about 20 minutes… plenty of time to finish the sauce.

And, back to the soffritto!  Add about 1.5 Tbsp. of tomato paste.  photo 5 (13) Stir the tomato paste to incorporate.  It will need a couple of minutes to come together just so.  Then, you add the rest of the seasoned flour (left0ver from coating the cutlets).

Let it cook for 2-3 minutes.  It’s going to become thick and gloopy.  Don’t worry!

You just want to cook the flour and it’s all going great!  photo 1 (21)

Now, add about 2 cups of beef broth.  Stir and stir and stir.  Mash out any lumps.  I keep my heat medium low and it’s really forgiving here.photo 4 (12)

If you are cooking too hot and fast, panic can set in.  Just be mellow, keep stirring and it will come together.  In a few minutes, it will all get friendly and you have tomato-spiked mushroom gravy!  To this, add a big handful of chopped parsley.  photo 4 (13)

Plate it up and go to town!  Ich liebe es!photo (8)

 

 

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