[Sca-cooks] a favorite dish to prepare in advance

devra at aol.com devra at aol.com
Sat Aug 22 10:19:12 PDT 2009


Well, it's a version of Blankmange, so it's English?or French, but it's very tasty and it freezes nicely. I particularly like this one because, if you have the ingredients in the freezer, you can prepare an elegant dish for unexpected company in about 45 min.



This version is from Lorna Sass's "To the King's Taste".



2 large capon/chicken breasts, or the equivalent in dark meat chicken - thighs, etc 

2.5 C water

1.25 t salt (separated)

.5 C blanched almonds

2 T ice water

1 C rice

1 T butter or oil (optional)

4 t light or dark brown sugar, packed



garnishes:

3-5 T crushed aniseed

.25? C blanched slivered almonds, fried in 2 T oil

sprigs of watercress or parsley



1. Boil meat gently in the water and .25 t salt in a covered pan for 10-15 min or until done. (If you use dark meat, this will take a little longer.)

2.Remove fowl and set aside, reserving broth.

3. Grind almonds pretty fine with ice water in a blender or with mortar and pestle. (Ice water is to keep the almonds from oiling up - I don't always bother.)

4. Combine 2 C of reserved broth (pretty much all of it) with the ground almonds and let stand for about 10 min, stirring occasionally, to make almond milk.

5. Cook rice in almond milk with brown sugar, remaining t of salt, and butter or oil, if desired, until almost done.? (I don't usually use the butter or oil, and often only put in .5 t salt, reserving the rest for people to add at their own pleasure.)

6. Bone and cut up cooled fowl into dice.

7. Just before rice is done, add fowl, and stir to distribute pieces evenly. Finish cooking rice.

8. Serve, garnished with fried almonds and aniseed, and parsley or watercress if desired.



This is supposed to serve 4-6, but it won't. It tastes 'moreish', as in 'I want more'.? Even people who don't normally like aniseed usually find it very nice as a garnish on this, and the fried almonds are always very very popular.



Note: this is kosher and appropriate for Passover also.



I know that rice isn't supposed to freeze well, but I've never had any complaints. So if y ou have chicken and almonds in the freezer, and rice in the cupboard, you're set.



Devra the Baker






More information about the Sca-cooks mailing list