10,000 ways to cook chicken.

How many ways can we cook chicken? I heard that there are so many ways that you can never have the same dish twice. There are books dedicated to chicken, to teach us how to cook chicken, only chicken. But is that possible? Maybe. I know for a fact that we eat a lot of chicken, and that we've come a long way from the days we had only boiled or fried chicken, or even grilled chicken. Each one of us definitely knows at least three or four ways to cook chicken. I know some, but I never tried to count them. Maybe I should, or better yet, maybe we should try together looking for all 10,000 ways to cook chicken.

CHICKEN RAGOUT

                                                     

I came up with this recipe when a friend had to stay at the hospital for a few days leaving behind her two young daughters and their dad. I tried to think of something hearty, easy to keep and reheat for him to feed the girls when they return from school. It had to be easy for him to serve, because he will be coming home after a long day at work. It's a kind of one dish meal, it has vegetables in the sauce (a plus for those who like to hide veggies in their children food) so you only have to serve it over pasta or rice and voila, you have your protein, your carbohydrates and your vegetables in one serving. And it tastes good too! I have to warn you though: I made a big batch for this recipe, because I had to divide it between our families. You can make half the amount. You'll need:


15 skinless, boneless chicken thighs
4 to 5 celery stalks
3 medium carrots or 2 to 3 cups baby carrots
1 small onion
3 to 4 garlic cloves
2 tbsp frozen onion garlic mixture
1 (28 oz) can of whole tomatoes in their sauce
1 tsp dried oregano
2 tbsp canola oil
2 to 3 tbsp flour
Salt and pepper to taste

Start by trimming all the visible fat from the chicken pieces, all the visible white parts. I know it's a tedious job, but at the end, you'll have a clean and lean amount of chicken thighs. Then cut them into cubes, about 1 1/2 inch each. Put the chicken pieces in a bowl. Add the frozen onion/garlic mixture, salt and pepper and crush the oregano over them. Mix and set aside to marinate.

Chop the celery, peel and chop the carrots, onion and garlic. It doesn't need to be finely chopped, they'll cook in the sauce and will be pureed later.

In a 5.5 qt pot (I use a "chili pot" it's wider and shorter in height than the usual 5 qt pot, so it allows you to have a wider cooking surface inside it) wet the chopped onion with a tbsp of oil and cook until translucent. Add the garlic, then the vegetables and keep cooking for 5 to 6 minutes more stirring often. Pour the tomatoes in a bowl with their liquid and crush them with your hand. (You can instead use a same size can of crushed or pureed tomatoes, or even 2 cans of tomato sauce plus tomato paste, whatever you have at hand to give you a thick tomato sauce). When the vegetables are tender, add the tomatoes, stir and keep cooking on medium heat while you cook the chicken.

Put the flour in a shallow dish and lightly coat the chicken pieces with flour. In a nonstick skillet, heat 1 tbsp of oil and cook the chicken pieces in it until they become golden yellow, turning once. Don't let them brown.  Remove to a platter lined with paper towels to absorb the excess oil. (If you need more oil, you can add it 1 tbsp at a time). When the vegetables are fully cooked, remove from heat and let cool for a while. Puree the vegetables in a blender or food processor until smooth, and return the sauce to the pot. Add the chicken, stir and let cook on medium high heat. When it comes to a boil, adjust seasoning and lower the heat. Let cook until the chicken is fork tender. It won't take long. Serve over pasta or rice.
                                         
                                                            
TIP: You can make the same sauce without the chicken if you want to go vegetarian, it will be equally delicious.