by Paul Cormier, Salamanders of Kemptville
Another family favourite at the farm is Chicken Polese, though we aren’t the least bit Italian. This goes back to when Graham Kerr had his terrific cooking show on television some years ago (he is still with us and in his mid-80s, by the way). Now, you can spend all day cooking a good Polese, and Grandma Beth is sometimes motivated to do so. The recipe below is a shortcut and can be ready quite quickly, if you factor in pre-cooking the chicken ahead of time.
Ingredients:
1 small chicken
Poultry seasoning, e.g., garlic, sage, thyme, salt, pepper
2 jars of pasta sauce (any flavour is fine)
1 ½ cup grated mozzarella cheese
¼ cup of grated parmesan cheese
1 package medium width linguine noodles
Preparation and Cooking:
Pre-cook the chicken as you normally would by baking in a covered pan with your favourite poultry seasoning till done (e.g. 1 to 1 ½ hour at 375F). Don’t turn off your oven when done.
Pour the pasta sauce in a largish pot (one with a lid). Dismember the chicken into legs, thighs, breasts, and remainder and dunk into the sauce. Heat at low heat, covered, until the sauce with the chicken bubbles lightly. Keep hot on low heat.
Meanwhile, cook the linguine till you reach the al dente stage. Don’t overcook. Drain. Place on an oven-proof platter. Place the chicken pieces on the pasta. Drizzle the leftover sauce onto the noodles as well. Sprinkle the mozzarella cheese on top of the entire dish.
Place in your 375F oven until the cheese is melted. Remove briefly, sprinkle with parmesan cheese and put back in the oven for another 5 minutes or so.
Now, if you want to get fancy and creative, check out Graham Kerr’s version of the recipe online. Obviously, you can make your own pasta sauce; you can also add ingredients such as fried onions and green/red peppers to the pre-made sauce. Also, you can use pre-packaged chicken breasts and/or thighs, if you prefer.
Don’t hesitate to be in touch at pcormier@ranaprocess.com. See you next week…
