By David Tanis, The New York Times
Here’s a menu for a fine cool-weather spring meal. Nearly every part of it can be prepared in advance, which is always a huge advantage for the host when entertaining at home. The soup and its garnish suffer not a bit cooked a day in advance; a chicken braise only improves in flavor; and the gelato tastes fine after several days in the freezer. This gives a cook the option of preparing each dish separately, when time permits, rather than attempting to produce the meal all in one go.
Ceci beans, aka chickpeas, are wonderful for a flavorful and warming soup. This recipe works as a first course, but it can also be satisfying as a meal on its own.
Although canned chickpeas are convenient, preparing dried chickpeas could not be easier. The peas are soaked overnight before cooking, but they only take an hour of unattended gentle simmering after that. The big reward is the delicious broth thatap part of the process. In fact, once you acquire the habit of cooking a pot of well-seasoned beans, you’ll find you rarely resort to the bland canned variety.
For this soup, the chickpeas and their broth are simmered with onion and carrot chunks. Part of the soup is puréed to add body, but it is still a fairly rustic affair. (If desired, the soup can be puréed completely to a silky smoothness for a more elegant version.) A quickly made roasted red pepper pesto with a touch of ground cayenne, stirred into each bowl, adds a welcome brightness.
Whole bone-in chicken legs make an impressive presentation for a savory, saucy main-course braise.
First, assemble the sauce on the stovetop, with white wine, chicken stock, garlic, onion, a dab of tomato paste and spoonful of flour. Arrange the chicken legs in a roasting pan with a few sprigs of rosemary, then pour the sauce over them, leaving the legs partially exposed. Pop the pan into the oven uncovered and roast until the chicken skin has turned a deep burnished mahogany and the meat is nearly falling off the bone. In the process, the pan juices reduce and thicken to a dark gravylike glaze, which practically begs to be served with a soft spoonful of polenta.
But it is baby artichokes, truly a springtime delicacy, that are the star of the show. In California they can be found at farmers markets, elsewhere they are stocked in the produce department of many supermarkets.
Yes, they are a little fiddly to prep, but not as difficult as larger artichokes. Egg-size baby artichokes, you see, have no hairy choke to remove. All that is necessary is to peel away a layer of dark petals to reveal the tender pale green part.
Then tops and bottoms are trimmed and the little artichokes can be halved or quartered. They can be kept in acidulated lemon water, to keep them from oxidizing, until you are ready to cook them. Once drained and patted dry, they are sautéed in olive oil in a wide skillet, where they turn golden and crisp. Serve them scattered over the chicken or on the side.
The last crucial step is to sprinkle a mixture of chopped parsley, mint, capers, lemon zest and a pinch of crushed red pepper over everything.
A hearty meal like this calls for a refreshing dessert. Blood oranges arrive in late winter and are usually available through April. Their ruby-red juice tastes profoundly of orange, but with hints of berry and an elusive somewhat tropical flavor.
Blood orange juice and sweet cream turns this gelato a pretty pale pink. Made without eggs (a tiny amount of cornstarch is added for the best texture), it freezes easily and quickly in a home ice cream machine.
If made in advance, the gelato should be removed from the freezer and allowed to soften slightly before serving. I suggest offering almond biscotti or other almond cookies alongside. This gelato has a delicate subtlety that invariably has guests asking for more.
Ceci Bean Soup With Red Pepper Pesto
This chickpea soup is flavorful and hearty, good for a first course, but also satisfying as a meal in itself. It can be puréed to a silky smoothness for an elegant version or left brothy, chunky and rustic. The easy red pepper pesto adds brightness. The soup may be made a day or two in advance and reheated, with excellent results.
By David Tanis
Yield: 8 to 10 servings
Total time: 1 hour 45 minutes, plus overnight soak
Ingredients
For the Soup:
- 2 1/2 cups chickpeas, soaked overnight, rinsed and drained
- 2 cloves
- 1 bay leaf
- 1/2 onion, peeled, plus 1 whole onion, peeled and diced small
- 1/2 head of garlic, cloves unpeeled
- 2 tablespoons plus 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
- Salt and black pepper
- 2 medium carrots, peeled and chopped
For the Pesto:
- 1 red bell pepper, roasted and peeled (or use 4 ounces store-bought)
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cayenne
- 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
- Pinch of salt
Preparation
1. Put soaked, drained chickpeas in a heavy-bottomed soup pot or Dutch oven. Cover with 8 cups of fresh water. Use the cloves to pin the bay leaf to the onion half, and add it to the pot, along with unpeeled garlic, 2 tablespoons olive oil and 2 teaspoons salt.
2. Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce to a simmer. Cook until chickpeas are very tender, skimming off any excess foam as it cooks, about 1 hour.
3. Drain chickpeas, reserving the cooking liquid. Discard aromatics.
4. Heat 1/4 cup olive oil in the empty pot over medium-high. Add diced onion and carrots, and season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring, until softened but without browning, 10 to 15 minutes.
5. Add chickpeas and their liquid and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer and cook for 15 minutes. Taste broth and adjust seasoning. Blend beans and broth in a blender until some chunks remain. Keep warm.
6. Make the red pepper pesto: Put roasted pepper in the blender. Add cayenne, 1/4 cup olive oil and a pinch of salt. Blend until smooth. To serve, ladle soup into individual soup bowls. Swirl about 2 tablespoons red pepper pesto into each bowl.
Braised Chicken With Rosemary and Crispy Artichokes
Whole bone-in chicken legs make an impressive presentation for this flavorful braise. Baby artichokes, a springtime treat, can be found in the produce department of many supermarkets. Easy baked polenta makes an ideal accompaniment, but the chicken can also be served with rice or mashed potatoes.
By David Tanis
Yield: 6 servings
Total time: 2 hours 10 minutes
Ingredients
- 6 large chicken legs (leg and thigh attached)
- Salt and black pepper
- 3 tablespoons plus 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 medium onion, diced
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 4 large garlic cloves, minced
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 2 cups dry white wine
- 4 cups chicken broth
- 3 rosemary sprigs
- 2 pounds baby artichokes, trimmed and halved or quartered, about 24 pieces
- 1 cup chopped parsley
- 1/4 cup chopped mint
- 2 tablespoons chopped capers
- 2 tablespoons lemon zest (from about 2 large lemons)
- Pinch of crushed red pepper
- Baked polenta, optional, for serving
Preparation
1. Season chicken legs with salt and pepper generously on both sides. Place in a roasting pan in one layer. Heat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Set a deep skillet over medium-high heat. Add 3 tablespoons olive oil. When oil is wavy, add onions and cook, stirring, until softened and lightly browned, 5 to 10 minutes. Stir in tomato paste, then garlic and flour. Cook, stirring until mixture dries out a bit, about 5 minutes.
3. Add white wine and raise heat. Stir as mixture thickens, then add chicken broth and bring to a brisk simmer. Pour contents of skillet to barely cover chicken in roasting pan. Scatter rosemary sprigs over the top.
4. Roast, uncovered — exposed chicken skin should brown — until meat is quite tender when probed with a fork and legs are mahogany colored, about 1 hour. Pan juices should have reduced to a gravylike consistency. If not, remove chicken to a platter and return roasting pan to oven until juices thicken. (Alternatively, pour juices into a saucepan and briefly reduce over high heat.)
5. Meanwhile, heat 1/4 cup olive oil in a wide skillet over high. When oil is wavy, carefully add artichokes to pan, watching out for splatters. Turn heat to medium and cook, allowing artichokes to slowly crisp. Continue cooking, flipping and stirring until all are crisp and golden, 10 to 15 minutes. Remove artichoke and place on paper towels to drain. Sprinkle with salt.
6. Spoon sauce and artichokes over chicken.
7. Combine parsley, mint, capers and lemon zest. Add a pinch of salt and a pinch of crushed red pepper. Sprinkle mixture over everything. Serve with polenta.
Blood Orange Gelato
Blood oranges arrive in late winter. Their ruby-red juice tastes profoundly of orange, but with hints of berry and an elusive tropical flavor. Gelato made with blood orange juice turns a pretty pink, flecked with zest. It freezes easily in a home ice cream machine. If made a day in advance, remove from freezer and allow to soften. Serve with almond biscotti or other almond cookies.
By David Tanis
Yield: 4 to 6 servings
Total time: 30 minutes, plus overnight chilling
Ingredients
- 2 cups/480 grams half-and-half
- Pinch of fine salt
- 1/2 cup/100 grams granulated sugar
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
- 1 cup/240 grams blood orange juice (from 5 or 6 blood oranges)
- 2 teaspoons grated blood orange zest
- 2 teaspoons grated lemon zest
- 3 tablespoons Grand Marnier or other orange liqueur
Preparation
1. Put half-and-half, salt and sugar in a saucepan over medium heat. Bring mixture to just under a boil.
2. Mix cornstarch with 2 tablespoons cold water. Add to saucepan and bring to a simmer, whisking continuously until mixture thickens slightly, 1 to 2 minutes.
3. Off heat, whisk in blood orange juice, blood orange zest, lemon zest and Grand Marnier. Cool mixture by setting saucepan in an ice bath or refrigerate for several hours or overnight.
4. Churn mixture in an ice cream machine, then transfer to a container and place in the freezer compartment to firm up until ready to serve.
This article originally appeared in .
