Mark Bittman's Quick and Easy Recipes from the New York Times (20 page)

2.
Broil for about 10 minutes, or until the lemon is browned and the birds appear cooked on this side; rotate the pan in the oven if necessary. Turn the birds, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and return to the broiler. Cook for another 10 minutes, or until the skin of the birds is nicely browned. Meanwhile, slice the remaining lemon as you did the first.

3.
Lay the lemon slices on the birds’ skin side and return to the broiler; broil for another 5 minutes, by which time the lemons will be slightly browned and the meat cooked through; if it isn’t, cook for an additional couple of minutes. Drizzle with the balsamic vinegar, garnish if you like, and serve.

VARIATION

In step 3, spread 1 teaspoon finely minced garlic combined with 1 tablespoon minced fresh rosemary (or 1 teaspoon dried) on the birds’ skin after it browns but before covering with the lemon slices.

MAKES 4 SERVINGS

TIME: 10 MINUTES

STIR-FRYING—
the fastest cooking method there is—can change your life. You can use it for almost anything, and it can be so fast that the first thing you need to do is start a batch of white rice. In the fifteen or twenty minutes it takes for that to cook, you can not only prepare the stir-fry but set the table and have a drink.

For many stir-fries made at home, it’s necessary to parboil—essentially precook—“hard” vegetables like broccoli or asparagus. So in this fastest possible stir-fry, I use red bell peppers, onions, or both; they need no parboiling and become tender and sweet in three or four minutes. If you cut the meat into small cubes or thin slices, the cooking time is even shorter.

I include nuts here for three reasons: I love their flavor, their chunkiness adds great texture (I don’t chop them at all), and the preparation time is zero.

1.
Put the oil in a large nonstick skillet (12 inches is best) over high heat; a minute later, add the vegetables in a single layer and cook, undisturbed, until they begin to char a little on the bottom, about 1 minute. Stir and cook for 1 minute more.

2.
Add the chicken and stir once or twice. Again, cook until the bottom begins to blacken a bit, about a minute. Stir and cook for another minute; by this time the vegetables will have softened and the chicken will be done, or nearly so (cut into a piece to check). Lower the heat to medium.

3.
Stir in the nuts and the hoisin sauce. Cook for about 15 seconds, then add 2 tablespoons water. Cook, stirring, until the sauce is bubbly and glazes all the chicken and vegetables. Serve immediately, with white rice.

VARIATIONS

• Substitute any vegetable, or combination, for the peppers and onions. Try cut-up and parboiled (simmered in boiling water just until slightly tender) broccoli, asparagus, green beans, or dark leafy greens; shredded raw cabbage; raw snow peas; or chopped tomatoes.

• Use any boneless meat in place of the chicken, or shrimp or scallops. Cooking time will remain the same.

• Sprinkle the meat with about 1 tablespoon curry powder as it cooks.

• Along with the hoisin, add ground bean paste (about 1 tablespoon), plum sauce (about 1 tablespoon), or chili-garlic paste (about ½ teaspoon, or to taste) during the last minute of cooking.

• Replace the hoisin with 3 or 4 small dried hot red chiles (optional), 1 tablespoon minced garlic, 1 tablespoon soy sauce, and ½ cup chopped scallion, all added along with the nuts.

NOTE

Look for a brand of hoisin sauce whose first ingredient is fermented soybeans rather than sugar or water; the flavor will be more intense.

MAKES 4 SERVINGS

TIME: 30 MINUTES

SAUTÉED CHICKEN SHOULD
be crisp, moist, and flavorful, and you can accomplish this easily. Use a large skillet, or two smaller ones, because crowding the chicken pieces prevents them from browning. There should be sufficient room in the skillet so that the pieces barely touch each other, and they should certainly not overlap. This recipe contains no added fat—the bird provides plenty of its own—so the skillet should be nonstick, or at least well seasoned.

1.
Put the chicken, skin side down, in a nonstick skillet large enough to accommodate it without crowding; use 2 skillets if necessary. Turn the heat to medium and season with salt and pepper. Cook, adjusting the heat and moving chicken pieces around as needed to brown them evenly. As they become evenly golden brown on the first side—not very dark, but crisp looking—after about 10 minutes, turn them. Season the skin with salt, pepper, and paprika and brown on the other side. When nearly done, add the garlic to the skillet. When browned, turn the pieces skin side down again.

2.
Continue to cook, turning once or twice more if necessary, until no traces of red blood remain when you cut into a piece or two. Garnish if you like and serve.

MAKES 4 SERVINGS

TIME: 20 MINUTES

MEUNIÈRE
ONCE REFERRED
to fillets of sole that were floured and quickly sautéed in clarified butter, then finished with parsley, lemon juice, and a little melted butter. Over the years its definition has expanded, to the point where it describes a series of flexible techniques that can be applied to just about any thin cut of meat, poultry, or fish, all of which makes it more useful.

You must preheat the skillet before adding the oil (or clarified butter, if you’re feeling extravagant) and you must use a large, flat-bottomed skillet, preferably nonstick, with deep, sloping sides, which makes turning the cutlets easier and keeps the inevitable spattering to a minimum.

1.
Heat a 12-inch skillet, preferably nonstick, over medium-high heat for about 2 minutes. While it is heating, sprinkle the chicken with salt and pepper to taste and put the flour or cornmeal on a plate.

2.
Put the oil or clarified butter in the skillet—it should coat the bottom well—and turn the heat to high. When the oil is hot, dredge a piece of the chicken in the coating, turning it over a few times and pressing it down so that it is well covered. Add the piece to the pan, then repeat with the rest of the chicken.

3.
Cook until the chicken is nicely browned on the first side, 3 to 5 minutes, then turn. Cook on the second side for 2 to 4 minutes—lower the heat a bit if the coating begins to scorch—until the chicken is firm
to the touch. As the chicken is cooking, melt the butter if you’re using it over medium heat until it is nut-brown.

4.
When the chicken is done, drain it briefly on a paper towel, then transfer to a warm platter. Drizzle with lemon juice and top with half the parsley. At the last minute, pour the browned butter over all, add the remaining parsley, and serve.

VARIATIONS

• For the chicken, you can substitute similarly shaped cutlets of pork, turkey, or veal, all of which will cook through in 6 to 8 minutes, just like the chicken. Shrimp, scallops, and calf’s liver can also be cooked this way, all for somewhat less time—generally 4 to 6 minutes.

• Chicken breasts made this way can be prepared in advance and served at room temperature; don’t hold them for more than a couple of hours, however.

• Substitute bread crumbs (season them with finely minced garlic and fresh parsley if you like), ground nuts, or sesame seeds for the flour or cornmeal.

• Stir a tablespoon or more of any spice mixture, like chili powder or curry powder, into the coating.

• Add a garlic clove and/or a small handful of chopped fresh herbs to the browning butter.

• Add a teaspoon of balsamic vinegar and/or a tablespoon of capers to the browning butter (omit the lemon juice).

MAKES 4 SERVINGS

TIME: 1 HOUR

HERE’S A METHOD
that takes less than an hour and results in a crisp bird from which nearly all of the fat has been rendered. It’s accomplished by the simple procedure of cutting up the duck, then cooking it, covered, on top of the stove. Served hot or at room temperature, the bird is crisp, tender, and far more flavorful than any chicken.

1.
Cut the duck into 6 or 8 serving pieces. Reserve the wing tips, back, and neck for stock. (Cut the gizzard into slices and cook along with the duck if you like; reserve the liver for another use.) Put the duck, skin side down, in a 12-inch skillet. Sprinkle it with salt and pepper, add the garlic and a few thyme sprigs, and turn the heat to medium-high. When the duck begins to sizzle, cover and turn the heat to medium.

2.
After 15 minutes, turn the duck and season the skin side. After 15 more minutes, uncover the skillet and turn the heat back to medium-high. Cook the duck, turning as necessary, so that it browns nicely on both sides; this will take another 15 minutes.

3.
Serve hot or at room temperature. Strip some of the leaves from the remaining thyme sprigs and use them as a garnish if you want.

VARIATION

Soy Duck

Rub the duck with salt, pepper, 1 tablespoon soy sauce, and 1 tablespoon dry sherry before putting it in the pan. When it is done, garnish with minced peeled fresh ginger or minced fresh cilantro.

MAKES 4 TO 6 SERVINGS

TIME: 1 HOUR OR MORE

THE WINE PLAYS
such a major role here that it’s worth buying the right one. Finding a good off-dry white is not difficult: Almost any German wine made with Riesling (the grape name will be on the label) will do, except for those labeled
trocken,
which means dry.

Although the cooking time for Chicken with Riesling is not short, it is largely unattended, and the dish can be made well in advance. In fact, as with many meat-and-liquid preparations, this may be more delicious on the second day. And this is a preparation that you can take in many directions, as you’ll see in the variations.

1.
Put the butter in a skillet large enough to hold the chicken and turn the heat to medium. Add the onions, a large pinch of salt, and some pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions soften completely and begin to melt into a soft mass, about 20 minutes.

2.
Add 1½ cups of the wine and let it bubble away for a minute, then tuck the chicken pieces among the onions; sprinkle the chicken with salt and pepper. Turn the heat to low and cover the pan.

3.
Cook, turning the chicken pieces once or twice, for 40 to 60 minutes, or until the chicken is very tender (the meat on the drumsticks will begin to loosen from the bone). If the dish appears to be drying out at any point, add the remaining wine.

4.
Serve the chicken, spooning the onions and their liquid over it.

VARIATIONS

• Cook the onions for 10 minutes or so longer before adding the wine, until they darken in color and become even softer.

• While the onions are cooking, brown the chicken by putting it, skin side up, in a 500°F oven for about 20 minutes. When you add the chicken to the onions, include some of its juice.

• Tuck a couple of bay leaves and/or a few sprigs of fresh thyme in among the onions after they’ve begun to soften.

• Sauté about ¼ pound of bacon or salt pork cut into ½-inch chunks in the pan before adding the onions.

• Cook about ½ pound of sliced mushrooms (or an ounce or two of dried porcini mushrooms, reconstituted) along with the onions.