Spagetthi Vodka arrabiata a la Jamie Oliver

This is a very spicy and aromatic dish from Jamie Oliver. I love pasta dishes where the sauce is made in the time when the pasta cooks. This is one of them. If you are not into spicy - you  might replace the chiles with roasted red peppers or even stay away from this recipe. The Parsley adds a wonderful freshness to the dish, even the stalks are used in this recipe, don't skip on it. 

NYC Vodka Arrabbiata

from Jamie’s America by Jamie Oliver

Ingredients:

4 fresh red chillies

6 tbsp olive oil

4 cloves garlic, peeled and finely sliced

a small bunch of fresh flat-leaf parsley, leaves picked, stalks finely chopped

4 anchovy fillets

400g tin chopped tomatoes

sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

3 shots vodka

500g spaghetti

1 lemon

optional: extra virgin olive oil

Directions:

Prick the chillies 6 to 8 times with a small sharp knife. Put a large frying pan over a medium heat, add the olive oil and chillies and let them cook slowly for 5 minutes. 

Turn the heat up to high and add the garlic, parsley stalks and anchovies. Keep moving everything around the pan, and when the garlic starts to take on some color, add the tinned tomatoes and season with salt and pepper. Bring this mixture to the boil, add the vodka, and turn the heat down so the sauce simmers. Gently bash up you chillies with a wooden spoon to release more of their flavor into the sauce.

Add your pasta to a pan of boiling salted water and cook according to the packet instructions. Drain in a colander, then toss the pasta in the sauce. Divide between bowls or serve on a big platter. Roughly chop the reserved parsley leaves and sprinkle them over your pasta. Finely grate the lemon zest over the top, then squeeze in the juice, making sure you catch any seeds in your hands. Drizzle with extra virgin olive oil to finish it off, and serve immediately.

Turkey Cakes with Wasabi Guacamole

When my husband wanted meatballs for dinner the other night, I couldn't help myself and had to look for a healthier version of the classic meatball recipe. I found these little guys - they are made with turkey, lots of herbs and zucchini.
After they come out of the oven they are brushed with sweet chili sauce and sprinkled with sesame seeds.
The meatballs were so juicy and very flavorful! The wasabi guacamole added a very nice zing to the dish and I served them with a simple salad.

Turkey Cakes with Wasabi Guacamole
(from Yotam Ottolenghi)

• 2 courgettes, coarsely grated (net weight 250g)
• Salt and black pepper
• 600 g / 1 pound and 5 oz minced turkey, or chicken
• 2 medium free-range eggs
• 1 ½ teaspoon ground cumin
• 3 tablespoons chopped coriander
• 3 tablespoons chopped mint
• 2 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
• 60 g/ 2 oz chopped spring onion
• Sunflower oil, for frying
• 2 tablespoons sweet chilli sauce
• 1 teaspoon mirin
• ½ teaspoon toasted sesame seeds
• 
  
• For the wasabi guacamole
• 2 ripe avocados, peeled (net weight 300g)
• 2 tablespoons lime juice
• 2 teaspoons wasabi paste
• 20 g/ 1oz chopped spring onion
• Salt

• 
  
• Heat the oven to 180C/350F/gas mark 4. Put the grated courgette in a sieve, mixed with a quarter-teaspoon of salt, and leave to drain for about 15 minutes. Squeeze out as much liquid as possible with your hands, then put the courgette in a large mixing bowl along with the turkey, eggs, cumin, coriander, mint, garlic, three-quarters of the spring onion, a teaspoon of salt and some black pepper. Mix together well, then shape into 12 patties weighing about 80g each.
• 
  
• Heat two tablespoons of sunflower oil in a large frying pan and fry the patties for four minutes, turning once, until nice and brown on both sides. Transfer to a baking tray and finish off in the oven for a further 10 minutes.
• 
  
• While the turkey cakes are in the oven, make the guacamole: mash the avocado with a fork and mix together with the lime juice, wasabi, chopped spring onion and half a teaspoon of salt. Mix the sweet chilli and mirin in a separate bowl, and brush this over the turkey cakes as soon as they come out of the oven. Sprinkle the sesame seeds on top and serve with the guacamole on the side.

Greek Spinach and Feta Pie

Success! This is the first time that I worked with phyllo dough and it didn't break! It is also the first time that I actually thawed the dough as the packaging instructed (I thought I should mention that...) The recipe might look complicated, but it is not. Most of the time it takes to make this recipe is needed for brushing the dough layers with the melted butter. The filling could even be prepared a day in advance. It is a nice dish to bring to a party or potluck and can be served hot, warm or at room temperature.

Greed Spinach and Feta Pie (Spanakopita)
(from Cooks Illustrated)

Why this recipe works:
Microwaving, chopping, and then ridding mature fresh spinach of excess water gave our spanakopita recipe bold spinach flavor. To buffer the assertiveness of feta and to add textural contrast, we added Greek yogurt to the spanakopita recipe. We chose to bake our spanakopita on a baking sheet. Its sides were short enough to allow moisture to escape, crisping the phyllo dough’s bottom crust.

• Filling
• 2 (10-ounce) bags curly leaf spinach, rinsed
• ¼ cup water
• 12 ounces feta cheese, rinsed, patted dry, and crumbled into fine pieces (about 3 cups)
• ¾ cup whole-milk Greek yogurt 
• 4 medium scallions, sliced thin (about 1/2 cup)
• 2 large eggs, beaten
• ¼ cup minced fresh mint leaves
• 2 tablespoons minced fresh dill leaves
• 3 medium garlic cloves, minced or pressed through garlic press (about 1 tablespoon)
• 1 teaspoon grated zest plus 1 tablespoon juice from 1 lemon
• 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
• ¼ teaspoon table salt
• ⅛ teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 
  
• Phyllo Layers
• 7 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
• ½ lb. (14 by 9-inch) phyllo, thawed overnight in the refrigerator
• 1 ½ ounces Pecorino Romano cheese, grated fine (about 3/4 cup)
• 2 teaspoons sesame seeds (optional)
• 
  

1.FOR THE FILLING: Place spinach and water in large microwave-safe bowl. Cover bowl with large dinner plate. Microwave on high power until spinach is wilted and decreased in volume by half, about 5 minutes. Using potholders, remove bowl from microwave and keep covered, 1 minute. Carefully remove plate and transfer spinach to colander set in sink. Using back of rubber spatula, gently press spinach against colander to release excess liquid. Transfer spinach to cutting board and roughly chop. Transfer spinach to clean kitchen towel and squeeze to remove excess water. Place drained spinach in large bowl. Add remaining filling ingredients and mix until thoroughly combined. (Filling can be made up to 24 hours in advance and stored in the refrigerator.)

2.FOR THE PHYLLO LAYERS: Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and heat oven to 425 degrees. Line rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. Using pastry brush, lightly brush 14 by 9-inch rectangle in center of parchment with melted butter to cover area same size as phyllo. (If your phyllo is bigger than 14 x 9 like mine was just cut it with a pizza cutter to the right size) Lay 1 phyllo sheet on buttered parchment, and brush thoroughly with melted butter. Repeat with 9 more phyllo sheets, brushing each with butter (you should have total of 10 layers of phyllo).

3.Spread spinach mixture evenly over phyllo, leaving ¼-inch border on all sides. Cover spinach with 6 more phyllo sheets, brushing each with butter and sprinkling each with about 2 tablespoons Pecorino cheese. Lay 2 more phyllo sheets on top, brushing each with butter (these layers should not be sprinkled with Pecorino).

4.Working from center outward, use palms of your hands to compress layers and press out any air pockets. Using sharp knife, score pie through the top 3 layers of phyllo into 24 equal pieces. Sprinkle with sesame seeds (if using). Bake until phyllo is golden and crisp, 20 to 25 minutes. Cool on baking sheet 10 minutes or up to 2 hours. Slide spanakopita, still on parchment, to cutting board. Cut into squares and serve.

Spaghetti with Egg and Pangritata

When I was little and we had leftover pasta in the fridge,  my mom would always fry it in a pan with lots of butter. She would crack some eggs over it heated everything in the pan and served it with lots of ketchup. We loved the leftover so much that my siblings and I would always fight over them. This dish is every similar but more sophisticated, with herbs, Parmesan and toasted breadcrumbs. And I don't miss the ketchup at all...

Spaghetti with Egg and Pangritata

(adapted from circle-b-kitchen)

serves 4

• For the Pangritata::
• ¼ cup olive oil
• 1 ⅓ cups coarse breadcrumbs
• 1 ½ tablespoons of minced fresh rosemary
• zest of two lemons
• Spaghetti and Eggs:
• 1 lb. spaghetti
• 1 tablespoon of olive oil
• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 6-8 large eggs
• ⅓ cup chopped Italian parsley
• 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper (optional)
• freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• 1 cup grated Parmesan or Pecorino Romano cheese

1.For the pangrita: Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the breadcrumbs and sauté until golden and crispy, about 4 to 5 minutes. Add the rosemary, and immediately remove from heat and allow to cool. Mix in lemon zest and set aside.

2.Bring a large pot of well-salted water to a boil and cook pasta to al dente according to directions on box. (I usually undercook the pasta by about a minute.)

3.Wipe out the skillet from the pangritata, add the olive oil and butter and melt together over medium heat.

4.Add the garlic and crushed red pepper and immediately break the eggs into the skillet.

5.If need be, lower the heat a bit. You want the garlic to cook without burning and the egg whites to set, but the yolks to remain runny.

6.Drain the pasta well, reserving 1 c of the cooking liquid.

7.Add pasta back to the pot, pour over the eggs and all the fat from the skillet, add the parsley and toss well, breaking up the eggs as you do. If you prefer a wetter dish, you can add in some of the reserved cooking liquid.

8.Plate the pasta and eggs, season well with freshly ground black pepper, sprinkle with the grated cheese and then top with the pangritata.

Curried Indian Meatballs

While making this dish, I tasted the sauce for the first time and since I didn't quite like it I thought I would never make this dish again. But after the sauce simmered for 20 minutes on the stove it totally changed its taste, a little bit sour with a hint of spicyness. In the end I had an incredible aromatic dish, the sauce reminded me a little bit of our German Gulash and the meatballs were juicy and tender even after reheating the leftovers the next day.
I am not sure if this a typical Indian dish, because the Indian flavors were very subtle, but either way it was absolutely delicious.

Curried Meatballs

(Bal Arneson)

• Meatballs
• 1 lb. ground meat (pork, beef or veal)
• ¼ cup bread crumbs
• ¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 2 tablespoons tamarind pulp*
• 1 tablespoon dried oregano
• 1 teaspoon fennel seeds
• 1 teaspoon crushed coriander seeds
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 egg
• 3 tablespoons grapeseed oil
• *Can be found at specialty Asian and Indian markets.
• Sauce
• 2 tablespoons grapeseed oil
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh garlic
• 1 green chile, minced
• 3 bay leaves
• 1 tablespoon garam masala
• 1 tablespoon dried oregano
• 1 teaspoon turmeric
• Pinch salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 2 tablespoons tamarind pulp*
• 4 tomatoes, chopped
• 1 cup red wine
• 
  

For the meatballs: Combine the ground meat, bread crumbs, cheese, tamarind pulp, oregano, fennel seeds, salt, and egg in a large bowl and mix well with your hands to combine. Form the mixture into 2-inch meatballs and set aside. Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat and add the oil. Fry the meatballs on all sides until browned and then reduce the heat to low and continue to cook until the meat is cooked through, about 5 minutes. Keep the meatballs warm.

To make the sauce:

Place a large skillet over medium-high heat and add the oil and then the garlic and chile. Saute for one minute and then add the bay leaves, garam masala, oregano, turmeric, salt, and black pepper and toast for 10 seconds. Stir in the tamarind pulp and then add the tomatoes and red wine and let simmer for about 20 minutes. Add the warm meatballs to the sauce and stir gently to coat well with the sauce. Serve the meatballs with rice

Chicken Marbella

This is a recipe that I have to pass out whenever I make the dish. It is a great party dish, easy to prepare for a crowd, and I love it because of its simplicity and wonderful sweet-sour taste.
The chicken gets incredibly juicy and tender and the prunes and olives add a sweet and sour taste. The chicken is brined over night and the next day simply finished in the oven. It couldn't be easier. It can be served cold or warm.

Chicken Marbella
(source: unknown)
serves 8

To serve Chicken Marbella cold, cool to room temperature in the cooking juices before transferring the pieces to a serving platter. If the chicken has been covered and refrigerated, reheat it in the juices, then allow it to come to room temperature before serving. Spoon some of the reserved juice over the chicken.


12 boneless chicken breast halves, cubed
1 head garlic, peeled and chopped
¼ cup dried oregano
Freshly ground black pepper
½ cup red wine vinegar
½ cup olive oil
1 cup pitted prunes
½ cup pitted green olives with pimiento (small size, or chop larger ones)
½ cup capers with a bit of juice
6 bay leaves
1 cup light brown sugar
1 cup white wine
¼ cup flat leaf parsley, chopped (optional)


1. In a large nonreactive (glass or stainless steel) bowl, combine chicken, garlic, oregano, pepper, vinegar, oil, prunes, olives, capers, and bay leaves. Cover and let marinate, refrigerated, overnight.

2. Preheat oven to 350°F. Arrange chicken in a single layer in shallow baking pan, and spoon marinade over it. Sprinkle with the brown sugar and pour in white wine. Bake 35-40 minutes, uncovered, basting frequently with pan juices. Place in a bowl, sprinkle with parsley. Best served at room temperature. Can be made ahead (a couple of days); this dish improves with age!

Notes
Don't skip on the sugar

Clams and Potatoes

This wonderfully flavored stew is a must for seafood lovers. Clams meet potatoes and two kinds of red peppers, and are served in a saffron flavored white wine-fish broth. The saffron contributes a pungent flavor and intense yellow color. The dish is finished with a tasty garlic-parsley mixture. Serve it with lots of rustic bread to soak up the lovely juices.


Saffron-flavored Clams and Potatoes
(The New Spanish Table)
serves 4 as a main dish

4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 large garlic cloves, minced, plus 5 small whole garlic cloves
1/2 large white onion, finely chopped
1 Italian (frying) pepper, cored, seeded, and diced
2 pounds Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2 inch dice
1 large, ripe tomato, cut in half and grated on a box grater, skin discarded
1 1/2 cups bottled clam juice (I used fish stock)
1 large pinch of saffron, pulverized in a mortar and steeped in 3 tablespoons very hot water
2 medium-sized roasted bell peppers, chopped (I took them out of a jar)
Coarse sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/3 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
1/3 cup dry white wine
2 pounds small Manila clams, scrubbed well

1. Heat 3 tablespoons of the olive oil and the minced garlic in a heavy 4- to 5-quart pot over medium heat. Add the onion and cook until it begins to soften, about 5 minutes. Add the potatoes and cook, stirring, for 2 to 3 minutes. Add the tomato and continue cooking, stirring occasionally, until the juices thicken slightly, 5 minutes. Add the clam juice of fish broth or stock and enough water to cover the potatoes by 1/2 inch and bring to a boil, skimming. Stir in the saffron, the roasted peppers, and salt and black pepper to taste. Reduce the heat to low, cover the pot, and simmer until the potatoes are very soft but not quite falling apart, about 20 minues. Stir lighthly skim the mixture occasionally, adding a few tablespoons of water if necessary to maintain the level of liquid in the pot.

2. While the potatoes are cooking, heat the remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil in a small skillet over medium heat. Add the 5 whole garlic cloves and cook until the garlic is golden and crisp, 3 to 4 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the garlic to a mini food processor and add the parsley. Pulse until finely chopped, but not pureed.

3. Place the wine in a wide pot and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Add 2 teaspoons of the parsley-mixture and the clams. Cover the pot and let the clams steam until they open, 4 to 7 minutes. Discard any unopened clams.

4. Stir the remaining parsley mixture into the potato mixture. Gently stir in the clams and their liquid, taking care not to crush the potatoes. Cook over medium heat until the flavors meld, 1 to 2 minutes. Spoon the stew into bowls and serve at once.

Spaghetti Trapanese

You know how difficult is to make a dish that everyone in the family loves. These dishes are very rare and once you find one you keep it like a treasure. One of those dishes for my family is Spaghetti Trapanese, a summer dish that is best when tomatoes are in full season. It is a pesto-like cold sauce and has only a couple of main ingredients. Those should be of the best quality that you can afford.

Spaghetti Trapanese
(Jamie Oliver)
serves 4

• 1 pound dried spaghetti
• sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 5 1/2oz / 150 g  almonds, skins on or off
• 1 clove garlic
• 4 large handfuls fresh basil, leaves picked
• 5 1/2 oz / 150g  freshly grated pecorino or Parmesan cheese
• extra virgin olive oil
• 1 1/2 pounds tomatoes, halved
• 
  

Warm the almonds a little in a dry pan, then smash them up in a pestle and mortar or whiz them in a food processor until you have a coarse powder consistency. Put them into a bowl. Bash the garlic and the basil separately in the mortar and mix with the almonds, adding the pecorino or Parmesan, a good glug of olive oil, and some salt and pepper. Add the tomatoes and really scrunch them with your hands into the almond mixture until they have completely broken up. Loosen with a little extra olive oil and toss with your hot drained pasta. Check the seasoning, divide onto 4 plates, and spoon any sauce that remains in the pan over the top.

Pasta with Shaved Asparagus

Green asparagus is known and eaten worldwide. Once a delicacy and only available in spring it is now accessible throughout the whole year. It is typically served as an appetizer or vegetable side dish, steamed, grilled or stir fried. Recently it became popular to serve it also raw and when  I stumbled over a shaved asparagus salad recipe on smittenkitchen I knew immediately that it would be good with Pasta too. So I cooked some spaghetti and added the shaved asparagus on top. With or without pasta this is a very refreshing, light summery dish.

Pasta with Shaved Asparagus

(inspired by the Union Square Cafe and Smittenkitchen)

There are no exact measurements in this recipe. Everything is to taste, so taste as you go along to make sure you’re getting all the Parmesan, nutty, and lemony flavors you want.

1/4 cup pine nuts or sliced almonds, toasted* and cooled
1 pound asparagus, rinsed
1 lemon, halved
Olive oil
Coarse salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1 to 2 ounces Parmesan cheese

No need to snap off the tough ends of your asparagus. Lay a single stalk on its side on a cutting board. Holding onto the tough end, use a vegetable peeler (a Y-shaped peeler is easiest, but I’ve used a standard one successfully) to shave off thin asparagus ribbons from stalk to tip, peeling away from the tough end in your hand. [Updated] Discard the tough ends once you’re done peeling. Gently pile your ribbons on a medium-sized serving platter. Squeeze some lemon juice over the asparagus, drizzle it with a bit of olive oil and sprinkle it with salt and pepper. Toss gently and then use your peeler to shave curls of Parmesan right off the block, over the asparagus. Sprinkle with some toasted nuts. Repeat with remaining asparagus, a third of the remaining bundle at a time. Eat immediately.

* I toast mine in a single layer on a baking sheet at 350 for 5 to 10 minutes. It’s really important, especially with pine nuts, that you stay close and toss them frequently because they love to burn, but if you move them around a bit, you can get a wonderful, even coffee coffee color on them and an intensely nutty flavor. It makes even unfancy nuts taste amazing.

Chicken Tajine with Preserved Lemons

Lately, I have been a little obsessed with Moroccon recipes. Maybe because I got a beautiful Tagine for Christmas? Or maybe because a friend gave me some home made preserved lemons (Thank you Kathy)? Either way, this dish from Jamie Oliver is made with Fennel, Saffron, the above mentioned preserved lemons and olives. It is mainly a very mild stew with a deep and lovely flavour. If you happen to have a Tagine or a Claypot you should use it and you will be impressed how juicy and tasty the chicken will get.

Chicken, Olive and Preserved Lemon Tagine

(Jamie Oliver "Jamie does")

Serves 4-6


1 whole chicken (approximately 1.5kg), preferably free-range or organic, skin-on, jointed 
into 4 (get your butcher 
to do this for you)

Olive oil

1-2 large bulbs of fennel


2 onions, peeled and roughly chopped


A small bunch of fresh coriander


4 cloves of garlic, peeled 
and sliced


2-3 small preserved lemons, deseeded and chopped


80g black and green olives, stoned

A good pinch of saffron


500ml hot organic chicken stock




For the spice rub
1 heaped teaspoon coriander seeds, bashed up
1 level teaspoon ground cumin
1 heaped teaspoon ground ginger
2 tablespoons olive oil
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Mix all the spice rub ingredients together in a small bowl. Put your chicken pieces into a large bowl, massage them with the spice rub, then cover with clingfilm, and put into the fridge to marinate for a couple of hours or, even better, overnight. When you’re ready to cook, heat a generous lug of olive oil in a tagine or casserole-type 
pan, and fry the chicken pieces over a medium to high heat, 
skin side down first, for about 
5 to 10 minutes until gorgeous and golden brown.

While your chicken fries, chop each fennel bulb into 8 wedges, and add these to the pan along with the onions, coriander stalks 
and garlic. Stir well and fry for a couple more minutes, then mix in the preserved lemons, olives and saffron. Pour in the hot stock, give everything a good stir, then cover with a lid or foil, and simmer on a low heat for 1½ hours, or until the meat starts to fall away from the bone. Halfway through, have a check and give it a good stir. Keep an eye on it and add a splash of water if it looks dry. When the time’s up and your chicken looks perfect, stir gently. If it’s still a bit liquidy, leave it to blip away with the lid off until thickened slightly.

Have a taste, season with a pinch of salt and pepper if you think it needs it, then sprinkle with the coriander leaves. There’s enough love and care in the tagine for it not to need anything fancy, so serve it simply, with a large bowl of lightly seasoned 
steaming couscous.

Indian Fish Curry

I love Indian Curries, but sometimes they seem a little bit time consuming to prepare, also it is not always easy to find the right spices. This is, why I think it is best to always have a recipe on hand that you can whip up last minute.

Nigella's recipe is really easy, fast and super tasty. It has a very hot and sour flavor (depending on your chili's) and makes a perfect fast meal together with the lemon rice. 

You can prepare the sauce a couple of hours ahead of time and when you are ready to serve it just heat the fish gently in the prepared curry. I used Mahi Mahi for this curry but I am sure you can use any firm fish.

KERALAN FISH CURRY
(Nigella Lawson)
serves 4 - 6

• 2¾ pounds firm white fish, such as sole, cod, haddock, or halibut
• salt
• 2 teaspoons turmeric
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 2 medium onions, halved and cut into thin half-moons
• 2 long red chillies
• 1½-inch piece fresh ginger
• pinch ground cumin
• 13¾ ounces (about 1 2/3 cups) canned unsweetened coconut milk
• 1–2 tablespoons concentrated tamarind
• 1 tablespoon liquid fish stock

Directions

Cut the fish into bite-sized chunks, put them into a large bowl, and rub with a little salt and 1 teaspoon turmeric. Heat the oil in a large, shallow pan and peel and tip in your fine half-moons of onion; sprinkle them with a little salt to stop them browning and then cook, stirring, until they’ve softened; this should take scarcely 5 minutes.

Cut the whole, unseeded chillies into thin slices across (although if you really don’t want this at all hot, you can seed and then just chop them) and then toss them into the pan of softened onions. Peel the ginger and slice it, then cut the slices into straw-like strips and add them, too, along with the remaining teaspoon of turmeric and the cumin. Fry them with the onions for a few minutes.

Pour the can of coconut milk into a large glass measuring cup and add a tablespoon of tamarind paste and the fish stock, using boiling water from the kettle to bring the liquid up to the 4-cup mark. Pour it into the pan, stirring it in to make the delicate curry sauce. Taste and add more tamarind paste if you want to. And actually you can do all this hours in advance if it helps.

When you are absolutely ready to eat, add the fish to the hot sauce and heat for a couple of minutes until it’s cooked through, but still tender.

Kung Pao Chicken

My Family loves to go to PF Changs. PF Changs is a Chinese restaurant or Bistro here in the US, nothing fancy, but good food and it happens to be right around the corner from our house. One of our favorit dishes there is Kung Pao Chicken. Kung Pao Chicken is an exemplary example of Szechwan cuisine due to its combination of sweet, sour, salty and hot tastes.
I decided to look for a recipe to make this dish on my own since we don't always feel like going out to eat and was very satisfied how this recipe from Cooks Illustrated turned out. Serve with rice and a hearty dark beer.

Kung Pao Chicken

(from Cooks Illustrated)

Serves 4.     

While we prefer this dish made with chicken thighs rather than breasts because the dark meat has richer flavor and is less prone to drying out, if you prefer, you can replace the thighs with chicken breasts. You can substitute plain rice vinegar for the black rice vinegar (available in Asian markets), but we prefer the latter for its fruity, salty complexity. If you prefer roasted unsalted cashews over peanuts, substitute an equal amount. Do not eat the whole chiles in the finished dish.

INGREDIENTS

1	pound boneless, skinless chicken thighs , trimmed of fat and cut into 1-inch pieces
1	tablespoon dry sherry or rice wine
2	teaspoons soy sauce
3	medium cloves garlic , pressed through garlic press or minced (about 1 tablespoon)
1/2	inch piece fresh ginger , peeled and minced (about 2 teaspoons)
3	tablespoons peanut oil or vegetable oil
1/2	cup roasted unsalted peanuts
6	small whole dried red chiles (each about 1 3/4 to 2 inches long), 3 chiles roughly crumbled, or 1 teaspoon dried red pepper flakes
3/4	cup low-sodium chicken broth
2	teaspoons black rice vinegar or plain rice vinegar
2	teaspoons toasted sesame oil
1	tablespoon oyster sauce
1	tablespoon hoisin sauce
1 1/2	teaspoons cornstarch
1	medium red bell pepper , cut into 1/2-inch dice
3	medium scallions , sliced thin

INSTRUCTIONS

1. 1. Toss chicken with sherry and soy sauce in medium bowl; marinate until thighs have absorbed flavors, about 10 minutes. Mix garlic, ginger, and 1 tablespoon oil in small bowl; set aside. Combine peanuts and chiles in small bowl; set aside. Mix chicken broth, vinegar, sesame oil, oyster-flavored sauce, hoisin sauce, and cornstarch in small bowl or measuring cup; set aside.
2. 2. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in 12-inch skillet over high heat until just beginning to smoke. Add chicken and cook without stirring for 2 minutes, allowing chicken to brown on one side; stir and cook 1 1/2 to 2 minutes more, until no longer pink; stir peanuts and chiles into chicken and continue cooking until peanuts have darkened slightly, 30 to 40 seconds longer. Transfer chicken, peanuts, and chiles to bowl; set aside.
3. 3. Return skillet to burner and reheat briefly, 15 to 30 seconds. Add remaining 1 tablespoon oil, swirl to coat pan, and add red bell pepper; cook, stirring occasionally, until slightly softened, about 45 seconds. Clear center of pan, add garlic-ginger mixture, mash into pan with spoon or spatula, and cook until fragrant, 10 to 15 seconds; stir into peppers until combined. Stir broth mixture to recombine, then add to skillet along with reserved chicken, peanuts, and chiles; cook, stirring and scraping up browned bits on bottom of pan, until sauce has thickened to syrupy consistency, about 45 seconds. Stir in scallions and serve.