Tag Archives: chicken

September 15, 2014 · 10:21 am

Pomegranate-Glazed Chicken

pomegranate chicken

Chicken glazed with a pomegranate sauce, spiced with ginger and cinnamon

Well, hello, blog. I haven’t posted in quite a while. As I get busier editing for the indispensable Gluten Free & More magazine (formerly titled Living Without) and with life in general, I have had less time for this blog.

As always, it helps to have a kick in the pants, which comes as part of the Kosher Connection challenge to post a pomegranate recipe.

I have an awesome Dark and White Chocolate Pomegranate Bark recipe that I posted as the first recipe on this blog in 2010. That’s still one of my favorites, an easy, elegant gluten-free dessert. But onto new recipes, for the new year.

I associate pomegranates with Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year. First of all, pomegranates pop into the stores in fall, around the same time as Rosh Hashanah (although of course the Jewel didn’t have any pomegranates this weekend, so I couldn’t garnish the chicken with fresh pomegranate seeds). Also, pomegranates are said to contain 613 seeds, which is the same number of commandments in the Torah. On Rosh Hashanah, we want to be as full of good deeds in the coming year as the pomegranate has seeds.

Also on Rosh Hashanah, it is customary to eat sweet foods for a sweet new year. This pomegranate-glazed chicken delivers in that category, with a fruity but not overpowering sauce spiced with ginger, cinnamon and cumin. When the chicken is cooked, the pomegranate sauce loses its magenta hue. So, prior to pouring the glaze on the chicken, set some sauce aside and drizzle it on the cooked chicken to brighten the dish. Pomegranate-glazed chicken makes a great, naturally gluten-free entree for Rosh Hashanah or Shabbat.

For tips on getting the seeds out of a pomegranate without staining everything in your entire kitchen, read my Dark and White Chocolate Pomegranate Bark post.

Find more pomegranate recipes (not necessarily gluten-free) from other Kosher Connection bloggers by clicking the frog icon below.

Pomegranate-Glazed Chicken

(gluten-free, dairy-free, Rosh Hashanah, Shabbat)
By Gluten-Free Nosh
Printable recipe

Ingredients:

  • 2 cups pomegranate juice
  • 1/4 cup sugar
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 3 pounds cut-up, bone-in chicken
  • Salt and pepper
  • 1 tablespoon fresh grated ginger
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1 teaspoon ground cumin
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • Fresh pomegranate seeds, for garnish
  • Thinly sliced orange pieces, for garnish

Method:

  1. To prepare glaze, combine pomegranate juice and sugar in a small nonstick saucepan. Bring to a boil. Continue to boil, stirring frequently, until juice is thick, syrupy and reduced to 1/2 cup, about 15 to 20 minutes.
  2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Season chicken pieces with salt and pepper. Brown the chicken, making sure skillet isn’t too crowded, about 3 to 5 minutes on each side.
  3. Place browned chicken pieces in  9×13-inch roasting pan. Stir ginger, cinnamon, cumin and nutmeg into glaze. Pour most of glaze over chicken, reserving a few spoonfuls to use as a garnish. Bake for 30-40 minutes or until chicken is cooked through.
  4. To serve, arrange chicken pieces on a serving platter. Drizzle with reserved glaze, and garnish with orange slices and fresh pomegranate seeds.

Yield: 6 servings

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March 27, 2014 · 5:50 pm

Chicken Baked with Babaganoush

chicken baked with babaganoush

Chicken baked with babaganoush, gluten-free

 

“Chicken, again?!” is a refrain I hear a lot in my house, especially from my oldest daughter … not that I’m pointing fingers or anything.

Let’s face it — unless you are a vegetarian — chicken makes for a good dinner: It’s easy, high in protein, filling and most people like it, so it’s good for guests. But sometimes, it can be rather run of the mill.

Here’s a quick and easy recipe that will elevate your weeknight chicken dish with a burst of flavor: chicken breasts baked with babganoush. The Mediterranean eggplant spread lends its slightly garlicky and smoky flavor to enhance chicken. Plus, the coating of babaganoush helps seal in juices, making for a more moist, flavorful chicken breast.

The awesome folks at Joy of Kosher asked me to develop a recipe using one of Sabra’s Mediterranean salads, for their #ShareSabra campaign. I was happy to, since all of Sabra’s products are gluten-free. Sabra’s babaganoush does not contain sesame, which is a bit untraditional but good with our family, since my father is severely allergic to sesame and I tend to stay away from it out of habit.

 

chicken and babaganoush

To make the chicken, spoon babaganoush on top of each chicken breast, so the top of each breast is evenly covered with a thick layer of babaganoush. Sprinkle the tops with paprika and some fresh parsley, and bake at 400 degrees for about 30 minutes. (You can try this same technique using hummus instead of babaganoush.)

With babaganoush that is labeled kosher for Passover, this dish becomes a quick way to brighten up the Passover table with a burst of flavor. You can’t beat that for ease and convenience.

Please see my full recipe for Chicken Baked with Babaganoush on the Joy of Kosher site.

This post is sponsored by Sabra, but all opinions are my own. With Joy of Kosher’s #ShareSabra contest, you could win $200 just by sharing photos of your food, your family and your friends (and it does not need to be with a Sabra product).

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May 20, 2013 · 11:23 am

Caesar Salad with Grilled Chicken and Gluten-Free Croutons

caesar salad

Caesar salad tossed with grilled chicken, homemade croutons, hardboiled egg and dressing.

gluten-free croutons

Homemade gluten-free croutons are toasted in a skillet with olive oil and garlic.

For a light spring supper, here’s a good choice: grilled chicken Caesar salad with gluten-free croutons. I’ve never been a huge crouton fan. Dried-out cubes of tasteless bread never did a lot for me. But these fresh, homemade croutons — made from gluten-free crusty hot dog rolls toasted in a skillet with olive oil and garlic — are tasty and tender.

Making the chicken Caesar salad took more time (and more pots) than I had anticipated. I needed to toast the croutons, blend the dressing, boil the eggs, grill the chicken and assemble the salad. Thankfully, my hero husband stepped in to help with the prep and to wash the multitude of pots. With some advance planning (not my forte), it would be easy to prepare most of the recipe in advance next time.

Caesar salad dressing usually is made with raw egg yolk. But I get skittish about that, so I made a dressing without raw eggs. I also did not use parmesan cheese to make the Caesar salad dairy-free.

My 11-year-old daughter recently had been asking me to make croutons (I’m totally serious). Oddly enough, the theme for the Kosher Connection linkup this month is croutons. Check out the link below for more recipes with croutons, though please note that most of the recipes in the linkup are not gluten-free.

Caesar Salad with Grilled Chicken
and Gluten-Free Croutons

(gluten-free, dairy-free)
By Gluten-Free Nosh
Printable recipe

Gluten-Free Croutons:

Ingredients:

  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 2 gluten-free hot dog rolls, cut into cubes
  • Salt
  • Pepper

Method:

  1. Heat olive oil and garlic in a large skillet over medium heat for 2 minutes.
  2. Toss in the bread cubes, and season with salt and pepper to taste. Stir to coat with olive oil and saute croutons until golden, about 5 to 8 minutes.

Caesar Salad Dressing:

Ingredients:

  • 4 anchovy fillets (or 2 teaspoons anchovy paste)
  • 3 tablespoons lemon juice
  • 2 cloves garlic, peeled
  • 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
  • 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
  • 1 tablespoon mayonnaise
  • 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
  • 1/2 cup olive oil

Method:

  1. Place the anchovies, lemon juice, garlic, Dijon mustard, balsamic vinegar, mayonnaise and Worcestershire sauce in a blender, and blend well.
  2. While the blender is running, slowly add the olive oil until emulsified.

Caesar Salad:

Ingredients:

  • 2 heads romaine lettuce
  • 2 chicken breasts, grilled and sliced
  • Caesar salad dressing
  • 2 hardboiled eggs, each cut into 4 wedges
  • Gluten-free croutons

Method:

  1. In a large, wide bowl, arrange some whole spears of romaine lettuce, so they fan out of the sides of the bowl. Tear remaining romaine spears into strips and place in the bottom of the bowl.
  2. Add grilled chicken strips and drizzle Caesar dressing over lettuce and chicken. Top with wedges of hardboiled eggs and gluten-free croutons. Serve with extra dressing on the side.

Yield: 4 servings

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June 29, 2010 · 11:48 pm

Chinese Chicken Salad

When I worked on Michigan Avenue, in downtown Chicago, we’d frequently go across the street to Nordstrom for lunch. I know it’s rude, but I’ve always poked fun at one-dish people – you know, the people who go to a restaurant and always order the same dish time after time (but, yes, Melissa, I love you anyway). However, the Chinese Chicken Salad at Cafe Nordstrom is so very, very good that I order it every single time.

I’ve created my own gluten-free version. I feel funny calling it Chinese Chicken Salad, since there’s nothing Chinese about it, except the inclusion of bok choy (a Chinese cabbage) and a dressing made with rice vinegar, sesame oil and soy sauce.

BTW, in case you didn’t know, soy sauce is a hidden source of gluten, since it is fermented with wheat. In fact, some soy sauces contain 50 percent wheat. Instead of soy sauce, I use San-J Wheat-Free Tamari, which is certified gluten-free by the Gluten-Free Certification Organization. La Choy Soy Sauce is also gluten-free, though I’m not fond of some of its ingredients: hydrolyzed soy protein, corn syrup and caramel color.

This colorful salad is a great take-along dish for picnics and barbecues, and it makes a satisfying, no-cook summertime meal. For ease of preparation, I use rotisserie chicken, though you could grill a chicken breast and dice it. Most rotisserie chickens are gluten-free, but check the ingredients to be sure.

My kids will actually eat this green salad. The sweet mandarin oranges, crunchy almonds and abundant veggies camouflage the chicken sufficiently for my chicken-hating older daughter.

As a fun variation, I’ve added gluten-free chow mein noodles that I bought at Passover (I doubt you’d be able to find them now). Add them tableside, as you serve each portion, or else they’ll quickly turn into soggy strips.

Click for Chinese Chicken Salad recipe

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