Southern Baked Chicken with Roasted Potato and Okra Salad

I have a love of the cooking of the Deep South, I would love one day to go over there and eat proper barbecue, shrimp and grits, mac and cheese, collard greens, gumbo etc. I have been watching episode after episode of Diners, Drive Ins and Dives to pick up tips for the best places to go! I've also been watching Cooking For Real and although I find Sunny Anderson really really annoying the food looks so good!

I thought I would have a go at making something vaguely Southern in my own kitchen. Now we all know how terrified I am of deep fat frying so I looked for an alternative to Southern Fried Chicken and it seems you can bake pretty much anything. This chicken is cornflake crumbed, ew right? Nope, it was delicious and crunchy, totally worked. I then served this with a roast potato and okra salad and an old bay and sour cream dip and it was fantastic. Will definitely be making the chicken again.



Southern Baked Chicken (from www.simply-delicious.co.za)
Serves 4

4 chicken drumsticks
4 chicken thighs
500ml (16.91 fluid ounces) buttermilk
1tsp salt
2tsp paprika
1tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp black pepper
3 cups cornflake crumbs (process the cornflakes in your food processor or place in a Ziploc bag and bash them with a rolling pin)
1/2 tsp salt
1tsp paprika

Coat the chicken with the buttermilk and spices and cover the bowl with cling-wrap. Allow to marinade in the fridge for up to 3 hours but no less than 20 minutes.

Heat the oven to 220°c.

Remove the chicken from the buttermilk mixture but don’t take off all the buttermilk, leave enough on so that the crumbs have something to stick to.

Combine the crumbs with the salt and paprika and coat the chicken.

Place the chicken on a wire rack over a roasting tray and place in the oven.

Because the heat of the oven is so high, you’ll have to check on the chicken every 7-10 minutes to make sure it’s not burning. If the chicken is browning too much in the first 10 minutes, turn your oven down to 180°c. The chicken should be cooked after approximately 25 minutes, just cut into a piece and make sure the flesh closest to the bone is not pink.

Serve immediately.


Roasted Potato and Okra Salad (from Gourmet Magazine July 2005)
(Serves 6 as a side dish)

2lb small potatoes such as fingerling, red, or yellow-fleshed
1 large bunch scallions, white parts halved lengthwise and remainder reserved for another use
2 large fresh rosemary sprigs, plus 1/2 teaspoon chopped
1/4 cup olive oil
2 1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp black pepper
3/4lb small (2- to 3-inch) okra
2 cups shelled fresh broad beans (2 1/2 lb in pods) or shelled fresh or frozen edamame
1 cup fresh corn (from 1 to 2 ears)
1 1/2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
1 tbsp finely chopped shallot

Roast potatoes and okra:

Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 450°F.

Halve potatoes lengthwise and toss with scallion pieces, rosemary sprigs, 2 tablespoons olive oil, 3/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Spread potato mixture in a large roasting pan and roast, stirring once, 20 minutes. Stir potatoes and add okra to pan, tossing to coat. Continue to roast until okra and potatoes are tender, about 30 minutes more.

Cook beans and corn while potatoes roast:

Cook beans in 1 quart (unsalted) boiling water in a 3- to 4-quart pot 3 minutes, then immediately transfer to a bowl of ice and cold water to stop cooking. Gently peel off skins.

Return water to a boil and add 1 teaspoon salt, then cook corn until tender, about 4 minutes. Drain corn in a sieve and immediately transfer to bowl of ice and cold water to stop cooking. Drain corn again.

Make dressing and assemble salad:

Whisk together lemon juice, shallot, chopped rosemary, and remaining 2 tablespoons oil, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper in a large bowl until combined. Discard rosemary sprigs, then add hot potatoes and okra to dressing along with beans, corn, and salt to taste, tossing to combine. Cool salad to warm before serving.

Daring Cooks May 2011: Chicken & Smoked Sausage Gumbo

Our May hostess, Denise, of There’s a Newf in My Soup!, challenged The Daring Cooks to make Gumbo! She provided us with all the recipes we’d need, from creole spices, homemade stock, and Louisiana white rice, to Drew’s Chicken & Smoked Sausage Gumbo and Seafood Gumbo from My New Orleans: The Cookbook, by John Besh.



I made the Chicken and Smoked Sausage Gumbo and wow what a taste! It's incredible! This was my first go at making gumbo and I have to say I was terrified of cooking the roux for so long but I managed not to burn it. I couldn't get all of the ingredients so had to substitute a few. I used chorizo and bacon for the sausages and I couldn't find file powder at all, but despite that it was truly delicious if not authentic!

Drew’s Chicken & Smoked Sausage Gumbo
Minimally adapted from My New Orleans: The Cookbook, by John Besh
Serves 10-12

Ingredients

1 cup (240 ml) (230 gm) rendered chicken fat, duck fat, or canola oil
1 cup (240 ml) (140 gm) (5 oz) flour
2 large onions, diced
1 chicken (3 ½ to 4 lbs.), cut into 10 pieces
2 tablespoons (30 ml) (15 gm) (½ oz) Basic Creole Spices (recipe follows), or store-bought Creole spice blend
2 pounds (2 kilograms) spicy smoked sausage, sliced ½ inch (15mm) thick
2 stalks celery, diced
2 green bell peppers (capsicum), seeded and diced
1 tomato, seeded and chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
Leaves from 2 sprigs of fresh thyme
3 quarts (3 liters) Basic Chicken Stock (recipe follows), or canned chicken stock
2 bay leaves
6 ounces (175 gm) andouille sausage, chopped
2 cups (480 ml) (320 gm) (11 oz) sliced fresh okra, ½ -inch (15mm) thick slices (or frozen, if fresh is not available)
1 tablespoon (15 ml) Worcestershire sauce
Salt, to taste
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Filé powder, to taste
Tabasco, to taste
4-6 cups (1 – 1½ liters) (650 gm – 950 gm) cooked Basic Louisiana White Rice (recipe follows)

Directions:

1. Prepare homemade chicken stock, if using (recipe below).
2. Prepare homemade Basic Creole Spices, if using (recipe below).
3. Season the chicken pieces with about 2 tablespoons of the Creole Spices while you prepare the vegetables.



4. Make sure all of your vegetables are cut, diced, chopped, minced and ready to go before beginning the roux. You must stand at the stove and stir the roux continuously to prevent it from burning.



5. In a large cast-iron or heavy-bottomed pan, heat the chicken fat, duck fat, or canola oil over high heat. Whisk the flour into the hot oil – it will start to sizzle. Reduce the heat to moderate, and continue whisking until the roux becomes deep brown in color, about 15 minutes.
6. Add the onions. Switch to a wooden spoon and stir the onions into the roux. Reduce the heat to medium-low. Continue stirring until the roux becomes a glossy dark brown, about 10 minutes.



7. Add the chicken to the pot; raise the heat to moderate, and cook, turning the pieces until slightly browned, about 10 minutes.
8. Add the sliced smoked sausage and stir for about a minute.
9. Add the celery, bell peppers, tomato, and garlic, and continue stirring for about 3 minutes.



10. Add the thyme, chicken stock, and bay leaves. Bring the gumbo to a boil, stirring occasionally.
11. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer, uncovered, for 45 minutes. Stir occasionally, skimming off the fat from the surface of the gumbo every so often.
12. Add the chopped andouille, okra, and Worcestershire. Season with salt and pepper, several dashes of filé powder, and Tabasco, all to taste.
13. Simmer for another 45 minutes, continuing to skim the fat from the surface of the gumbo. Remove the bay leaves and serve in bowls over rice. Pass more filé powder at the table if desired.

Lentil and Okra Curry

Yesterday was my first day back at work after Christmas and also my first late night. I knew it was going to be a long day and, boy did it feel like it, so I picked something simple for dinner. I had some lentil curry which I made a while ago in the freezer, and to that I added some Okra, and served it with a home made Naan Bread.

When I returned to London on Sunday I headed to China Town and to the Loon Moon Supermarket on Gerrard Street, to pick up some Okra for this dinner. I also came home with some Lemongrass and 12 Okra, for just over £1. I love wandering about in China Town with all the fantastic sights and smells, the amazing array of veg they have outside the supermarkets and the whole crispy ducks hung up in the window. I treated myself to Balance and Harmony: Asian Food by Neil Perry in the sales, and I am really looking forward to trying out some the recipes and spending more time in China Town scouting out ingredients!



The Okra I just cut in half and then fried in some oil with a little garam masala and turmeric, and then added them to the lentils.

Naan Bread (from Leiths Cookery Bible)

450g strong plain flour
1 tbsp salt
15g fresh yeast
1 tsp sugar
90-150ml warm milk
2 tbsp sesame oil
150ml plain yoghurt
1 egg, beaten

Sift the flour and salt into a bowl.

Cream the yeast with the sugar, then mix with the milk, oil, yoghurt and the egg.

Mix the yeast mixture into the flour to form a soft but not sticky dough. Knead for 5 mins or until smooth.

Put the dough into an oiled bowl. Cover with greased cling film and leave to rise in a warm place until doubled in size.

Turn the dough on to a floured board and knead for another 5 mins.

Divide the dough into 8 equal pieces and roll each piece into an oval measuring about 12.5 x 20cm.

Place on a greased baking sheet. cover with cling film and leave to rise for about 15 mins or until 1 1/2 times the original size.

Preheat the Grill.

Brush the bread with water and grill on each side for 3 mins or until well browned. Serve warm.