Tandoori Chicken Pizza

They say, imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, and I agree. 

We have a gem of a pizza place here in Lakewood called, Laventina's Pizza. They make the most amazing Tandoori Chicken Pizza. It's loaded with beautiful Indian spices, not only in their chicken, but in a delicious Tandoori paste that replaces the usual pizza sauce. It's then topped with cheese, Tandoori chicken, fresh tomatoes, red onions, cilantro, and thinly sliced jalapenos that lend just the right amount of heat. 
It is absolutely superb! So when I taste something this delicious, I want to try to recreate it here at home. So , if you aren't local to Lakewood and can't pick up the original, here is my humble attempt to recreate Laventina's Tandoori Chicken Pizza. Enjoy!

Note: Plan to marinate the chicken overnight for best flavor. Also I used naan flatbread instead of making my own pizza dough and used Serrano chilies instead of jalapenos. 

Tandoori Chicken Pizza

Tandoori Masala Spice Mix (recipe from Pepperscale)
3 T paprika
1 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground turmeric
1 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp ground fenugreek seeds
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1/4 tsp ground cardamom
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp black pepper

Mix all ingredients in a small bowl. Before use, heat powder in a large skillet for 30 seconds to 1 minute stirring until fragrant. Do not heat longer than a minute you do not want the oils to burn.

Tandoori Chicken
1 1/2 lbs chicken thighs, boneless, skinless
salt and pepper
1 cup Greek yogurt
2-3 T  Tandoori Spice mix

Marinate Chicken Thighs- Salt and pepper boneless, skinless chicken thighs and place in a plastic ziploc bag. In a small bowl, combine 1 cup of  Greek yogurt and about half of the prepared tandoori masala spice mix (2-3T) Add yogurt mixture to the chicken in the ziplock bag and squsih around to coat chicken. Refrigerate 2 hours or over night. Grill chicken and then chop into bite-sized pieces.

Tandoori Paste Pizza Sauce
2 T Tandoori Spice mix
2 T olive oil
2-3 T ketchup*
salt (to taste)

Heat spice mix with olive oil in a skillet until fragrant. 20-30 seconds. Add ketchup until mixture resembles a paste. Add salt to taste and set aside. 
*secret ingredient 😉

Tandoori Chicken Pizza
6 Naan Bread
Tandoori Paste Pizza Sauce (above)Tandoori Chicken, grilled and diced (above)
3-4 cups Mozzarella cheese, grated
2 small tomatoes, seeded and diced
1/2 small red onion, sliced
1-2 small serrano pepper, thinly sliced, seeds removed
cilantro leaves
red pepper flakes (to taste)

Assemble pizzas: Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Brush Naan flatbread generously with Tandoori paste. Add mozzarella cheese, chicken, onions, tomatoes and serrano pepper slices. Place in oven and bake for 10-12 minutes or until cheese is bubbly. Garnish with cilantro leaves and red pepper flakes to taste for more heat.

Other recipes to try:

Thai Chicken Enchiladas

Spicy Pork Wonton Tacos

Vegetable Ceviche

Moroccan Chicken with Couscous

It may be the first day of summer, but in my heart and mind it's always fall. I am drawn to warm comforting foods despite the time of year. If I can braise a chicken or short ribs on an unseasonably cool summer day, I will. Hell, I'll fire up the oven and turn on the air conditioning on the hottest day. I look for signs of fall color in fallen leaves all year long. Fall color happens all year long if you look for it. I color my surroundings with browns, oranges and reds in the things I buy for my home. In fact, the garden I planted last week is filled with muted oranges and deep reds. So it's not surprising that I made this gorgeous dish that not only screams fall color, but the comforting flavors of fall as well. This luscious dish of chicken leg and thigh meat braised with vibrant carrots and sweet apricots in a sauce made with warm spices of cumin, cardamom, and turmeric are sure to warm the soul on the darkest of fall ...summer evenings. 🌝Enjoy!

Moroccan Chicken with Couscous

(Adapted recipe from Teri Villanueva @ ChefTech Cooking School. The original recipe calls for lamb.)

1 1/2 lbs. boneless chicken leg and thigh meat, chopped
2 T olive oil plus 1 T olive oil for browning
1/4 tsp. ground turmeric
1/2 tsp. ground cumin
1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp. cardamom
1 tsp. kosher salt

Add chopped chicken to a bowl, add 2 T olive oil and spices and mix to coat chicken. Cover and set aside. Heat 1 T olive oil in a large dutch oven and work in batches to brown chicken over medium-high heat. Set chicken aside.

1 yellow onion, chopped
3 carrots, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 T ginger, minced
2 T tomato paste
1 lemon, zested*
1 T honey*
2 cups chicken stock
1 cup dried apricots, chopped
1- 14oz can of garbanzo beans, drained**
1 1/2 cup couscous ** 
cilantro, chopped (garnish)

*I substituted 1T of my Meyer Lemon Jam for the lemon zest and honey.
**I used Trader Joe's® Harvest Grains Couscous Blend® that contained mini garbanzo beans and omitted the addition of the can of garbanzo beans. If you can't find Harvest Grains Couscous blend, use regular couscous and add a can of garbanzo beans as written in recipe above.

Add onions and carrots to the dutch oven and sweat for 5 minutes. Add garlic and ginger and cook for 5 more minutes. Stir in tomato paste and add chicken back to the pot. Add lemon, honey, chicken stock and apricots. *If using regular couscous and adding garbanzo beans, add the can of garbanzo beans to the pot at this time. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low, cover and simmer for 1 hour, stirring occasionally. Prepare couscous according to package directions and set aside.

Seasoning Oil
2 T olive oil
1/2 tsp ground turmeric
1 tsp. cumin
1/2 tsp cardamom
1/ tsp kosher salt

Heat olive oil and all spices over medium high heat in a small skillet until hot and fragrant, stirring constantly. Pour into chicken right before serving. Garnish with chopped cilantro.

 More recipes to try:

Shakshuka

Potato Gnocchi and Spinach Curry

Mulligatawny Soup

Mulligatawny Soup

I'm afraid to say that it is still very warm here in Southern California.  It's been in the 80's and very dry with Santa Ana winds. But as hot as it gets during the day, once night falls, so does the temperature. My go-to easy meal for a cool night is always soup. If you've never had Mulligatawny soup, don't let the complicated name scare you. Mulligatawny is an Anglo-Indian soup that means, "Pepper Water". There are many versions of this soup, some highly spiced and contain meat and other versions omit meat and have lentils. This recipe is a warm and comforting curry soup with a little heat from the added cayenne pepper that cools to a mellow spiciness with a dollop of yogurt. I used leftover grilled chicken thighs but you can always use chicken breasts if preferred. Adding the tart apples also adds a exciting texture and complements the Indian spices beautifully. My husband was very skeptical of the apples and the almonds at first impression, but really liked what they added to the soup. I also added a little bit of rice as well to sop up all that wonderful curry. Enjoy! 

Mulligatawny Soup

Serves 8

1 T vegetable oil
1 leek, white and light green parts only
2 cups onions, chopped
2 carrots, chopped (first addition)
2 celery stalks, chopped
1 Pasilla pepper, chopped
4 cloves garlic, halved
7 cups chicken broth, divided 2cups/5cups
2" fresh ginger, chopped (~2 T)
3 chicken thighs, cooked and chopped
1 small carrot, finely diced (second addition)
2 T Penzeys® Sweet Curry (plus more to taste)
1 T ground cumin
1/2 t cayenne pepper
1 T tomato paste
salt and pepper to taste
1 can full fat coconut milk
1/2 cup chopped cilantro
1 tart apple, chopped 
1/2 cup toasted sliced almonds
Strained Greek yogurt or coconut cream (optional)

In a large dutch oven, add oil, leeks, onions, carrots (1st addition), celery, Pasilla pepper and garlic and saute until tender crisp. 

Add two cups chicken broth and continue cooking until vegetables are tender, about ~8-10 minutes. Place the ginger in a blender and coarsely chop. Once the vegetables are tender, Add the vegetables along with all the liquid to the blender with chopped ginger and puree. (Note: when blending hot liquids, remove the lid insert and cover with a towel while blending) Transfer blender contents back into the dutch oven. 
Add remaining 5 cups of chicken broth, chopped chicken thighs, finely diced carrot(2nd addition), curry powder, cumin, cayenne pepper and tomato paste and salt and pepper to the dutch oven. Heat to a simmer, taste and adjust seasonings. Add coconut milk and cilantro and simmer for 5 minutes. 
Add chopped apples and toasted almonds and top with a dollop of Yogurt or coconut cream and more cilantro.  Enjoy!

Other recipes to try:

Potato Gnocchi and Spinach Curry

Spiced Couscous and Carrot Salad

Indian Spiced Lentils

Homemade Chicken Broth

The best thing I've ever done to improve my cooking has been to make my own chicken broth. Making homemade chicken broth may sound intimidating, but it is probably the easiest thing in the world to make, it just takes a little block of time. This small investment each month has transformed my cooking from good to amazing. I get to pick all my fresh ingredients and I especially like that I can control the amount of salt added, which in this case, I add no salt to the broth. Opting to salt only after I use it in a dish. Not adding salt lends flexibility so I can reduce my broth to a demi-glace for that pop of intense flavor without it getting overly salty as it concentrates. If you were to do this with canned chicken broth, it would get too salty as it reduces. 

So next time you see whole chickens on sale, buy them and make your own chicken broth. When I'm ready to make broth, I buy two whole chickens and cut them up. I cut off the chicken legs, thighs and breasts and vacuum seal the meat and stick it in the freezer. What's left over...the rib cage, chicken necks and chicken wings gets tossed into the stock pot. This time, I also included a whole chicken leg and de-boned my thighs and put the thigh bones into the pot as well. Now we are ready to get started.

Homemade Chicken Broth

Makes about 16 cups

2 chicken carcasses, skin removed
filtered water
2 onions, chopped
2-3 carrots, chopped
2 celery stalks, chopped
2-3 bay leaves
1/2 bunch parsley stems
2 tsp. whole black peppercorns
8 sprigs of fresh thyme

Prepare your vegetables and set aside.
Remove the meat from your whole chicken and freeze for use later. Next remove the skin from the remaining carcass. It's ok to leave the skin on the wings. Fill up your stock pot with cold water so that it covers the chicken bones and bring it to a boil over high heat. Once it reaches a boil, immediately, turn the heat down to a very low simmer.

Once the water comes to a boil, the impurities will float to the top. Turn down the heat to low and skim with a spoon to remove the floating proteins and foam.

Add the onions, carrots and celery and heat at a very low simmer for 3-4 hours. Resist the urge to stir your stock. The key to clear chicken broth is that you don't stir or disturb the pot. Very low and very slow and no stirring. The water should never be boiling from this point on. The first boil was to remove impurities but now it sits and simmers for the next 3-4 hours.

After 3-4 hours of simmering, add your bouquet garni, which is parsley stems, thyme, bay leaves and black peppercorns and continue to simmer for one more hour. Make sure you only use the stems of parsley, if you use the leaves, the broth will take on a green color.

Turn off the heat and prepare to strain and freeze your homemade chicken broth. Get a clean stock pot and a chinois and place two layers of cheesecloth in it. If you don't have a strainer like this, use a collander layered with cheesecloth. Begin ladling hot broth into the strainer, allowing the clear broth to collect in the clean stock pot. Continue straining until all broth is collected and only bones and vegetables remain in your original stock pot.

To prevent spoilage, you'll need to cool your stock down quickly in order to place it in the freezer. I set up an ice bath with pre-labeled freezer bags, like this. (Normally I use a bigger ice bath but my other container was holding baked goods so I had to improvise, so give your self some room and use a bigger ice bath than this one. ;) 

Ladle 2 cups of hot broth into a measuring cup and then transfer broth into labeled freezer bags sitting in an ice bath. Zip up bag, taking care to remove as much air as possible. Let it sit in the ice bath until cooled a bit. Place sealed bag flat on a cookie sheet. Continue to cool and place bags of broth on cookie sheet making sure there are no leaks. I place a piece of parchment between the layers of bags so when they freeze they don't stick to each other. Place cookie sheet of bagged broth into the freezer until frozen. Once frozen, you can stack them in the freezer without the parchment paper or the cookie sheet. You're done. Now you have homemade chicken broth at the ready.

Other recipes to try:

How to make Dill Pickles

How to Roasted Peppers in the Oven

Baked Chicken with Onion Pancetta Gravy

I love to stay home. I'm not ashamed to admit it. I love being at home to piddle around my house working on a project or cooking in the kitchen. When I was younger and single it was fun to go out and meet up with friends and stay out all night. I was rarely home back then. Now it's nice to get home after a long day and just be at home and have something delicious and comforting to eat. I made this dish one weekend while trying to decide what to do with some leftover pancetta I didn't use for our Halloween party. I had three containers of pancetta to use up. I used one with some Cream of Mushroom Soup and it was absolutely delish. I plan to use one of them for Thanksgiving so I had one left to contend with. At the same time though, I got a new cast iron braiser that I was dying to break in and cook something up. Something slow and wonderful to roast, bake or braise. So I created these Baked Chicken Thighs with the most amazing Onion Pancetta Gravy. I will say, that this is one of the most delicious chicken dishes I have ever tasted. I'm not kidding. This is an amazing recipe if I do say so myself. I am super duper impressed with myself on this one. Plan to stay in tonight and give this recipe a try. I promise you won't be disappointed. Enjoy!

Baked Chicken with Onion Pancetta Gravy

Serves 6

6 boneless, skinless chicken thighs

flour salt and pepper for dredging

1 Tbsp canola oil

2 cups chicken broth

4 oz pancetta, diced

1 Tbsp butter

2 medium yellow onions, sliced

1 clove garlic, finely minced

1 tsp dried thyme

1 cup Gruyere cheese

fresh thyme leaves (garnish)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Dredge Chicken thighs in flour salt and pepper and set aside. Heat oil in a large cast iron dutch oven or braiser and working in batches, brown top side of chicken thighs only and set aside on a plate. 

Deglaze pan with chicken stock removing bits and flour from bottom of dutch oven/braiser. Pour chicken broth(deglazing liquid) into another pot to reserve for a second deglazing. 

In the now empty dutch oven/braiser, brown pancetta and render fat. Spoon out cooked pancetta onto paper towels.  Add sliced onions and butter to the rendered pancetta fat and cook onions until they are nicely caramelized.

Pour reserve chicken broth into onions and deglaze the pan a second time. Add garlic, cooked pancetta, and dried thyme to the pan.  

Roll chicken thighs up like they have bones and place thighs in the pan browned side up and bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes or until internal temperature reaches 165 degrees. Remove from oven, top with cheese and place under a broiler until cheese is melted. Garnish with fresh thyme leaves and Eat!

Other Chicken recipes to try:

Chicken with Braised Carrots

Honey Butter Chicken

Easy Ranch Chicken