Read Rachael Ray's 30-Minute Get Real Meals Online
Authors: Rachael Ray
Rachael Ray's 30-Minute Get Real Meals (28 page)
Preheat a broiler to high and situate the rack 6 to 8 inches from heat source.
Place the drumsticks on a slotted broiler pan and season them liberally with salt and pepper. Drizzle the drumsticks with a little vegetable oil and place under the broiler for 6 minutes. Flip the drumsticks and place them back under the broiler for another 6 minutes. While the drumsticks are broiling, start the BBQ sauce.
Heat a small saucepan with 1 tablespoon vegetable oil over high heat. Add half of the onion, 2 of the chopped garlic cloves, salt, pepper, the chili powder, and cinnamon. Cook for 1 minute, stirring frequently. Add the honey, tomato paste, ½ cup of the yellow mustard, ½ cup of the cider vinegar, the Worcestershire sauce, and ¾ cup of the chicken stock. Bring the sauce up to a
simmer; turn down the heat to medium and cook for 5 to 8 minutes, or until thickened.
While the sauce is working, heat a large skillet over medium-high heat with 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil (once around the pan). Add the chopped bacon and cook until crisp, about 3 minutes. Remove the bacon to a plate lined with a paper towel to drain. Raise the heat to high and add the remaining half of the onion and 4 chopped garlic cloves. Cook them together, stirring frequently, for 1 to 2 minutes. Add the chopped mustard greens, tossing to coat. Add the remaining ¼ cup mustard and ¼ cup cider vinegar. Stir to distribute. Season the greens with salt and pepper, and stir until the mustard greens begin to wilt, a minute or two. Add the remaining ½ cup chicken stock, bring it up to a simmer, and then lower the heat to medium. Cook the greens for 8 to 10 minutes, until tender and spicy but no longer bitter. If all the stock cooks away before they are done, add a little more as you go.
To finish off the drumsticks, remove them from the broiler and pour the BBQ sauce over them. Using tongs, coat the drumsticks completely in the sauce. Place the coated drumsticks back under the broiler and broil for 2 to 3 minutes. Flip and broil for another 2 to 3 minutes. Using a paring knife, have a peek inside the drumsticks to ensure that they are cooked through before serving.
Transfer the “mustardy” mustard greens to a platter and garnish with the reserved crispy bacon. Serve alongside the BBQ drumsticks.
CONFESSION
Any lifestyle-changing diet can be hard to stick to. I try to give myself the tools for success; in this case that means having ready-to-eat meaty items in the refrigerator. I tire of snacking on cold cuts and salami and need to switch it up and choose the double-duty route. The BBQ drumsticks are a great ready-to-go snack that can be munched while on the move.
If you prefer a smoother consistency, by all means, purée the cooked celeriac and parsnips in a food processor.
4
SERVINGS
| 2 | medium parsnips, peeled and cut into 1-inch chunks |
| 2 | small bulbs celeriac, about 1½ pounds, completely trimmed and peeled (use a paring knife), cut into 1-inch chunks |
| Salt | |
| ½ | to ¾ cup heavy cream or half-and-half |
| 2 | tablespoons butter |
| Freshly ground black pepper | |
| 2 | cups pecan halves, ground in a food processor until finely chopped, like bread crumbs |
| ½ | teaspoon cayenne pepper |
| 2 | eggs, lightly beaten |
| 2 | pounds chicken tenders |
| ½ | cup vegetable oil (eyeball it) |
| Juice of 1 lemon | |
| 2 | teaspoons dry mustard or 1 rounded tablespoon Dijon mustard |
| ⅓ | cup extra-virgin olive oil (EVOO) |
| 6 | cups mixed greens |
For the celeriac-parsnip smash, place the parsnips and celeriac in a saucepan and add enough water to cover. Add a little salt and bring to a boil over high heat; cook until tender, 8 to 10 minutes. Drain in a colander and then return to the pot. Smash the cooked root vegetables with a fork or potato masher to desired consistency. Add the cream and butter and season with salt and pepper to taste. While the smash is cooking, prepare the chicken.
In a shallow dish, combine the ground pecans and the cayenne pepper. In another shallow dish, place the lightly beaten eggs. Put the chicken tenders in the eggs, coating them completely. Draw them from the eggs, allowing the excess egg to drip off. Place the egg-coated chicken in the nut mixture and coat completely.
Heat a large skillet with the vegetable oil over medium heat. As soon as you see a little ripple in the oil, add the pecan-coated chicken. Cook on each side for 3 to 4 minutes. Remove the chicken to a plate lined with a paper towel and season with salt while still hot. While the chicken is cooking, prepare the salad.
In a small mixing bowl combine the lemon juice and mustard. Add a little salt and pepper and whisk in the EVOO. Add the mixed greens to a salad bowl and toss with the lemon-mustard dressing.
Slice the pecan-crusted chicken and fan out on top of a bed of the salad. Serve the smashed root vegetables alongside.
Celeriac is not pretty, but it is very tasty. It’s celery root, or “celery knob,” and, yup, being related and all, it tastes like a cross between celery and parsley. It makes a great lower-carb alternative to potatoes.
4
SERVINGS
| 4 | tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil (EVOO) |
| 4 | 6-ounce boneless, skinless chicken breasts |
| Salt and freshly ground black pepper | |
| 2 | cups store-bought shredded domestic Parmesan cheese |
| 3 | portobello mushroom caps, gills scraped off with a spoon, thinly sliced |
| ½ | small Spanish onion, finely chopped |
| 2 | garlic cloves, chopped |
| 1 | bunch thin asparagus, ends trimmed and discarded, spears chopped into 2-inch lengths |
| 3 | tablespoons good-quality aged sherry vinegar, or red wine vinegar |
| ¾ | cup chicken stock or broth |
| ½ | pint cherry tomatoes, whole if small, halved if large |
| A handful of fresh flat-leaf parsley chopped | |
| 6 | ounces good-quality store-bought pesto (from the dairy aisle) |
Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium to medium-high heat with 2 tablespoons of the EVOO (twice around the pan). Season both sides of the chicken breasts with salt and pepper. Dump out the cheese onto a plate and press the chicken into the cheese, covering all the pieces in cheese on both sides. Add the chicken to the hot skillet, allowing it to cook a full 6 to 7 minutes—DO NOT MESS WITH THE BIRD! The Parmesan is browning and melting together to form an all-cheese, no-bread-crumb crust all over the chicken. After 7 minutes (or when the chicken budges easily), turn and cook the chicken 5 to 6 minutes more.
While the chicken is browning, heat another large skillet over high heat with the remaining 2 tablespoons of EVOO. Add the mushrooms and season with pepper. Brown the mushrooms for 3 minutes. Season the mushrooms with salt and add the onion and garlic. Cook for 2 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the asparagus, tossing to combine. Add the sherry vinegar and continue to cook until the skillet is almost dry, about 1 minute. Add the chicken stock and cherry tomatoes and cook for 3 minutes, or until the asparagus is tender. Add the parsley, tossing to coat.
Top the chicken with a strip of pesto across each breast. Serve a pile of the big-mushroom–veggie sauté alongside each breast.
Removing the gills from the mushrooms is only done for aesthetic reasons. The gills will blacken the other veggies as they cook together. If you don’t mind that, then you can skip the scraping.
Holding off on seasoning the mushrooms with salt will help you get the mushrooms a nice, deep brown color. Salt brings out the water in the mushrooms, so while salting might help them soften faster it will slow their browning.
No bread crumbs, plus it’s not deep-fried! You could eat a mountain of this eggplant parm and not have to loosen your belt.
4
SERVINGS
| 1 | cup extra-virgin olive oil (EVOO) (eyeball it) |
| 4 | garlic cloves, crushed |
| 2 | medium eggplant, ends cut off, sliced crosswise, ¾ inch thick |
| Salt | |
| 1 | teaspoon coarse black pepper |
| 1 | medium yellow onion, finely chopped |
| 1 | can (28 ounces) crushed tomatoes |
| 1 | teaspoon ground cumin (⅓ palmful) |
| ¼ | teaspoon ground cinnamon |
| A handful of fresh flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped | |
| ½ | pound deli-sliced capicola hot ham |
| ½ | cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano |
| 6 | pieces sharp deli-sliced provolone |
| 6 | cups mixed greens, any variety |
| 2 | tablespoon red wine vinegar |
Preheat the oven to 450°F.
Combine the EVOO and garlic in a small pot over medium-low heat. When the garlic simmers, reduce heat to low.
Brush the eggplant on both sides with the garlic-infused EVOO and arrange on a baking sheet. Season the eggplant with salt and the pepper and place in the oven to roast. Use a double-folded piece of foil to make a second baking surface if the eggplant won’t fit on your baking sheet. Roast the eggplant for 15 to 18 minutes, turning once, until browned at the edges, lightly golden, and just tender to the touch. While it roasts, prepare the sauce.
From the remaining EVOO, fish out the garlic and chop it up. Heat a small to medium pot over medium heat. Add about 2 tablespoons of the garlic-infused EVOO and the chopped garlic. Add the onion and cook for 10 minutes, stirring frequently. Add the tomatoes, salt, pepper, cumin, and cinnamon and heat through. Simmer for 5 minutes. Stir in half of the parsley. Remove the eggplant from the oven and switch the broiler on high.
To make your casserole, ladle a little of the tomato sauce in the bottom of a casserole and add a layer of eggplant, then a layer of capicola, then the remaining eggplant, remaining sauce, Parmigiano, provolone, and the remaining parsley. Broil until the cheese is brown and bubbly, about 3 minutes.
Place the salad greens in a bowl and toss with the vinegar, then 3 tablespoons of EVOO (use remaining garlic oil if you still have some left), and season the salad with salt and pepper to taste.
Serve the eggplant parm alongside a little green salad.
HEADS-UP!
I am already preaching moderation when it comes to carbs just in my use of tomato anything, as tomatoes are fruits and fruits have some natural carbs. I feel I can get away with a lower-carb life by not denying myself tomatoes, especially because of all of their other health benefits, touted in the health news of late. But, be careful when purchasing tomatoes of any kind in a can: Check to make sure the product is sugar free. More foods than any of us would care to know about, and especially tomatoes, are spiked with unnatural and additional sweeteners and sugars.