Get Fresh, Even in February

Posted by Michael on Feb 2, 2011 in Recipes | 0 comments

Fresh produce in February.  Ain’t it great?

Well, getting the most out of the vegetable offerings we have available in Canadian stores at this time of year just takes a few tricks.

An August tomato can be eaten like an apple and that’s great but a February tomato needs a little lovin’.  Or frying at least.

Since we still need lots of fresh vegetables in our diets no matter what time of year it is, we’ve got to find ways to enjoy them.   Soft-spotted red bell peppers, I’m looking at you.

One way I like to prepare them is to do a mix in a fry pan and use some kind of salty flavouring such as olives, anchovies or capers to jazz them up.   You can take the theme in an Italian direction with anchovies and Italian herbs such as oregano and basil, or go with a Mediterranean theme with olives, or even some Asian-inspired flair with something like hot chili and fish sauce.   I happened to have some black and green olives available on this particular day so I paired that up with some chicken thighs and then had a look in the refrigerator for more ideas to round out the meal.

You can use virtually any kind of vegetable combo you want but on this day I happened to have a single small zucchini, some red bell pepper, half a can of chick peas leftover from a batch of hummus I had made the day before, plus a couple of plum tomatoes that were surprisingly good considering the time of year.

Chicken thighs are probably the best cut of chicken for this kind of dish because they’re cheap, have the best flavoured meat on the bird and it’s nearly impossible to overcook them.   I kept the skin on the thighs here but you can certainly remove the skin for an even lighter version of the dish.   As you can see, the finished product is high on flavour, but low on fat and carbs.   Initially I thought of making a rosemary-roasted potato dish to serve as a side with this but I ended up with such a good variety of vegetables with the chicken, I pitched the potato idea.

This colourful dish ended up being great for kids too as my daughter finished every last bit of it.

Chicken Thighs with Olives and Vegetables

Three chicken thighs, skin on or off

salt and pepper

A few tablespoons of olive oil

2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

1 zucchini, coarsely chopped

2 plum tomatoes, coarsely chopped

1 cup or so canned chick peas, rinsed and drained well

1 small red, green or yellow bell pepper, chopped

1/3 to 1/2 cup chopped mix of black and green olives

Juice of half a lemon

Green onion to garnish

Season the chicken thighs well with salt and pepper on both sides.  Heat a stainless steel fry pan that has a tight-fitting lid over medium heat for a few minutes and add a couple tablespoons of olive oil.   Place the chicken in the pan skin side down.  The idea here is to cook the chicken slowly so that it renders a lot of the fat out of the skin and crisps up.    Let it fry gently for a good four to five minutes on each side until nicely browned and more oil has accumulated in the pan.

Remove the chicken to a plate and drain off all but about a tablespoon of the fat.   Return the pan to medium heat and add in the chopped garlic.  Saute for a few seconds and add the bell pepepr and zucchini.

Let saute for a couple minutes to soften and add in the tomato, chick peas and olives.  Saute and mix well for a couple of minutes, then return the chicken to the pan.

Squeeze on the lemon juice and top the pan with the lid.  Reduce heat to medium low and let cook gently for 12 to 15 minutes more.   Plate and serve garnished with chopped green onion.

Notes:

- This version serves three but is easily expandable to serve any size family.

- For me, this dish screamed out for some chili heat but cooking for a five year old means just adding hot sauce to my own plate.  A chopped jalapeno or serrano chili added along with the bell pepper would be a stellar addition though if you’re just cooking for pepperheads.   As well, a chopped sweet onion such as Spanish or Vidalia would be great in this dish too, but my daughter’s not big on onion chunks.  Weirdo.

- Because of the salty component of olives, you likely won’t need to add any more salt to the finished dish, but check seasoning to your taste.