It's Oscar night and I'm thinking we'll have something classy, sophisticated, you know, really upscale...turns out we had Hash - Chicken Basil Hash that is. No worries though, it wasn't as frumpy as it sounds. Actually it turned out to be one of the best meals I've ever made, according to my husband. Now, let me explain all the steps, in the order of Oscar night.
As the stars were walking down the red carpet I washed my chicken breasts and prepped them for the oven with some salt, pepper and, of course, basil. These babies were a bargain at 99cents a pound. I prepared all four of the chicken breasts called for in the recipe, but I only used two in the actual hash and saved the other bits of chicken for later recipes in the week.
After watching a quick interview with Tim Gunn (love that guy) and Marissa Tomei (loved the dress) I got my veggies ready. The recipe called for two pounds of potatoes. I had four red potatoes and figured that would do. It also called for two red onions, but I only had one, so that did as well. Same goes for the red pepper. I did, however, have enough garlic (three cloves). Done and done!
Now, it was time to boil the taters. I put them in a pan with water, butter, salt and pepper. Did you know that butter prevents your potatoes from boiling over? No kidding! You've got to try it. Boil those tats for ten minutes. (Just enough time to see J.T. walk down the red carpet)
I forgot to mention that as your taters are boiling, your chicken is in the oven for about 28 minutes or so, and it looks delicious when it comes out of the oven. Check it out! Wait for it to cool, then dice it.
It's nearly time for the opening of the Oscars and now I've got to fry the potatoes and prepare the red peppers.
Here's the taters fryin'. They pretty much cook themselves, just give them a nudge every once and awhile. Note Sandra Bullock's stunning red dress and witty comments. Back to work in the kitchen.
As the potatoes are frying, get those onions sweatin' in the dutch oven. (Thanks, Mom!)
Goodness, don't forget to dice the chicken.
NOTE: Do not do it when the chicken is hot, it's really not too fun.
Now put it all together in the pot...yum!
And serve it with some sour cream and cheddar cheese on top. Now, how classy is that?!
Pull up the nearest TV tray and enjoy the Oscars and some delicious hash.
Found on Food Network.com
By: Ina Garten
Ingredients
- 2 whole (4 split) chicken breasts, bone-in, skin-on ( I used 2 of the 4 split chicken breasts)
- 16 basil leaves ( I used dry basil and it worked just fine)
- Olive Oil
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
- 2 pounds boiling potatoes, peeled and large diced ( I used 4)
- 2 red onions, chopped ( I used 1)
- 2 red bell peppers, large diced (1 again!)
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- 4 minced scallions, white and green parts
- 1/4 cup chopped fresh leaf parsley (Whoops, I forgot to add this)
- Sour cream, Cheddar and sliced lemons, for serving
Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Place the chicken breasts on a baking sheet. Loosen the skin from the meat with your fingers, leaving one side attached. Place 4 basilleaves under the skin of each chicken breast. Pull the skin over as much of the meat as possible so the chicken won't dry out. With your hands, rub each piece with olive oil and sprinkle very generously with salt and pepper. Bake the chicken for 35 to 40 minutes, until the skin is lightly browned and the chicken is just cooked through. Set aside until cool enough to handle, then remove the meat from the bones. Cut the chicken in large dice pieces and set aside.
Melt 4 tablespoons of the butter in a large saute pan. Add thepotatoes and onions, 1 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper and saute over medium heat for about 10 minutes, until evenly browned and cooked through.
In a separate saute pan, melt the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter. Add the red peppers, garlic, thyme, paprika, tomato paste, 1 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper and saute over medium heat for about 5 minutes, until the edges of the peppers are seared.
Add the chicken and the pepper mixture to the potatoes and heat through. Add the scallions and parsley, toss together and place on a serving platter.
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