Coriander and Chipotle Drumettes plus Some Nibbles

Coriander and Chipotle drumettes

Hi all. Before I post Japan trip Vol. 2 Tokyo, I wanted to introduce you to these yummy recipes I cooked up in my kitchen. I got inspiration when I enjoyed the generously salty and crispy chicken wings at a nice little place called Pivo near Chinatown in Vancouver. I used drumettes instead of wings and home grown coriander seeds for the rub to give it personality. This is a recipe where I can showcase the whole circle of life of my cilantro plants! If you grow cilantro, make sure to harvest seeds in autumn and leave some on the plant, as later they fall, sprout and grow again, providing you with a key ingredient for winter finger foods. What is your favourite finger food?

Coriander seed

On that note, I’m not so much of a hockey, soccer, football or curling fan, but enjoy serving ultimate nibbles for those who get so excited watching the games that they hop up and down on the couch! I got carried away with these drumettes, and wanted to find out what might go with them in our household. It turns out that aged cheddar crackers and bean dip fit the bill perfectly, so here they are. Try these for your next gathering, whatever sport you fancy!

Coriander and Chipotle drumettes

Coriander and Chipotle drumettes

Coriander and Chipotle drumettes

Great Northern bean and rosemary dipGreat Northern bean and rosemary dip

Aged cheddar crackers

Coriander and Chipotle Drumettes –The Ultimate Finger Food-

For this recipe, you need whole coriander seeds that are ground with a coffee grinder or blender for the best texture.

Serves 4

20 drumettes

1 teaspoon freshly ground ginger

2 tablespoons soy sauce

Dash of roasted sesame oil

For the rub

4 tablespoons garlic powder

2 tablespoons freshly ground black pepper

1 teaspoon sea salt

1/8 teaspoon freshly ground chipotle

2 ½ tablespoons coriander seeds

1 lime, wedged

Fresh cilantro leaves

Rinse the drumettes under cold water and pat dry. Combine the ginger, soy sauce and sesame oil in a small bowl. In a rimmed large tray, lay the drumettes and pour over the soy mixture. Coat well all around, cover and marinate for at least 2 hours.

Preheat the oven to 425C. Lay the drumettes on a wire rack over a rimmed baking sheet and bake for 20 minutes.

In the meantime, prepare the rub. Grind the coriander seeds in a coffee grinder or blender, leaving some coarse texture, and combine with the rest of the rub ingredients in a large bowl.

Take the baking sheet with the drumettes out of the oven. Using a pair of tongs, dunk each drumette in the bowl of rub and coat all around. Remove excess rub and place it back on the rack. Repeat for the rest of drumettes.

Bake another 20 minutes or until done. If drumettes become too dark, cover them with a piece of foil.

Serve hot with wedges of lime and sprinkle cilantro leaves on top.

 

Aged Cheddar Crackers with Two Flavours

Makes 2 x 500ml jars

½ cup unbleached all purpose flour

½ cup whole wheat flour

½ teaspoon salt, plus extra for sprinkling

2 tablespoons butter

1 heaped cup aged cheddar cheese, grated

2 eggs

1 tablespoon Aonori (type of Japanese seaweed), plus extra for sprinkling

1 tablespoon poppy seeds, plus extra for sprinkling

Combine the flour and salt in a large bowl. Add the butter and, using your fingers, incorporate the mixture until flaky. Add the cheese and eggs, and incorporate with the flour mixture. Divide in two. Add Aonori to one half and poppy seeds to the other. Form each piece of dough into a ball and flatten into a disk. Refrigerate for half an hour or until the dough is firm.

Preheat the oven to 375C. Flour the work surface and roll the dough into 1/16 inch thickness or as thin as you can. The thinner the crispier. Scatter the extra salt and Aonori (or poppy seeds) over the top and lightly press them into the dough with the rolling pin. Cut into diamond shapes or use your choice of cookie cutters. Transfer to a baking sheet and bake for 10 to 12 minutes. Let cool completely. Serve as is or with dip.

Adapted from Deborah Madison’s seed cracker recipe

 

Great Northern Bean and Rosemary Dip

Makes 1 x 350ml jar

1 cup Great Northern beans

1 onion, peeled

3 garlic cloves

Juice of ½ lemon

3 tablespoons tahini

6 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

Sea salt and freshly ground pepper

1 teaspoon dried rosemary

Soak the beans in cold water and leave overnight at room temperature. Rinse the beans next day and cover with cold water in a large pot. Do not add salt at this point.

Bring to a boil rapidly for 10 minutes. Skim occasionally. Add the whole onion and 2 garlic cloves. Continue simmering until the beans are tender, for about 1 hour. Add hot water as necessary to keep the beans well covered during cooking.

Drain the beans, RESERVING some liquid, and discard the onion and garlic. Combine the beans, 1 garlic clove, lemon juice, tahini, 3 tablespoons reserved liquid and rosemary in a food processor. Add the olive oil in a slow and steady drip while pulsing the bean mixture until smooth. Adjust the flavour with salt and pepper and add more liquid if you prefer a looser texture. Transfer to a serving container and cover the surface with some olive oil to prevent it from drying.

Serve with crackers, slices of baguette or toasted pita bread. Refrigerate any leftover for up to a few days.

Aged cheddar crackers

Rosemary Garlic Roast Chicken

rosemary garlic roast chicken

A gloomy sky recently took the edge off the previous days of scorching heat. An unexpected sudden shower even washed away the neighbouring streets. I love the smell of asphalt when rain hits. There’s something liberating and something unchanged about it. Loud thunder reminds me of the humid Japanese typhoon seasons of my childhood. Only our summer here in Vancouver is much drier.

French pole beans

One of things I like about the Vancouver region is that we can cook pretty much anything in any season. We can have fresh tomato salsa one afternoon and stew the next day. There are no set rules, per se. It’s because summer can take a sudden turn, and I consider we’ve been lucky this year to have had two extra weeks of sun that we didn’t have last year. Today, it felt right to do a roast chicken, something cozy and homey in contrast to the stormy evening. I roasted just harvested carrots and French pole beans to accompany the poultry. While listening to the thunder, we served some red wine and warm garlicky whole chicken. It’s still pouring outside, providing much needed rain drops for every food grower.

herbsgarlicrosemary garlic roast chickendahlia

Rosemary Garlic Roast Chicken

Serves 2 plus leftover for next day’s sandwich

1 Free range organic chicken

A few sprigs rosemary, cut into 1 inch lengths

A few sprigs thyme

2 garlic cloves, cut into sticks

2 tablespoons butter, room temperature

1/3 cup olive oil

Salt and pepper

15 baby carrots, leaves removed

A big handful of pole beans and/or bush beans

Take out the chicken from a refrigerator about half an hour before cooking. In the meantime, prepare the vegetables.

Preheat the oven to 350F. Wash the chicken inside out and pat dry. Lay the bird chest up in a roasting pan and rub it with butter and olive oil before giving a gentle massage to the bird. Cut ten or so slits in the chest and insert a piece of rosemary and garlic in each slit. Fill the cavity with the rest of the garlic and rosemary.

Roast the chicken in the oven for about one hour and twenty minutes, basting often (spoon the grease from the bottom of the pan and pour over the chicken) about every 25 minutes. Then add the vegetables and thyme around the chicken, and baste the grease over them. Continue roasting until thoroughly cooked for about another 40 minutes or longer depending on the size of a chicken.

Take the pan out of the oven and transfer the chicken and the vegetables to a serving plate. Cover the bird with a piece of aluminum foil and rest for 15 minutes. Reserve the grease from the pan for making gravy sauce (recipe below).

Gravy Sauce

The grease from the bottom of the roasting pan

1 cup chicken broth

2 tablespoons white wine

Flour

Salt and pepper

Combine the grease, chicken broth and wine in a medium pan over medium heat. Reduce to half. Add flour in a small amount and stir well till your favourite consistency is achieved. Adjust with salt and pepper.

Serve immediately with the rosemary garlic roast chicken.