April 18, 2018 – Appetite For Life @ Johnson & Wales University
Recipes by Chef Megan Lambert, MS, RD
Senior Instructor, College of Culinary Arts
Johnson & Wales University, Charlotte, North Carolina
Chicken Soup and Extra Stock
Yield: Soup – 6 Servings, Stock – 2 quarts
This is the chicken soup recipe we make at my house. It is a Mexican-style chicken soup, inspired by Roberto Santibañez in his cookbook Rosa’s New Mexican Table, a book I highly recommend! We make this soup a couple of times a month, since I think it is the easiest way to work with a whole chicken from the farmer’s market. The stock is a great base for all kinds of soups, and we use the chicken in lots of different ways.
Chicken Stock Ingredients (yield 1 gallon)
•1 chicken, 3.5 lbs., or your preferred size
•1 white onion, medium
•1 tomatillo, medium
•1 garlic head (yes, that’s correct!)
•1 jalapeño, optiona
•3 cilantro sprigs
•3 mint sprigs
•1T. kosher salt
•½ t. pepper
•1-2 bay leaves
Method
1.Unwrap the chicken. Remove neck and giblets from the chicken’s cavity, if included. Those may be included in the stock if you wish, for a richer flavor. They can also be simmered and fed to your pets, who will be delighted! (Not the neck bones!) Place the chicken in a large stock pot, and cover with about a gallon of water.
2.Quarter the onion, halve the head of garlic through the equator. There is no need to peel either. I do usually remove the husk from the tomatillo, and cut it in half. Slit the jalapeño, but leave it intact. Place all ingredients into the pot along with the chicken.
3.Cover and bring the pot to a low boil, and reduce the heat so that it is just simmering gently. Boiling furiously will evaporate the water quickly, and make the chicken tough.
4.Simmer the chicken for approximately 1 hour.
5.Remove the chicken into a strainer, set over a bowl, and allow it to cool enough to handle. You may continue to simmer the stock in the meantime.
6.When the chicken is cool enough, remove the skin and pull the meat off of the bones. From a 3.5 lb. chicken, I yielded 1 lb., 6 oz. of meat.
7.Return the bones to the stock pot, and continue to simmer gently, covered, for several hours. Add water if the level drops. The longer you simmer the stock, the more flavor the bones and veggies will impart. You should end up with gallon of stock. Add water as necessary, your stock will still be flavorful!
8.Reserve 6 ounces of chicken meat for the soup and divide the remaining 1 pound into two 8-ounce portions. If not making the other dishes right away, the chicken meat can be frozen in plastic zipper bags. I do not recommend refrigerating the meat, as it develops an off flavor very quickly in the refrigerator.
9.Once the stock has simmered long enough, strain it into a large bowl. Reserve 2 quarts for chicken soup. If not using the rest of the stock right away, place the bowl into a larger bowl of ice water. Stir occasionally to cool the stock quickly, then pour into containers and freeze.
Chicken Soup Ingredients (yield 6 servings)
•2 Qt. chicken stock
•2-3. medium carrots
•4-6 new potatoes, small
•1 c. peas
•6 oz. pulled chicken
Garnish
•¼ white onion, medium
•½ cilantro, bunch
•1 jalapeño (optional)
•1 lime
Method
1. Place the chicken stock into a medium pot.
2. Peel and chop the carrots into ½” pieces. Chop the potatoes into ½” pieces.
3. Add the carrots and potatoes to the stock, and simmer for 20 minutes, until tender.
4. While the vegetables are cooking, prepare the garnish. Mince the onion, cilantro, and jalapeño (if using) into very fine 1/8” pieces. Cut the lime into 6 wedges. Set aside until ready to serve the soup.
5. Add the peas and chicken to the soup, and heat gently until the peas are bright green and just cooked, approximately 3-5 minutes.
6. Serve the soup in bowls, garnish to taste.
Enchiladas Verdes with Salsa Verde
Yield: 4 servings
Salsa Verde Ingredients (yield: ~2 cups)
•6 tomatillo, medium
•1 white onion, medium
•1-3 jalapeño
•1-2 garlic cloves
•½ cilantro, bunch
•¼. t. salt
•¼. t. pepper
Method
1.Husk and rinse the tomatillos and cut in half. Peel and quarter the onion. Remove the stem from the jalapeño. (Cut in half and remove seeds for a milder salsa.) Peel the garlic.
2.Place all ingredients onto a sheet pan with parchment paper or foil, and place under the broiler.
3.Broil until deeply caramelized or browned on all sides. Remove from oven and turn vegetables; continue broiling to brown on all sides. Remove from oven and allow to cool slightly.
4.Place veggies, and any juice that may have run out into a blender jar, along with cilantro, salt, and pepper. Blend until salsa is as chunky or smooth as you like.
5.Salsa may be frozen or canned at this point, to be used later, or used to make the enchiladas verdes.
Enchiladas Verdes Ingredients
•2 c. salsa verde
•1 c. Greek yogurt
•1 T. olive oil
•1 white onion, medium
•1 Swiss chard, large bunch
•1 garlic clove
•8 oz. pulled chicken
•16 tortillas
•1 c. Monterey Jack cheese (4 oz.)
Method
1.Mix the salsa verde and the Greek yogurt together to make a creamy green sauce. Set aside until ready to assemble the enchiladas.
2.Peel and dice the onion. Wash and roughly chop the Swiss chard. You can include most of the stem. Peel and mince the garlic.
3.Heat the olive oil in a sauté pan over medium heat. Add the onion, lightly salt it, and cook until it is tender, translucent, and lightly caramelized. Add the garlic and Swiss chard, and sauté for a minute. Add about ½ cup water and cover to steam the Swiss chard for 5 minutes. Remove the lid and allow any extra water to evaporate. Add the chicken to the Swiss chard mixture and allow to heat through. Remove from heat, and set aside until ready to assemble the enchiladas.
4.Preheat oven to 350F.
5.Heat the tortillas on a hot griddle or sauté pan. Gather the tortillas, salsa verde, Swiss chard mixture, and shredded cheese and a large casserole dish. Spray or oil the casserole dish, and you are ready to assemble.
6.On a plate or cutting board, place a tortilla, top with ¼ cup of the Swiss chard mixture and a spoonful of sauce. Roll up the tortilla around the filling, and place, seam side down, in the casserole dish. Continue until all 16 enchiladas are rolled and placed in the dish.
7.Cover enchiladas with remaining salsa, and sprinkle evenly with the shredded cheese.
8.Place the casserole dish into the oven and heat until the cheese is browned and the salsa is bubbly.
Warm Chicken Lemon Spinach Qinoa Salad
Yield: 4 Servings
Here’s another great dish that utilizes early spring greens from the farmer’s market! This can also be converted to a vegetarian dish by leaving out the chicken and using water instead of chicken stock, and a vegan dish by also leaving out the cheese.
Ingredients
•1 T. olive oil
•1 white onion, medium
•1 garlic clove
•¾ c. quinoa
•1½ c. chicken stock
•8 oz. pulled chicken
•1 spinach, large bunch
•8 oz. pulled chicken
•1 lemon, zest and juice
•1 fresh parsley, bunch
•½ c. Feta cheese, optional
Method
1.Peel and dice the onion. Peel and mince the garlic. Wash and roughly chop the spinach. Rinse and chop the parsley.
2.Heat the oil in a large sauté pan over medium heat. Add the onion and lightly salt. Cook until the onion is soft and translucent. Add the garlic and quinoa and sauté for a minute. Add the chicken stock and bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat to low, and cook for 10 minutes, until quinoa is tender.
3.Add spinach, pulled chicken, lemon zest and juice. Stir gently and heat until the spinach is wilted and the chicken is heated through.
4.Garnish with fresh parsley and crumbled feta cheese. Serve warm.
Asparagus Quiche
Yield: 8 Servings
Springtime means beautiful fresh asparagus in the garden or at the farmer’s market. There is just no comparison between fresh spring asparagus, and what we find at the grocery store in the middle of winter. It is worth waiting for! This recipe is a decadent celebration of the abundance of spring, after a long cold winter.
Whole Wheat Pie Dough Ingredients
Yield: 1-9 inch pie crust
•¾ c. whole wheat flour
•¾ c. all-purpose flour
•½ c. salt
•10 T. butter
•5-6 T. ice water
Method
1.Mix together flours and salt in a medium bowl.
2.Cut in the butter using fingertips until it is in pieces the size of chickpeas.
3.Sprinkle the water over the flour mixture and mix very gently, pressing and flipping the dough until it just comes together.
4.Press the dough into a disc, wrap in plastic, and chill overnight or freeze until ready to use.
5.Preheat oven to 375F.
6.To make the quiche, roll out the pie dough into a 12” circle and place into a 9” pie pan.
7.Fold the edges under to make an even rim on the pie shell and flute the edges.
8.Place a parchment paper liner in the pie crust and fill with pie weights (or beans or rice)
9.Bake in a 375F oven until the crust is dry, then remove the paper liner and continue baking until it is just slightly brown.
10. Proceed with quiche recipe.
Asparagus Quiche Ingredients
•3 eggs, large
•¾ c. whole milk
•¾ c. heavy cream
•¼ tsp. salt
•¼ tsp. pepper
•1 T. olive oil
•1 asparagus, bunch
•1 c. white cheddar cheese, shredded (4 oz.)
Method
1.Heat oven to 325ºF.
2.In a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, cream, salt, and pepper. Set aside until ready to assemble the quiche.
3.Break the bottoms off of the asparagus stalks at their natural breaking point. Cut the stalks into 1” lengths. Finely chop the green onions.
4.Heat the oil in a medium sauté pan, over medium heat, and add the asparagus. Sauté until it is bright green, just a few minutes. Add the green onions and sauté for a minute. Remove from heat and allow to cool slightly.
5.To assemble quiche: Put the baked pie shell on a sheet pan lined with parchment. Place ½ cup of shredded cheese at the bottom of the pie crust. Place sautéed asparagus mixture on top of the cheese, then pour the custard mixture over the asparagus. The custard should come up as high as possible, without overflowing. Sprinkle with the remaining cheese and place the quiche into a 325ºF oven.
6.Bake until the quiche is slightly puffed in the center, and jiggly but not liquid. Approximately 30 – 45 minutes.
7.Allow the quiche to cool slightly before cutting into 8 slices.
8.Serve warm with a lovely spring salad.
Posted: April 18, 2018
