Jun 26 2011

Welcome Back!

Published by Christine at 10:17 am under Poultry

I have been on hiatus for a couple of weeks, due in part to a busy schedule but also to a lack of inspiration. Much as I love to cook, I simply hadn’t been much in the mood to be in the kitchen, and so I have simply been waiting for the urge to strike back. And it has.

A couple of days ago, I just wanted something new (and good) to eat. I felt I had just been relying on the same recipes forever, and needed to try new flavor combinations – on top of which, there’s only so much pasta one can eat. Now, I’m pretty certain that everything has been tried out there, and I don’t think I will ever come up with anything truly “new,” inasmuch as someone, somewhere, will have thought of it already. But as long as it’s new to me, and I’m the one cooking, it’s really all that matters, isn’t it?

Rob was in the mood for chicken, and I was in the mood for something with yogurt (I’ve been on a whole-milk yogurt kick, lately). The natural link between those two things was a yogurt-based marinade for the chicken. I added curry, garlic, lime juice and fresh rosemary, which is now plentiful in my herb garden (instead of cilantro, a more traditional choice) to the yogurt. As for what to serve it with, I had just bought a large fennel bulb, which I sliced and paired up with red onion before roasting the lot with just a little bit of olive oil, salt and pepper. After a little while in the oven, I added the chicken on top and let that cook together a while longer. My son, who generally eats cooked vegetables out of a sense of duty more than preference, commented on how much he enjoyed the flavor combination and texture of the whole thing, and went for seconds to prove his point.

“So what’s so new about roasted vegetables and chicken?” you rightfully ask. In its basic form, not much, I will agree. But I personally never had curried chicken cooked alongside roasted fennel and onions, and it turns out to be a truly winning flavor combination; a little sweet, a little tangy, a little spicy and a whole lot of nummy. I say it’s a keeper, and it got me back in the kitchen.

Look out.

 

Curried Chicken with Roasted Fennel

 

1.5 lbs chicken tenderloins
1 cup yogurt
1 clove garlic, sliced
2 tsp lime juice
1 tsp hot curry powder
2 tsp chopped rosemary leaves
1 large bulb fennel
1 red onion
Olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

Prepare the marinade. Combine yogurt, garlic, lime juice, curry and rosemary (you can add salt as well if you wish).

The rosemary and garlic may be hiding underneath, but I know they're here.

Pour over chicken and let marinade for at least an hour (2 is best). I use a zipper storage bag for this.

Preheat oven to 400. Slice fennel and onion. Place in a large bowl, drizzle with olive oil, add salt and pepper and toss together until coated.

I *heart* roasted vegetables

Place in 9X13 roasting pan and roast for 30 to 40 min. Take out of the oven.

Take chicken out of marinade and place on top of the roasted vegetables. Cover with foil and bake for 20 min. Remove foil and bake for another 15 to 20 min, until the chicken is done.

I know we will meet again.

One response so far

One Response to “Welcome Back!”

  1. Adamon 26 Jun 2011 at 11:26 pm

    This was a grand success, I must say.

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