Mark Bittman's Quick and Easy Recipes from the New York Times (19 page)

1.
Peel the shallots and cut them in half the long way (most large shallots have two lobes anyway and will naturally divide in half as you peel them). If they are small, peel them and leave them whole. Start a grill or preheat the broiler.

2.
Put the oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add the shallots and cook for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until they begin to brown. Add the eggplant, salt, and pepper and lower the heat to medium. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the eggplant softens, about 15 minutes.

3.
When the eggplant begins to brown, add half the ginger and cook for another 3 minutes or so, until the eggplant is very tender and the mixture fragrant. Meanwhile, rub the chicken breasts with salt, pepper, and the remaining ginger. Grill or broil, about 4 inches from the heat source, for 3 minutes per side, or until done.

4.
If you’re using the cilantro, stir half into the eggplant mixture. Serve the chicken breasts on a bed of the eggplant and garnish with the remaining herb.

VARIATIONS

• For a more traditional dish, substitute garlic for the ginger (or use half of each to make the total) and revert to olive oil. Use fresh parsley in place of cilantro.

• Stir in a cup or more of seeded and chopped tomatoes at the last minute; these boost color as well as flavor, and the combination of tomatoes and ginger is another unexpectedly pleasant one. (Peel the tomatoes if you like, but I don’t think it’s worth the effort in this case.)

MAKES 4 SERVINGS

TIME: 30 TO 60 MINUTES

THE DARK, RICH
meat of a chicken thigh responds brilliantly to the strong, equatorial flavors associated most closely with grilling. This Mexican-style treatment packs plenty of punch, even if you use the minimum amount of cayenne (as I do) or omit it entirely.

1.
Preheat a grill or broiler to moderately hot and put the rack at least 4 inches from the heat source. Combine the garlic, onion, oregano, cumin, cayenne, cloves, salt, pepper, and oil in a blender or small food processor and blend until fairly smooth. Add the juices, then taste and adjust the seasoning; the blend should be powerful.

2.
Smear this mixture all over the chicken; if time allows, marinate the chicken for 30 minutes or so. Grill or broil for 6 to 8 minutes per side, watching carefully, until the meat is nicely browned on the outside and cooked through on the inside (bone-in thighs will take longer, about 20 minutes total). Serve hot or at room temperature, garnished with the cilantro.

MAKES 4 SERVINGS

TIME: 40 MINUTES

BRANCHES OF ROSEMARY
are ideal for this dish, especially if you live in a Mediterranean climate where rosemary grows in shrubs. You can slide the food right onto them (in the direction of the needles, so as not to dislodge them), and they flavor it brilliantly; but so does some rosemary tucked in among the chunks of food. If you skewer on wood or metal skewers, turning will be made easier if you use two sticks in parallel for each skewer, separating them by about a half inch; you can also buy two-pronged metal skewers that do the trick nicely.

1.
Preheat a grill or broiler to moderately hot. If you’re using wooden skewers, soak them in water to cover while you prepare the food. Make 4 skewers, alternating the different ingredients but generally surrounding both chicken and sausage with the moister lemon and eggplant. Pack the food fairly tightly together on each skewer and sprinkle with salt and pepper. If you are not using rosemary skewers, tuck some rosemary in among the cubes of food.

2.
Grill over moderate heat, covered or not, turning the skewers 3 or 4 times to brown evenly. Total cooking time will be 10 to 15 minutes, depending on the heat of the grill and the distance from the heat source. By the time the chicken and sausage are browned, the eggplant will be tender; do not overcook.

3.
Serve, squeezing hot lemon juice from the cooked lemons over all.

MAKES 4 SERVINGS

TIME: 45 MINUTES

CHICKEN AL MATTONE
, as it’s rightfully called, is the simplest and best method for producing crisp, delicious skin and wonderfully moist meat. All you need is a split chicken and two ovenproof skillets or a skillet and a couple of bricks or rocks. (The weight serves two purposes: it
partially covers the chicken, which helps it retain moisture, and it ensures that the flesh of the chicken remains in contact with the skillet, which encourages browning.) Once covered, the chicken is transferred to a very hot oven to finish cooking. Handling the hot, heavy pan takes two hands—be careful.

1.
Put the chicken on a cutting board, skin side down, and press down as hard as you can with your hands to make it as flat as possible. Mix together the minced or dried rosemary, salt and pepper, garlic, and 1 tablespoon of the olive oil and rub this all over the chicken. Tuck some of the mixture under the skin as well. If time permits, cover and marinate in the refrigerator for up to a day (even 20 minutes helps).

2.
When you are ready to cook, preheat the oven to 500°F. Preheat an ovenproof 12-inch skillet (preferably nonstick) over medium-high heat for about 3 minutes. Press the rosemary sprigs into the skin side of the chicken. Put the remaining olive oil in the pan and wait about 30 seconds for it to heat up.

3.
Put the chicken in the skillet, skin side down, along with any remaining pieces of rosemary and garlic; weight it with another skillet or one or two bricks or rocks wrapped in aluminum foil. The basic idea is to flatten the chicken by applying a fair amount of weight evenly over its surface.

4.
Cook over medium-high to high heat for 5 minutes, then transfer to the oven. Roast for 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and remove the weights; turn the chicken over (it will now be skin side up) and roast for 10 minutes more, or until done (large chickens may take an additional 5 minutes or so). Serve hot or at room temperature, with lemon wedges.

MAKES 4 SERVINGS

TIME: 30 MINUTES

PROPERLY GRILLED CHICKEN
is a pleasure, even when you dress it with nothing but lemon juice—or even salt. But if you make this Ligurian-inspired full-flavored dipping sauce based on anchovies, you can turn the simple grilled chicken into something really special. And the sauce can be used for whatever else you’re serving at the same time.

When you’re grilling the chicken, don’t build too hot a fire and keep part of the grill cool—don’t put any fuel under it at all—so you can move the pieces over to it in the (likely) event of flare-ups. And you can broil it if you prefer: adjust the broiling rack so that it is about four to six inches from the heat source and turn the meat as it browns.

1.
Preheat a grill or broiler to moderately hot and put the rack about 4 to 6 inches from the heat source. If you like, cut the chicken wings at each of their 2 joints to make 3 pieces and discard the tips (or save for stock); you can also cook the wings whole.

2.
Grill or broil the wings, turning frequently, until thoroughly cooked and nicely browned. As they are cooking, sprinkle them with a little salt and a lot of pepper.

3.
Meanwhile, combine the oil and butter in a small saucepan and turn the heat to low. When the butter melts, add the garlic and anchovies. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the anchovies break up and the sauce bubbles. Add salt if necessary and a good sprinkling of pepper.

4.
Serve the chicken hot or at room temperature, with the hot sauce for dipping or drizzling.

VARIATIONS

• This sauce makes a great dressing for grilled fish as well. It’s also good with raw or lightly cooked vegetables.

• Chicken thighs, or leg-thigh pieces, are just as good as wings here; the cooking time will be a little longer.

MAKES 4 SERVINGS

TIME: 30 MINUTES

CORNISH HENS ARE
better looking, faster to cook, and easier to handle than chickens. With a minimalist spice mix and a broiling technique that involves no turning, they’re perfect for a speedy menu. You can find Szechwan peppercorns (which are not really peppercorns) at many supermarkets and any Asian food market.

1.
Preheat the oven to its maximum and put a roasting or broiling pan large enough to hold the birds in it. Adjust the broiler rack so that it is about 6 inches from the heating element.

2.
Toast the peppercorns in a dry pan over medium heat, shaking occasionally, until fragrant, about 5 minutes. Grind to a powder in a spice mill, coffee grinder, or mortar and pestle. Sprinkle about 1 teaspoon of the powder over the skin side of the hens; sprinkle with a bit of salt as well. Combine the remaining powder with an equal amount of salt and set aside.

3.
Turn off the oven and turn on the broiler; carefully remove the pan and put the hens in it, skin side up. Broil without turning, moving the pieces as necessary to brown evenly, for about 20 minutes, or until nicely browned and cooked through.

4.
Transfer the birds to a plate and drizzle with a little of their pan juices and the lime juice. Serve, passing the spicy salt at the table.

MAKES 4 SERVINGS

TIME: 30 MINUTES

ALL SOURNESS IS
not the same, as this simple preparation of broiled Cornish hens with lemon and vinegar demonstrates. I love the taste of lemon and sometimes grill or broil poultry completely unadorned, finishing it with nothing but fresh lemon juice. But I wanted to develop a dish that would take advantage of the complex flavor of the entire lemon, rind and all, and offset it with another, equally gentle sourness.

The result is a crisp-skinned Cornish hen (you could use chicken, of course), topped with nicely browned lemon slices (sweet and tender enough to eat) and drizzled with just enough balsamic vinegar to make you wonder where the extra flavor is coming from. There are no other ingredients, though a garnish of parsley or a hint of rosemary and garlic make nice additions.

1.
Preheat the broiler and put the rack about 4 inches from the heat source, a little lower for a chicken, which will take longer to cook. Use a sharp, sturdy knife to split the hens through their backbones; it will cut through without too much effort. Flatten the hens in a broiling or roasting pan, skin side down, and liberally sprinkle the exposed surfaces with salt and pepper. Slice one of the lemons as thinly as you can and lay the slices on the birds.