Seasoned Veterans and Young Chicken

To all veterans: Happy Veterans Day and thank you for your service!

To all Marines: Happy Marine Birthday!

This post is dedicated to Jennifer, a beautiful lady with a huge heart, originally from Jamaica, and a retired Marine. When I ran the school, Jennifer was my right hand, my left hand, and most of the time, the best half of my brain. As a true Marine, she had my back. I knew that everything would be superbly organized, taken care of, and under control, always done with a lovely smile and a kind word for children with special needs whom we were serving.

Happy Veterans Day and Happy Marine Birthday, on behalf of my husband and myself, and Miami Beach Police Department! Here is a heartfelt tribute to all veterans from a great blogger Lori Greer (please read and come back for the recipe):

https://readlorigreer.com/2017/11/10/thank-you-for-your-service

I could’ve titled this post Young Veterans and Seasoned Chicken, since some veterans are quite young (youthful, dear Jennifer!) and this chicken is quite seasoned. However, the Hebrew word pargiyot is translated as “young chicken,” meaning actually little chicken – Cornish hen. Most Middle Eastern restaurants, though, simply use chicken thighs, especially for a highly seasoned boneless recipe like this one.

If you ask me what came first, the chicken or the egg, I’ll tell you – saffron! In addition to the usual Middle Eastern assortment of spices, such as cumin, cinnamon, and coriander, this scrumptious sauce is lemony yellow because of saffron. I made it in my Instant Pot, but you can bake it in the oven as well. Beat up your boneless chicken thighs with a meat tenderizer, cut them into bite size pieces, and marinade in lemon juice, combined with dry white wine and spices. Meanwhile, using Sauté setting, sauté sliced onion and garlic in olive oil for a few minutes until soft and translucent. Turn Instant Pot off and load it (or baking dish) with sliced carrot, celery, zucchini, Napa cabbage, and any other veggies you can think of, including yellow turmeric which is actually orange. Dump chicken thigh bites into it, together with marinade. Add a handful of fresh cilantro sprigs. Salt and pepper it, and mix it up. Set Instant Pot on Manual or start your oven and forget about it for an hour, until the tantalizing smell wafts from your kitchen, announcing its readiness.

Quinoa is a perfect accompaniment, with all these veggies steeped in the luscious sauce, and the young chicken practically melts in your mouth. Happy Veterans Day!

INGREDIENTS

• 1 lb boneless chicken thighs, tenderized and cut into bite size pieces
• 1/4 large yellow onion, sliced
• 3 – 4 garlic cloves, sliced
• 1 large carrot, cut into bite size pieces
• 1 celery stalk, cut into bite size pieces
• 1/2 small or medium size zucchini, cut into bite size pieces
• 1/2 cup napa cabbage, cut into bite size pieces
• 1 inch yellow turmeric, diced
• Large handful of fresh cilantro sprigs
• 1/3 cup lemon juice
• 1/3 cup dry white wine
• Pinch of cinnamon
• Pinch of cumin
• Pinch of coriander
• 1/2 teaspoon of saffron
• Salt and pepper to taste

PROCEDURE

• Marinate chicken pieces in lemon juice mixed with wine, saffron, cumin, cinnamon, and coriander.
• Sauté sliced onion and garlic in olive oil until soft and translucent.
• Combine chicken, together with marinade, vegetables, onion and garlic. Add fresh cilantro. Add salt and pepper. Mix well.
• In Instant Pot, set on Manual for 30 minutes. In oven, bake at 350 F for 1 hour, stirring occasionally.
• Serve on bed of quinoa, couscous, or brown rice. Complement with the same wine used for marinade.

Enjoy!