The Complete 15-Minute Gourmet: Poultry

By Paulette Mitchell and Nancy Bundt

Easily cook up an assortment of creative gourmet poultry recipes, including soups, salads, sandwiches, and entrees, in just fifteen minutes.

You don’t have to sacrifice flavor or nutrition just because your life is hectic. For more than twenty years, Paulette Mitchell has been creating gourmet dishes that can be prepared in fifteen minutes or less. Her speedy meals are sophisticated enough to please the palates of savvy gourmets, yet simple enough that a novice can prepare them. In just fifteen minutes, you could be feasting on:

• Maple-Walnut Chicken Salad
• Orange Soba Noodle Soup
• Chicken Burgers
• Gingered Chicken with Pineapple Stir-Fry
• Mexican Tortilla Pizzas

Whether you crave cuisine with an international flair or want a new spin on a traditional favorite, The Complete 15-Minute Gourmet Poultry has recipes that yield extraordinary results with minimal time and effort. You’ll be amazed by what you can create in just fifteen minutes.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Open Road Integrated Media
• Release date: Oct 5, 2008
• ISBN: 9781401604929

Book preview

Poultry Introduction

THROUGHOUT CENTURIES, chicken has played a starring role in many of the world’s cuisines. In the late 1990s, I accepted my editor’s challenge to develop 100 quick-to-prepare chicken recipes. Creating them meant eating lots of chicken, but I discovered that the possibilities are unlimited. Chicken is used in many cuisines, and its mild flavor is compatible with an almost endless variety of herbs and spices, fruits and vegetables. It can be enjoyed hot, at room temperature, or chilled. You can serve chicken with pasta, chicken with rice, chicken with fruit or vegetables, chicken with wine, chicken salads, chicken sandwiches in many forms, and the ultimate comfort food, chicken soup.

The process of disjointing and deboning whole chickens is time-consuming. But boneless, skinless chicken breasts (which are, more accurately, breast halves) are perfect for 15-Minute recipes. If the meat is cut into chunks or strips, it cooks in just five minutes. Whole chicken breasts take five minutes per side when cooked in a skillet, broiler, or stovetop grill pan. Chicken tenders or tenderloins, which are small chicken fillets cut from the most delicate part of the breast, are also used in some recipes. These smaller pieces require less chopping. I do take a minute to snip away the tendon; some chicken producers remove it before packaging. The size of the tenders varies among brands and may alter cooking time. And, of course, many supermarkets offer chicken for stir-fry, which comes completely chopped and ready to use.

One word of warning: Fresh chicken is highly perishable and must be handled and cooked properly. Bring chicken directly home from the market and store it in the coldest part of your refrigerator. If the chicken cannot be used within two days, freeze it. Thaw the frozen chicken in the refrigerator, not on the kitchen counter. Rinse chicken quickly under cool running water and pat it dry before cooking. Be sure to carefully wash all work surfaces that held the raw chicken, as well as your knives and hands. (Clean the cutting board with a sanitizing spray or with a solution of 2 tablespoons chlorine bleach to 1 quart hot water.) I often use poultry shears to cut both raw and cooked chicken. This speedy method eliminates some of the chicken safety concerns because it’s not necessary for the chicken to touch a cutting board.

Also important is thorough cooking. Properly cooked chicken breasts will be white throughout, with no traces of pink, and the juices will run clear rather than red.

Most of the chicken recipes in this chapter are cooked on the stovetop. In addition to sautéing, several recipes are braised. In braising, the chicken is lightly coated with a seasoned flour mixture (for efficiency and less mess, I use a large zip-top plastic bag for chicken in strips). It is then lightly browned, a sauce is stirred in, and the entire mixture simmers until the chicken is thoroughly cooked and tender.

Some recipes call for cooked rotisserie chicken, which is a godsend for days when you are especially pressed for time. Right away when I get home from the supermarket, I remove the skin and pull the chicken from the bone because it’s most efficient to do this while the meat is warm. Keep in mind that the seasoning added before the chicken is cooked is of little importance; most remains in the skin and does not alter the flavor of the meat. A rotisserie chicken yields about 2½ cups white meat and about 1½ cups dark meat. I include both in many of my recipes calling for rotisserie chicken. In fact, both light and dark meat are used in some cuisines, and the dark meat actually offers the most flavor. If you prefer, in these recipes you can substitute chicken that you have cooked for the rotisserie chicken. In other recipes, such as Spicy Chicken and Rice and Red Sweet Potato Salad with Chicken, you can use chopped rotisserie chicken rather than cooking chicken yourself.

Here, you’ll find chicken salads that go miles beyond the tired scenario of cubes of chicken tossed with bits of celery and smothered in mayonnaise. Some of the chicken salads are warm, such as Warm Chicken Salad with Peaches and Blueberries—others chilled, like Chinese Chicken Salad with Hoisin Dressing. Some are artfully composed, such as Grilled Chicken Salad with Herbed Tomato Vinaigrette— others tossed, as is Chopped Salad with Balsamic Vinaigrette. They are all beautiful and uniquely delicious.

Chicken soup has established quite a reputation as the quintessential cure-all comfort food. In this chapter, you’ll find not only a quick-to-prepare version of chicken noodle soup but also others that showcase many cuisines, including intriguing Japanese, Italian, and Mexican meals in a bowl.

It’s no longer necessary to stew a chicken to arrive at a tasty broth. I make homemade soups in no time, thanks to good-quality canned or aseptically packaged chicken broth. I prefer using the reduced-sodium type, which allows me to salt dishes as I choose. For recipes calling for less than a whole can or box, I usually use chicken broth cubes, concentrates, or granules, which I always keep on hand. Partially used aseptic boxes can also be refrigerated for use later. Some soup recipes that don’t call for chicken are included in this chapter because they include chicken broth, which is itself an important flavor component.

In addition to chicken, in this chapter you will find recipes calling for turkey cutlets, another convenience poultry cut. One recipe also calls for ground turkey; if lean meat is important to you, look for the label ground breast meat. Also, recipes calling for rotisserie chicken are delicious destinations for holiday turkey leftovers. For the rotisserie chicken, simply substitute an equal amount of cooked turkey.

Salads

WARM CHICKEN SALAD WITH PEACHES AND BLUEBERRIES

Makes 4 servings

Celebrate the fruits of summer, and serve this artfully composed salad on a warm summer evening. If you prefer, cook boneless, skinless chicken breasts on your outdoor grill rather than indoors in a skillet. Cut them into diagonal strips before adding to the salads.

For the vinaigrette:

¼ cup red wine vinegar

¼ cup canola oil

1 tablespoon honey mustard

1 teaspoon minced garlic 

Salt and pepper to taste

For the salad:

1 tablespoon canola oil

12 ounces chicken tenders, halved lengthwise and cut crosswise into strips

1 teaspoon lemon pepper

8 cups mesclun (mixed baby greens)

2 peaches, cut into 3/8-inch wedges

1 cup fresh blueberries

• Whisk together the vinaigrette ingredients in a small bowl.

• Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the chicken and sprinkle with lemon pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes or until lightly browned and thoroughly cooked.

• Meanwhile, spread the greens on plates.

• Arrange the warm chicken strips and peach slices over the greens. Drizzle with the vinaigrette and sprinkle with blueberries. Serve immediately.

CHICKEN SALAD WITH RED GRAPES, DRIED CHERRIES, AND TOASTED PECANS

Makes 4 servings

This salad is ideal for a casual fall lunch or light evening meal with guests. It offers a palette of sweet and tart flavors paired with the equally alluring contrast of both crunchy and soft textures. Serve the scrumptious mixture with warm rolls or soft breadsticks.

2 cups coarsely chopped rotisserie chicken, skin removed, cooled

1 cup halved seedless red grapes

½ cup finely chopped celery

½ cup coarsely chopped toasted pecans

s1 cup dried cherries

s3 cup Creamy Poppy Seed Dressing

Bibb lettuce leaves

Small bunches of red seedless grapes for garnish

• Combine the chicken, grapes, celery, pecans, and dried cherries in a large bowl. Add the dressing and stir until evenly combined.

• Serve on lettuce leaves and garnish with grapes.

GRILLED CHICKEN AND SPINACH SALAD WITH POMEGRANATE-RASPBERRY VINAIGRETTE

Makes 4 servings

This warm chicken salad jeweled with raspberries is a gorgeous dish perfect for serving guests. And because it’s so quick and easy to toss together, you can relax with your friends in the evening breezes instead of spending precious time in the kitchen.

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts 

Olive oil for brushing 

Dash of salt and pepper

10 cups salad spinach

1 cup fresh raspberries

½ red onion, thinly sliced

¾ cup Pomegranate-Raspberry Vinaigrette, divided

½ cup coarsely chopped walnuts

• Heat a stovetop grill pan over high heat. Lightly brush both sides of the chicken breasts with oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Reduce the heat to medium-high; cook for 5 minutes per side or until lightly browned and thoroughly cooked. Transfer to a plate and set aside to cool slightly.

• Meanwhile, toss the spinach, raspberries, and onion in a large bowl. Add ½ cup vinaigrette and toss until evenly combined.

• Divide the salad among 4 salad plates. Cut the chicken into ¼-inch slices. Fan a chicken breast over each salad. Sprinkle with the walnuts and drizzle with the remaining ¼ cup vinaigrette.

GRILLED CHICKEN AND PEAR SALAD WITH HAZELNUT VINAIGRETTE

Makes 4 servings

The pronounced flavor of hazelnut oil is especially pleasing on bitter greens such as Belgian endive. (Other greens it complements include curly endive, dandelion greens, and escarole.) An artful arrangement of these leaves topped with chicken, pears, and hazelnuts creates a memorable salad indeed.

For the chicken:

16 ounces boneless, skinless chicken breasts 

Olive oil for