Chicken with Mushrooms, Black Olives, Capers & White Bean Mash
Serves 4
I’ve loved chicken from as far back as I can remember. Chicken was on the menu at least once a week in our family home when we were kids growing up in Newcastle. My mother would either roast it along with potatoes, parsnips, carrots, and onions or it might be cooked as a casserole with tons of vegetables from my father’s garden. Every now and again my mother would get very adventurous and make a chicken Indian curry with basmati rice and naan bread.
Once a month we would stay at my aunt Eveline’s house, arriving on Friday evening and leaving Sunday afternoon. Tom and Eveline were our trendy aunt and uncle back in the early 1970’s. They would take us places my parents couldn’t since my dad didn’t drive back then. My Uncle Tom loved to travel around the country with us in his mustard colored Range Rover. It might be a two-day trip to the lakes, a day at South Shields beach or a trip to Edinburgh castle. My aunt would always make the best picnic baskets full of homemade goodies, such as freshly made sandwiches, sausage rolls, pasties, and cakes. One thing that was always in the basket was roast chicken.
My aunt would cook it the day before, chill it overnight and then the next day pull off the drumsticks, the thighs and breast meat. She’d wrap it in plastic and keep it on ice until we ate it at a nearby park or where ever we ended up. At the end of the meal, she would always pull out the wish bone and us three kids would fight over whose turn it was to break it and make a wish. Being the smallest, it was usually my big brother Michael and sister Julie who won the fight. The best memories for me have always been family gatherings with freshly cooked homemade items. Whether it be at home, picnics, traveling somewhere new or revisiting a childhood vacation, food, family, and friends make the best times.
This recipe with chicken, mushrooms, black olives, capers and white bean mash is a modern twist on the old time, favorite from the 1970’s. We are going to gently bake the chicken in the oven with ingredients that will infuse the meat with a sweet but slightly bitter flavor profile from the black olives, capers and tomato puree. This recipe pairs best with bean mash instead of the usual mashed potatoes. The asparagus cooked with a hint of garlic adds an earthy aroma to the finished meal. If my aunt were still alive, this would be the type of trendy dish she would serve to us hungry adults. Enjoy the food and make happy memories.
Ingredients:
For the chicken
4 chicken legs (thigh & leg, free range, organic if possible)
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 small onion, peeled and roughly chopped
1 medium size carrot, washed and roughly chopped
1 celery stick, washed and roughly chopped
2 garlic cloves, peeled and minced
2 fresh rosemary sprigs
1 cup mixed wild mushrooms, sliced
1 cup red wine, preferably Chianti
2 tablespoons tomato purée
2 cups low sodium chicken stock
3 tablespoons black olives, pitted
1 medium jalapeno, seeds removed and flesh roughly chopped
1 tablespoon baby capers
For the bean mash:
4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
1 tablespoon of freshly chopped rosemary leaves
1 lemon, finely grated zest only
2 16oz low sodium cannellini or garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
For the garlic asparagus:
1 bunch fresh asparagus, trimmed of the tough wooden bottoms
1 teaspoon olive oil
1 garlic clove, peeled and thinly sliced
Pinch of flakes
How to make:
Pre-heat oven to 380◦F. Season the chicken legs with salt and pepper. Take a heavy saucepan, add the oil and place over a medium to high heat on the stove. Add the chicken legs and color on all sides, approximately five to six minutes. Remove the legs and place on a plate lined with kitchen towels.
Add the onion, carrot, celery, garlic and rosemary to the pan and gently cook for five minutes to color and soften the vegetables. Add the mushrooms and cook for a further five minutes.
Pour in the red wine and allow it to reduce by half. Add the tomato puree and stock along with the chicken legs, olives, jalapeno and capers. Bring to a boil. Place on the lid or cover with foil before putting in the oven and bake for 35 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through.
While the chicken is in the oven, start to make the bean mash and asparagus. Take a medium size saucepan and add the oil. Place the pan over a low heat, and add the garlic, chopped rosemary and lemon zest. Cook for two to three minutes. Add the beans to the pan and warm through, stirring and mashing them at the same time. Season with salt and pepper. Place into a warm dish and keep warm until serving.
Place the asparagus into a microwave container and season. Then add the sliced garlic and one tablespoon of water and one teaspoon of olive oil. Place in the microwave and cook on high for 1½ minutes. Remove from the microwave and shake the container to cover the asparagus in the oil and garlic. Remove the lid and tip the asparagus into a warm bowl. Sprinkle with the chili flakes and keep warm until serving.
Remove the chicken from the oven and serve with the bean mash and asparagus.