It's fall and getting closer to Thanksgiving! This past weekend I was in Dallas discussing Thanksgiving plans with friends and family and hopefully our not so traditional holiday dinner will come to fruition. In the meantime, I've got some practicing to do since I came back home with 5 pounds of chili peppers and about a pound of snow peas and thought if you can make a casserole with green beans why not snow peas. The result came out a lot better than I thought; it was quite delicious!
Ingredients:
1 pound snow peas
1 large onion
3 garlic cloves (minced)
2 chicken thighs (deboned)
1 1/2 cup chicken broth
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup unsalted butter (1 stick)
2 tablespoon grated Parmesan cheese
2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 tablespoon coarse sea salt
1 teaspoon fine sea salt
Several cups canola oil for frying the onions
1 tablespoon olive oil to sauté the chicken
Directions:
Prep the snow peas by cutting the tips off both ends and discard. In a pot of boiling water add the coarse sea salt and blanch the snow peas for about a minute. Remove the snow peas with a slotted spoon and place in a bowl of ice water to stop the cooking process. Drain and set aside.
Prep the onions by slicing half the onions into thin rings and dice the remainder.
In a saucepan, add half a stick of butter on medium high heat when the butter has melted add the diced onions and garlic. Let the onions sweat for about 3-5 minutes or until it's translucent, then add 1/4 cup of the flour. Stir into a paste and slowly add the chicken broth, then add the cream while slowly stirring. Next, add the kosher salt, Parmesan cheese, the remaining butter, and black pepper. Keep the saucepan on simmer while you prep the other ingredients.
You can keep it semi-vegetarian by leaving out the chicken but I think it adds the much needed protein to this dish, especially when it's the main course - like it is tonight. If you choose to use chicken, then simply cube the chicken and sauté in olive oil on medium high heat.
Most people would buy fried onions in a can, but that is unlike me to go the easy shortcut route; but feel free to do so if you choose. If you want to make fried onions from scratch it's an easy process. Add 1/4 cup of all purpose flour and the fine sea salt to a bowl for dredging. Separate the onions that you previously diced into rings and toss in the flour mixture. In a deep fryer set at 350 degrees add 1/4 of the battered onions and fry for about 3 minutes or GBD (golden brown & delicious). Remove and set on paper towel to drain the excess oil and continue this process until all of the onions have been fried.
To make the casserole: Add the snow peas and the chicken to the sauce and mix well. Place the mixture in a casserole dish or iron cast skillet and top it off with the fried onions. Place the dish in a preheated 350 degrees oven and cook for 20 or until it starts to boil.
If you're looking for an alternative to a green bean casserole this dish would make a great one. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.
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