Our Own Chicken

Our brood of chickens needed to be thinned out.  When we picked up our chicks in the summer, we weren't sure how many hens there were, as they were unsexed.  And so we waited patiently as they grew until the day came that we realized we pretty much had a 50/50 split of roosters and hens.  It was also at this point that the hens were due to start laying.  I figured there was no way they were going to start laying eggs unless we got rid of some of those aggressive males that were crowding the hen house.  So Scott spent one Saturday afternoon learning how to butcher chickens.  We said a little prayer to remind ourselves of the sacredness of all life, and by the end of the day we found ourselves with a whole lot of chicken meat, and very little freezer space!

     Since then, we've made three attempts at eating the meat.  The first I used for stock and soup, the second Scott roasted which only resulted in a very tough bird, and tonight I tried out an Italian inspired Chicken Stew which was the best one yet.  We give thanks.

ITALIAN CHICKEN STEW with Black Olives, Capers and Rosemary

1 organic chicken, cut into 8 pieces

1 bottle of organic red wine

8 organic bay leaves

2 sprigs of fresh organic rosemary

4 cloves organic garlic, smashed

1/4 cup e.v olive oil

1 cup organic all purpose flour

7 anchovies

2 Tbsp capers

1/2 cup black olives, pitted

1 can diced organic tomatoes

sea salt and pepper

Method:  Place the chicken in a bowl, sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Cover with the wine, bay leaves, rosemary and 1 clove of the garlic.  Let sit for one hour.

    Preheat the oven to 350*.   Heat a dutch oven over medium high heat.  Reserving the marinade, pat dry the chicken and dredge in the flour.  Add the olive oil to the pot and brown both sides of each piece of chicken (about 5 minutes). Remove each piece of chicken and set aside until they are all done.

     Add the garlic and anchovies to the hot pan.  Stir quickly and then add the olives, tomatoes, chicken and the reserved marinade.  Bring to a boil , cover and bake in the oven for about 2 hours.  Serve over polenta with some grated romano cheese.

CREAMY POLENTA

2 cups organic chicken stock or broth

1 cup organic whole milk

sea salt and black pepper

1 cup organic cornmeal

2 Tbsp organic butter

1/4 cup grated romano cheese

Method:  Combine the stock and milk in a saucepan, stirring in some sea salt and pepper.  Bring to a boil and reduce to low.  Whisk in the cornmeal and cook, stirring for about 15 minutes. When it almost reaches desired consistency, stir in butter and cheese.

Tonight we ate this with the curly endive/escarole salad from an earlier post......with added orange segments!