Wednesday 19 February 2014

Dill Chicken


One of the most popular recipes on Pass the Garum, and indeed my personal favourite so far, is Dill Chicken. This recipe captures all of the flavours of ancient Rome and brings them together in one delicious dish.  When we first encountered it, it was as Roast Dill Chicken, but since then, I've taken to cooking it as a stew, making it taste even better than before.  So, whilst I'm wary about re-using old recipes, I think that this is one which you'll be more than happy to cook again and again.

Dill Chicken
(Serves 2)

Ingredients


  • Handful of Fresh Dill
  • Handful of Fresh Mint
  • 1/2 tsp Asafoetida
  • 1 tbsp Red Wine Vinegar
  • 2 tbsp Liquamen
  • 5 Dried Dates
  • 1 tbsp Wholegrain Mustard
  • 1 tbsp Olive Oil
  • 2 tbsp Caroenum or Balsamic Glaze
  • 2 Chicken Breasts


Method

  • Add the dates to a mortar, removing the stones if there are any. Add just enough water to cover the dates, then crush with a pestle to form a date paste.
  • Wash the dill and mint leaves.  Chop them finely, or tear apart and add to the mortar alongside the asafoetida, red wine vinegar, liquamen, mustard, and caroenum/balsamic glaze.  Crush everything until it is well mixed.
  • Dice the chicken into bite-size pieces.  You're going to cook the chicken using the hob, so heat the oil in a saucepan/frying pan/casserole/earthenware dish.  When it is hot enough, add the chicken pieces and cook for a few minutes.
  • Add the dill sauce to the pot, mix everything together, and cook on a low heat for 15-20 minutes.  If you have a lid, use it to keep moisture in.  If not, add a bit of water if it starts to look too dry.  The sauce should be quite thick, so don't add too much water.
  • Once the chicken is cooked, the Dill Chicken is ready to serve.  I recommend it with the Lentil and Root Veg Mash, or the Parsnip Mash, as these absorb the sauce well.

4 comments:

  1. Hi Neill, we tried this recipe tonight, and really enjoyed the ancient flavors. It has some saltiness, some sweetness, and some tanginess. The dill flavor was maybe the most prominent. We really enjoyed it. We didn't have a big enough mortar so we ended up making the sauce in a food processor, which was probably a decent substitue except the mustard grains didn't get crushed, we probably should have done those separately in the small mortar. Thanks for the idea.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Just prepared it this evening, using a replica of a Roman mortar. What a flavours, what a textures! I served it with the mustard beans as a side dish. Thank you for sharing those wonderful recipes.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Valuable information ..I am delighted to read this article..thank you for giving us this useful information. Great walk-through. I value this post.
    holy food

    ReplyDelete
  4. missing your blogposts! are you still cooking? :-)

    ReplyDelete