Estonian chicken - sort of

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I have never cooked a Baltic dish before, and what’s more, regretfully, I have never visited any of the three Baltic states. I can make amends for the first this week.

I was sent an Estonian recipe by Tribe member Francine in Texas, and I was struck by the mixture of spices. Her recipe was a bit long and complicated, and it called for whole chicken thighs and a long bake in the oven. Alicia wasn’t up for a long wait for her dinner, and to be honest, neither was I.

So, this is a modified version which takes about 30 minutes from start to finish. How Estonian it still is I leave to the Estonians. But it is really delicious!

What makes it are the spices—I love the use of fennel and rosemary. Fennel, surprisingly is a member of the carrot family—though it looks more onion-like. It’s known as a medicinal plant. Some studies have shown that fennel—particularly the seeds—has anticancer, antimicrobial, antiviral, and anti-inflammatory properties.

Rosemary is a part of the mint family and is rich in iron, calcium and vitamin B-6. Historically it was used to improve memory and concentration, digestion and to ward off aging. Sounds good.

Garlic and onion are, as I have said before, super foods.

I used to be very fond of Merlot (in extreme moderation, as in half a glass a couple of times a week) but the news about alcohol in any quantity has been universally bad of late, so I gave up that quaff. But I have a number of bottles left over and it’s great for cooking (a lot of the alcohol evaporates in cooking and with this recipe only about 40% of it will be left).

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‍Ingredients

• 1 ½ tblsp minced garlic
• 1 kg (2 lbs) skinless chicken breast, cut into large bite-sized pieces  
• 1 tsp fennel seeds (or ground fennel)
• 1 tsp chili flakes
• 1 tblsp rosemary
• 2 tblsp olive oil
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1/2 cup red wine
• 400 gms (14 oz) diced tomatoes
• 1 cup low-salt chicken stock
• 2 tblsp lemon juice
• 1 cup frozen peas
• 1 tblsp fresh parsley, chopped
• Pepper

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‍Directions:

1. Sprinkle the chicken with fennel, chili flakes, rosemary, and pepper.
2. Heat oil in a large skillet over high heat. Brown the chicken for about 2 minutes. Make sure that the spices are cooked into the pieces. Remove to a plate and set aside.
3. Reduce skillet heat to medium-low. Add onions and garlic and sauté for 5 to 7 minutes, or until the onion is soft.
4. Add red wine, bring to a boil, cover and let simmer until it’s reduced by half. Add tomatoes and stock and simmer for 5 minutes.
5. Add the lemon zest, juice, season with pepper.
6. Stir in the peas and return the chicken to the skillet.
7. Cook for 10 – 15 minutes, until the chicken is entirely cooked through.
8. Sprinkle the entire dish with chopped parsley and serve.

‍Serves: 6

‍Energy: 1116 kJs (279 calories)