When Emily told me the Greek flavor and light proteins (such as chicken) can go well with Cabernet Franc as a tip to prepare a pairing dish for "Bordeaux Wine Tasting" *, the only thing on my mind was Greek yogurt; ‘Hmm… Greek yogurt. Isn’t it obviously Greek?’. (* Please click here to find out more about the "Bordeaux Wine Tasting" event.)
My thoughts on Greek chicken which began simply from Greek yogurt ended up with a memory of a dish that I had from 'Chef’s Table at Brooklyn Fare', Chef César's "Kataifi-crusted black sea bass on top of dill aioli". The dish was not exactly a Greek dish, but I am sure the aioli had some of Greek yogurt flavor (or maybe the chef added sour cream), and also kataifi is simply shredded phyllo dough which is "Greek".
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| Bordeaux Wine Tasting | Chef’s Table at Brooklyn Fare, January 2010 |
But then, I was still not sure how Greeks eat chicken. I asked Linda, who claims herself as a "pure-blood Greek girl", how she cooks her chicken in a Greek way. Linda's short but clear answer was "My YiaYia (which means ‘grandmother’ in Greek) uses tons of lemon! Oh, and oregano". (Please check out Linda's amazing food blog, The Cheeky Chef.)
Kataifi crusted Chicken with full of Greek flavor
A perfect pairing for a glass of Cabernet Franc
(Yield: 8-10 bite size pieces* / Cooking time: 45 minutes**)
* the yield varies depending on the size of chicken breast and how you cut it.
** 45 minuntes of cooking time doesn't include marinade time for chicken.
Ingredients:
[Chicken]
+ one big piece of boneless, skinless chicken breast or two small ones
+ 2 lemons
+ a few spring of oregano
+ 1 garlic clove, crushed
+ 2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
+ 1 egg
+ flour (ideally, Wondra flour*)
+ kataifi dough (sold in a box at frozen food section)
+ grape seed oil or any neutral high smoking point vegetable oil for frying
+ salt and pepper
* Wondra flour is actually a brand name of a instant flour but used as a generic noun usually. The flour is in low protein and makes a light and crispy crust when you use it for frying. I use Wondra flour for pan fried fish mostly.
Wondra flour and Kataifi dough
[Greek yogurt sauce]
+ 2 Tbsp Greek yogurt cup
+ 3 Tbsp whipped heavy cream
+ a few spring of dill
+ a half Fuji apple (*I prefer Fuji apple because of the sweetness and crunchiness, but you can replace it with any of your favorite apples)
+ quater roasted red bell pepper (you can either roast your bell pepper on the stove, or just buy a jar of roasted bell pepper)
+ 1 lemon
+ salt
Procedures:
We are going to prepare apple, dill, and roasted pepper first, then cook chicken, and make the sauce at the end right before the final assembly.
[Apple, dill, and roasted red bell pepper]
1. Apple: First, squeeze lemon juice from one lemon, and peel the apple. Cut into thin slice first and then cut into brunoise (3mm dice or 1/8-inch dice). Submerge the prepared apple into lemon juice as soon as possible to avoid any browning of your apple.
2. Dill: pick the soft leaves and stems only and chop it to 4mm length.
3. Roasted red bell pepper: cut into brunoise (3mm dice or 1/8-inch dice).
[Chicken]
1. Slice one of the lemon thinly, and make zest from the other and squeeze the juices. Make sure your zest is only from the outer part of lemon skin but no pith.
2. Pick oregano leaves from the stems and chop coarsely. If you are using dry Oregano, use just little less than a teaspoon.
*TIP: Dry herbs vs. fresh herbs
I prefer fresh herbs in most of cases because they have more gentle and fresh aroma. The rule of thumb is to replace the fresh herb with dry herbs at 1:3 ratio (one part of dry herbs can replace three parts of fresh herbs, or vice versa).
3. In a large bowl, mix two Tbsp extra virgin olive oil, #1 (lemon and the juice), #2 (oregano) and a crushed garlic clove. This is our "marinade" for chicken.
4. Portion the chicken breast to bite size pieces, and marinate with #3. Tightly cover and place in a refrigerator for more than three hours up to overnight.
5. While chicken is getting marinated, set up for kataifi crust - In a shallow bowl, beat one egg with a splash of water. Spread the flour (ideally, Wondra flour) in another shallow bowl, and spread the kataifi dough in another shallow bowl.
6. Take out chicken from refrigerator, and clean the marinade from chicken surface. Gently pat the chicken pieces with paper towel to remove excess marinade liquid. Season with salt and pepper.
7. Coat each piece (one by one) with flour and shake off the excess first, then deep in the beaten egg, and finally roll them in the kataifi; press gently to help it stick to each other.
Chickens covered with kataifi dough (before frying)
8. In a pot, heat frying oil to 350°F (177°C). Fry chicken pieces until the kataifi is golden brown and crisp, about 1-2 minute per side.
9. Drain the chicken on wired rack. Sprinkle salt over the fried chicken lightly for seasoning while the chicken is still hot.
Golden brown kataifi crusted chickens (after frying)
[Greek yogurt sauce]
1. Mix Greek yogurt and prepared apple, dill, and roasted red bell pepper in a bowl.
2. In another clean bowl, whip heavy cream until it has smooth and soft whipped cream consistency (soft peak consistency). If you over beat the cream, it will become grainy.
I forgot to take a picture with dills... ;)
3. Gently, fold the whipped cream into #1 – “Gently”, otherwise, whipped cream will be deflated and the sauce will loose fluffy texture we are looking for.
4. Taste and adjust the seasoning, and serve immediately – Whipped cream tends to be deflated and loose the fluffy texture quicker than you think. We cook chicken first and then make this sauce to shorten the time between the finishing and serving.
Enjoy~
Wine pairing:
Chinon "Canal des Grands Pièces", Domaine de L'R 2007
This French wine from Loire Valley has enough acidity and aggressive herbal note and yet soft tannin and light character which will not overpower the poultry dish. The Cabernet Franc really works well with the Greek flavor in the dish (especially the roasted red bell pepper in yogurt sauce) and the fruitiness from the wine complements the apples in yogurt sauce.
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