ECONOMIZING ENTRÉES – PART II CHICKEN & FISH
I want to take a moment to reiterate that this and the last post are about wallet-friendly meal solutions, not budget recipes. They offer examples of ways to turn a favorite meal into a week night regular.
Chicken is amazing! One of the first animals domesticated for food, its meat has always topped the list of those consumed globally. Prized for its mild flavor, digestive ability, compatibility with other foods and short cooking time, chicken is accepted by every ethnicity and dietary regime, inspiring literally hundreds of recipes in every cuisine. They range from elegant, fit for royal occasions, to casually simple ones, served at a child’s picnic. Best of all, chicken has remained an affordable, available meat through every economy.
Chicken is so popular, that since I’ve been writing this post, not many months have passed without a chicken recipe. To save repeating basic facts and directions about buying, prepping, cooking and carving or separating a bird into parts, with recipes, I wrote a book, The Poultry Place. I recommend it for dealing with any birds, tame or game turkey, duck, quail, etc.
Moreover, since chicken partners with so many foods, and can be cooked in every known way, choosing a recipe for a specific task isn’t a matter of finding one but of narrowing the field. So for particular needs, I suggest you check, Chicken In Spring Part I. Casual Elegance and Part II Entrees April 13, and 20, 2023, Chicken Roll-ups Feb. 21, 2019 and Boneless, Skinless Chicken April 26, 2018. This post is concerned with showing how chicken recipes can be adapted to an economic form while preserving taste. This is for raw chicken, for leftovers go to the post on turkey, Nov. 23, 2023, which also applies to chicken.
Before giving the recipes, I do have a bit of advice. Buy chicken split breasts and thighs and skin, bone flatten them to even thickness yourself. It’s easy, less costly and gives a better presentation than the commercial, especially the frozen products. They’re too thin and appear skimpy cubed in the finished dish. Also, think pasta for the thinner, or pan sauces and rice, if you’re creating a thicker one, like white or Bechamel sauce or gravy, to bed the dish.
Recipes marked with an asterisk * are from my book Dinners Wth Joy
RECIPES-Ingredient changes are in Italics and underlned
*Chicken in Lemon Wine Sauce: Serves 4
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts >>>>>> 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
¼ cup flour
2 Tbs. cooking oil – -canola
2 Tbs. butter
1 small onion diced>>>>>>>2 small onions , halved, in thin rings
2 cloves garlic sliced
1 lemon – zested and juiced
1/3 cup white wine – – recommend dry vermouth
¾ cup water
1/2 envelope chicken bouillon granules
½ cup chopped fresh parsley – – or 2 Tbs. dried
2 tsp garlic powder
2 cups total of the following—mix and match–1 cup halved, sliced zucchini or yellow summer squash, and/or cut green beans and/or broccoli florets and/or okra
8 oz. sturdy shaped pasta like shells or penne
Pound chicken between two pieces of plastic wrap, to an even thickness, and dredge in flour. Place 1 Tbs. oil in a skillet over medium heat and begin to cook chicken, add 2 Tbs. butter, and brown chicken in both sides – @ 6 min. total. Remove chicken to a plate. Add 1Tbs. oil to pan and sauté onion until soft @ 2 min.; add sliced garlic and sauté 1 min, more. Add wine, and deglaze pan by scraping all the browned bits from the surface with a wooden spoon. Add water, bouillon powder, 1 Tbs. lemon juice, and return chicken to pan. Reduce heat and cook, uncovered, over medium- low about 8-10 min. until chicken is done and sauce thickens.
Meanwhile, make what the Italians call “Gremalata” by mixing the parsley, garlic powder and lemon zest in a small bowl.
Plate the chicken pieces individually with sauce. Top each with a small portion of gremalata, and pass the rest.
Direction changes
After pounding the chicken, cut in to 1 1/2 inch cubes. Follow the directions but add the vegetables with the chicken when returned to the pan and cook frequently checking liquid adding water to maintain level. Meanwhile cook pasta. Plate chicken over pasta and serve hot.
*Chicken Parmesan: Serves 4
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts>>>>>2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts or thighs
¼ cup flour
2 Tbs. butter
2 Tbs. oil
(1) 4 oz. can mushrooms-stems and pieces-drained
(2) 8 oz. cans tomato sauce
8 oz. Mozzarella cheese- in thin slices or coarsely grated
¼ cup Parmesan cheese grated>>>> +excess to pass at table
8 oz. Angel hair pasta or thin spaghetti
Pound chicken and dredge by shaking in a plastic bag with the flour, one piece at a time. Melt butter in a skillet over medium heat, and brown the meat on both sides @ 6 min. total depending on thickness. Add oil as needed to prevent sticking. Remove meat to an ovenproof pan or dish that holds the meat close, but not overlapping. Sauté the mushrooms for 30 seconds in the pan juices, and turn off the heat. Pour in 1 can of the tomato sauce and deglaze the pan, pour it, with the mushrooms, over the meat. Repeat deglazing with second can of sauce. Cover, and seal the meat dish with foil. Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 40 min. Remove pan and turn on broiler. Carefully, mindful of the steam, remove the foil, and spread the mozzarella evenly over the meat. Sprinkle the parmesan on top and broil until bubbly and beginning to brown.
Direction changes: After pounding, cut meat into 1 ½ inch pieces, dredge in flour in batches id necessary. Late over pasta serve hot and pass extra cheese.
FISH: Fish, like meat has risen in price, with tuna leading the pack. Until 2000, canned tuna was the go-to budget meal. Tuna casserole appeared weekly on school menus. There were no grades, a can of tuna, costing under $1.00, was solid white meat. Flake existed in cheaper brands. Several reasons are cited for the price hike in tuna, but today a can of solid Albacore is double the price for 1/3 less contents (7 oz. down to 5 oz.). So if an older recipe calls for 2 cans (@$2.00) it now takes 3 (@$6.00). A good example of today’s food cost dilemma and as good a reason to adapt recipes to fit the current economy. However, tuna is still very popular which the availability of fresh tuna steaks for grilling has increased.
Canned salmon was always higher priced than tuna, and had to be cleared of skin and bones, which flaked the meat, limiting its serving options. Fresh salmon was expensive and mostly seasonal. Aquafarming introduced individually bagged, frozen, skinless fillets, which have undermined canned in popularity and price. Fillets started at $1.00 per fillet, now costing about $2.00, equal a can of tuna, but having the advantage of comprising an entrée. Still the cost adds up when feeding a family and economizing is always welcome.
Many fish are now frozen In fillets and if you have favorite recipes, or dinner pairings for any of them, use the following recipes as examples of how to keep the taste and spirit of that meal, while economizing it for, perhaps, a week night.
*Salad Nicoise: Serves 4
1 head Boston lettuce – sometimes called “Garden” or “Bib” – if not available buy Romaine NOT Iceberg
¾ lb. redskin or new potatoes
¾ lb. whole green beans
4 hardboiled eggs – peeled, halved lengthwise and chilled
1 large red or Bermuda onion in fairly thin slices
3 large or 4 medium tomatoes peeled and cut in medium slices and chilled
(1) 2oz can anchovy fillets drained oil reserved for dressing
(1) 5oz can colossal pitted ripe olives – drained
(2) 7 oz. cans solid white Albacore Tuna in water – drained
Kosher salt
White wine
Dried tarragon
Fresh ground black pepper
DRESSING RECIPE BELOW
Cut the potatoes in quarters, or halves, depending on size. Boil them separately or together with the beans until the potatoes are done and the beans still crisp @ 10 min.
Drain well, run under cold water to stop the cooking and cool. Place the potatoes and beans in an oblong container, so they can spread to marinate, with ½ cup white wine and 2 tsp dried tarragon. Allow to marinate at least ½ hr. or all day. Separate the lettuce leaves, wash well and allow to air dry. Cover a large platter with the leaves. Pile the tuna, topped with the anchovies in the center, and attractively arrange the other ingredients, in separate sections, in a surrounding circle. Sprinkle with the salt and fresh pepper.
Dressing:-Wisk all ingredients together well
4 Tbs. minced shallots – onions will substitute
2 Tbs. dry mustard powder
5 Tbs. red wine vinegar
3 Tbs. fresh lemon juice
2 ¼ cups olive oil plus the oil from the anchovies
2 tsp. dried tarragon
Taste and add some of the marinating white wine if it won’t dilute too much
Kosher salt
Fresh ground Pepper
Drizzle the dressing over the platter and serve the rest on the side.
Pasta Nicoise: Serves 4
1 can water packed tuna- drained
4 hard-boiled eggs-sliced
1 cup cut green beans-cooked to crisp tender
¼ cup sliced black olives
2 plum tomatoes –in large dice
12 oz. penne or rotini-cooked
1 ottle-8 oz. of Italian vinaigrette dressing-any flavor
Arrange first 6 ingredients decoratively over cooked, cooled pasts. Drizzle with dressing and serve.
*Poached Salmon with Lemon-Dill Sauce: Serves 4 an water packed tuna –
1 ½ lbs. of salmon fillets or steaks
1 Tbs. lemon juice
Bring water to cover and lemon juice to a boil and reduce to an even simmer. Slide fish in gently and cook about 8-10 min. per pound until the flesh turns pale pink and flakes easily. Remove from heat, run fish under cold water to stop cooking and remove skin, and spine bone, if still there in steaks. Serve warm or chill on a covered plate at least 1 hour.
Sauce 1:
½ large onion- diced
¼ cup oil
1/3 cup white wine
1cup sour cream
2 Tbs. capers
¼ tsp. lemon pepper or to taste
In a sauce pan, sauté diced onion in 1 Tbs. oil until soft, add balance of oil, capers, wine and ¼ tsp. lemon pepper, allow to simmer gently to warm. Check if more lemon pepper is needed, sauce should be very lemony but not bitter. Remove from heat, cool slightly, whisk in sour cream to blend while still warm. Serve warm over hot fish or cool to room temperature and serve over chilled fish. This is best made shortly before serving. Drizzle sauce over fish and pass remainder.
Sauce 2:
½ cup mayonnaise
½ cup sour cream
1 ½ tsp. dill weed or to taste
Blend all ingredients well and allow flavors to meld several hours in the refrigerator. Add more dill to taste if needed. Serve dolloped over chilled fish.
Salmon in Lemon-Dill Sauce: Serves 6
2 frozen salmon fillets from a package about 6 ½-7 oz. total
(1) 4 oz. can stems and pieces mushrooms
½ cup sliced onion
1 garlic clove-minced OR equal amount garlic powder
2 cups skim or 1% milk
1 ½ cups green peas
3 Tbs. flour
1 Tbs. grated lemon zest or lemon juice plus lemon pepper to taste if needed
¾ tsp. dried dill weed
1 box spaghetti or linguini
Salt and pepper to taste
Poach salmon in water, cool and slice thinly with the grain. Cook onion in 1 Tbs. water for 2 min. in microwave until crisp tender-reserve. Microwave peas in microwave as directed on package, drain and reserve. Combine flour, milk, lemon, garlic, seasonings and dill in a bowl and stir until smooth; heat over medium, stirring constantly until thickened. Meanwhile cook pasta. Add vegetables to sauce fold in fish and stir gently until warmed through. Serve over pasta hot.
