Sancocho

ingredients (6 servings):

Soup:

• olive oil

• 6 scallions, chopped

• 4 cloves of garlic, chopped

• 1 tomato, chopped

• 6 skinless chicken thighs on the bone

• 2 dl chopped cilantro leaves and stems, divided

• 3 medium red potatoes, peeled and chopped into 6 pieces

• 300 g cassava root, peeled and chopped into 6 pieces

• 3 medium ears of corn, cut in half

• 0,5 medium green plantain, peeled and chopped into 2 cm pieces

• 1 tsp cumin

• 2 chicken bouillon cubes

Recipe from: https://www.skinnytaste.com

Soup:

In a large pot, saute scallions and garlic in oil. Add tomatoes and saute another minute. Add chicken pieces and season with a little salt. Saute for a few minutes, then add the cassava and plantain and fill the pot with 1,8l water.

Add chicken bouillon, cumin and half of the cilantro and cover pot.

Simmer on low for about 40 minutes. After 40 minutes, adjust salt and add potatoes, cook for an additional 10 minutes.

Add corn and cook until corn is cooked.

Serve in large bowls, and top with cilantro.

Mock Turtle Soup

Ingredients (4 servings):

Chicken:

• 4 hard boiled eggs

• 2 tbsp butter

• 1 yellow onion, diced

• 3 stalks of celery, chopped

• 2 serrano peppers, stems removed and minced

• 500g beef loin, trimmed and cubed (beef knuckle-fransyska)

• 5 dl chicken broth

• 2 tbsp tomato paste

• 2.5 dl cooking sherry

• 500g boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cubed

• 3 garlic cloves, smashed

• 1 dl fresh parsley (+ more for garnish)

How to:

Soup:

In a dutch oven melt the butter, over medium heat. Add onion, celery, peppers and beef stir and cook until beef has browned. Then add the chicken broth and sherry and stir until all is combined. Let it simmer for 1 hour.

Add the chicken, tomato, garlic and parsley and simmer for another 30 minutes. Then chop 2 of the eggs and add them as well, cook for another 5 minutes. 

When serving, remove the garlic. Pour the soup into bowls, cut the other two eggs in quarters lengthwise and add it as a garnish with some more parsley.

Iran: Khoresh Fesenjan

Ingredients (4 servings):

Chicken:

• 1.5 large yellow onion sliced thin

• 2 tbsp vegetable oil 

• 1 kg chicken drumsticks or thighs

• 225 g walnuts

• 0.5 dl cold water

• 2 dl pomegranate concentrate

• 0.25 tsp salt

• 0.25 tsp freshly cracked black pepper

• Pomegranate seeds for garnish

How to:

Chicken:

Add walnuts to a food processor and process until it turns to a tan-colored paste.

With the food processor running add 0.5 dl cold water through the feed chute. Continue processing until the paste becomes uniformly beige in color.

Fry the sliced onions in the vegetable oil in a large pot until golden brown. Remove from the pot. Add chicken to the same pot and top it with the fried onions. Spoon the walnut paste evenly over the fried onions. Sprinkle it with salt and pepper. Drizzle the pomegranate concentrate over all the ingredients.

Bring to a boil over medium heat. 

Reduce the heat to low, cover the pot and simmer for 1 hour 30 minutes,or until the sauce is thickened and the chicken is fork tender and falls off the bone. 

Stir every 15 minutes or so to make sure the sauce does not stick to the pot. Transfer the Fesenjan to a serving dish and sprinkle some pomegranate seeds on top as garnish.

Serve over rice.

**This recipe is from: https://persianmama.com/chicken-in-walnut-pomegranate-sauce-khoresht-fesenjan/

Orange Chicken

Ingredients (4 servings):

Chicken:

• 800g chicken

• 1 tsp salt

• 1 tsp onion powder

• 1 tsp paprika

• 0.5 tsp black pepper

• 1 tbsp oil

Sauce:

• 1.5 dl orange juice

• 1.5 tbsp cornstarch

• 2 tbsp oil

• 1 tbsp chinese soy sauce

• 1.5 tbsp rice vinegar

• 2 tbsp brown sugar

• 0.5 tsp ginger powder

• 1 tsp garlic powder 

• 1 tsp black pepper

Topping:

• sesame seeds

• green onions

• slice of orange

How to:

Chicken:

Cut the chicken into pieces. Heat up about 1 tbsp of vegetable oil in a pan, add the chicken and cook for 5 minutes. Add salt, onion powder, black pepper and lastly paprika. Cook until done.

Sauce:

In a small saucepan add all the ingredients and mix thoroughly.

Heat it up and whisk constantly until it thickens up. Pour the mixture over the chicken and cook everything for 2 more minutes.

Garnish with green onion and sesame seeds.

Zereshk Polo Ba Morgh

Ingredients (6 servings):

Chicken Ingredients:

• A few tablespoons vegetable oil 

• 6 pieces of bone in chicken (I use drumsticks)

• 1 large yellow onion, chopped

• 2 cloves garlic, minced

• 1.5 tsp turmeric

• 0.25 tsp cinnamon

• 0.25 tsp nutmeg

• 0.25 tsp cardamom 

• 0.25 tsp cumin

• 0.25 tsp coriander

• 0.25 tsp chili powder

• 2 tbsp tomato paste

• 6 dl chicken stock

• 0.5 of the saffron water (see below)

• salt and pepper to taste

Saffron Water:

• 0.25 tsp of saffron, ground with a pestle and mortar 

• 1 ice cube

Sprinkle the saffron in a small dish over the ice cube and allow the ice cube to melt. Set aside.

Rice Ingredients:

• 3 dl basmati rice (dry)

• Half of the reserved saffron water

How to:

Chicken Directions:

Heat the oil over medium high in a large pot. Combine the spices and sprinkle a little on the chicken. Saute the chicken and onion in the oil until browned.  Add the garlic and continue cooking for about 30 seconds. Add the remaining spices, tomato paste, half of the saffron water (reserve half for the rice!) and chicken stock. Simmer until chicken becomes very tender and sauce thickens and reduces. If the chicken gets done before the sauce is thick and reduced, then remove the chicken from the pot and continue simmering until the sauce is done.

Rice Directions:

Cook the rice according to the package directions. 

Pour the rice into a serving bowl. In a separate bowl, combine 1 dl of the cooked rice with the reserved saffron water. Spread the saffron rice over the top of the rest of the rice. 

Flying Jacob

Ingredients (4 servings):

• 800 g chicken

• oil

• salt

• pepper

• 140 g bacon, diced

• 1 banana

• 2.5 dl heavy cream 

• 1 dl chili sauce (ketchup based, like heinz chili sauce)   

• 4 portions of rice 

• 1 dl salted peanuts 

How to:

Turn oven to 225C. 

Cut the chicken into small bite size pieces, then saute them. Pour into a baking dish. saute the bacon as well and pour it over the chicken. cut the banana into slices add it to the chicken. 

In a small bowl whisk together cream and chili sauce and add some salt and pepper to taste. Pour the mixture over the chicken and put the baking dish in the oven for 20 minutes. 

Cook the rice according to the package. 

When the dish is ready, add some salted peanuts to it and serve! :) Enjoy.