WSVN — French country cooking is always tasty and stick-to-your ribs magnifique. That’s what’s on the menu tonight as we grab a Bite with Belkys.
The Chef: Steven Rojas
The Restaurant: Seagrape at the Thompson Miami Beach
The Dish: Chicken Cassoulet
Ingredients:
4 each chicken breast about 6-7 oz size (skin on)
3 oz canola oil
Salt and pepper to taste
Cassoulet Vegetables
Pre-soak beans (cannellini beans)
1 cup carrot ½ inch dice
1 cup parsnips ½ inch dice
1 cup rutabaga ½ inch dice
1 cup celery root ½ inch dice
1 cup of pearl onions peeled and scored
4 oz of Chicken apple sausage cut into chunks
2 qt of chicken stock
1 pint of chicken jus
1 cup of sliced kale in to 1/4 in strips (stem removed)
4 oz butter diced
2 oz of olive oil blend
Method of Preparation:
-Start by salting a chicken breast. Sprinkle on some pepper, then put olive oil in a skillet and sauté for several minutes.
– When the chicken is caramelized to a nice golden brown, finish in the oven at 350 degrees for 5-6 minutes.
– Next, slice chicken sausage into bite-sized pieces. Put olive oil in a pan and add butter, the sausage and forest mushrooms. When the sausage starts to cook add pearl onions and stir. Add chopped parsnips, carrots, rutabaga and stir again. Make sure the fat from the sausage coats the veggies. Add salt and pepper and cook for another 5 minutes or so. Add thinly sliced kale and stir again. Now, add soaked cannellini beans with a little more salt and pepper. Add more butter and let it melt. Then add chicken stock and cover it in parchment paper with a hole in the middle. (That’s to let the sauce evaporate and get thick. If you cover completely, the sauce won’t reduce.)
– Put it in the oven at 350 degrees for 45 minutes. When the chicken is ready, add butter and baste both sides of the chicken. Let it rest a couple of minutes then slice it up.
To Plate:
– When the cassoulet comes out of the oven, add a bit more salt and butter and it’s ready to plate. In a serving dish, put the cassoulet then the chicken on top. Sprinkle with pepper and drizzle on some sauce from the cassoulet.
Serving suggestion: Pinot Noir
Serves: 4
Seagrape
Thompson Miami Beach
4041 Collins Ave.Miami Beach, FL 33140
786.605.4043
http://www.seagrapemiamibeach.com/
Show a copy of the recipe and get a complimentary signature cocktail now through May 28 and for the latest and greatest on all things culinary, check out my Bite Blog.