My 'Summer of Halloween' is in full swing, and this compost-inspired Gravedigger Pilaf is the next installment of festive Halloween dishes on my list this year. A fun follow up to the sinister Roots of All Evil side dish I posted last month. A deliciously dark and mysterious Halloween dish made with roasted purple carrots and a maple tahini sauce and topped with pistachios and pomegranate seeds. Yum!
So, as I planned the meal around these gorgeous tubers, I wanted to play with the idea that carrots grow in dirt. So my goal was to create a side dish that looked like a platter of worm filled dirt with weeds and mushrooms. A delicious creation of earthy goodness of mushrooms sauteed with shallots and garlic. And layers of flavor with lentils cooked in chicken broth, red wine with a touch of fennel; Add the chewy texture and nutty flavor of Forbidden® rice cooked in chicken broth and garlic intertwined with worm hued pasta and we have the perfect Halloween side dish loaded with savory flavor and hearty texture. Enjoy!
🎃🎃🎃105 days until Halloween🎃🎃🎃
Gravedigger Pilaf (Forbidden® Rice & Lentil Pilaf)
Serves 8-10
Prep Rice:
1 cup Forbidden® Rice (*substitute wild rice but prepare according to package directions)
2 cups chicken broth
1 clove garlic, minced
~Cook forbidden rice in rice cooker with chicken broth and minced garlic. Keep warm.
Prep Lentils:
1 cup lentils (rinsed and picked through)
2 cups chicken broth
1 cup red wine
1 tsp fennel powder
~Add lentils, chicken broth, red wine and fennel powder to a medium saucepan and simmer for 30-40 minutes until lentils are tender.
Prep Pasta:
1/2 cup cut fideo pasta (substitute with broken spaghetti)
salted water with added red food coloring
~Prepare pasta according to package directions in red water. Drain and toss with olive oil.
Prep Mushrooms and Onions
2 T Olive oil
5-6 shallots, sliced (substitute with 1 cup diced onions)
1 large clove garlic, minced
4-5 cups of mixed mushrooms, sliced(I used baby bellas and oyster)
3 T sherry
Thyme leaves
salt and pepper
Saute shallots, mushrooms, and garlic in olive oil until mushrooms soften and shallots are translucent, about 5 minutes. Add cooking Sherry and continue to heat until sherry is absorbed. Add thyme leaves and salt and pepper to taste.
In a large bowl combine the lentils, rice, pasta and the mushrooms and toss until combined. Taste and adjust with salt, pepper and thyme leaves. Transfer to a serving bowl or platter and garnish with thyme sprigs.
More Halloween recipes:
March FLEW by and now look...April is nearly gone too! Where does the time go? I certainly haven't met my goal of blogging two recipes a week, have I? Sorry about that. I don't even have a good excuse other than things have been busy. Although, I admit I did work on a few Halloween dishes last week, so there is hope for me. One of the Halloween ideas turned out great, but the other one...well, it needs a little more work.
Anyway, back to this delicious Chicken with Braised Carrots. This is an easy, one pan dinner that comes together very quickly and is perfect for those busy weeknights. I've lightened this up for Spring by using chicken breasts and serving it over rice, but this is dish is the ultimate comfort food when served with Garlic Mashed Potatoes...or as my boys call them, Smashed Potatoes. :) I've made this with boneless skinless chicken thighs over mashed potatoes which is a rich and comforting dish that's perfect for a cool fall evening, or a cool spring evening! Whichever way you make it, you can't go wrong with savory carrots in a rich herbed sauce and Chicken. Enjoy!
Chicken with Braised Carrots
Serves 4
4 Chicken Breasts, boneless, skinless
1/2 cup flour
1/2 tsp.salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
1 Tbsp. olive oil or butter
4 carrots (I used multi-colored), diced
1 medium onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1-2 Tbsp. tomato paste
1 cup chicken broth
1 cup white wine
1/2 tsp. rosemary, dried
2 tsp. thyme, fresh
1 bay leaf
parsley, fresh chopped
salt and pepper (to taste)
In a shallow dish, add salt and pepper to flour. Dredge Chicken breasts in seasoned flour mixture, shaking off extra and set aside. Heat butter or olive oil in a large skillet. Pan fry chicken breasts until browned but not entirely cooked through, about 3 minutes on each side. Remove chicken from the skillet and set aside.
Add onions and carrots to same skillet and cook on medium high heat until the onions are translucent, about 6 minutes. Add garlic and cook until fragrant (~1 minute more). Add tomato paste and stir until vegetables are coated. Add wine, chicken stock, rosemary, thyme, and bay leaf and heat on medium heat until vegetables are soft and liquid in reduced by half. Add Chicken breasts back
into the skillet with the carrots and cook over medium high heat until chicken is
cooked through, about 5 minutes more. You will need to add more time if your chicken breasts are very large. Cook until internal temp is 165 F.
Taste carrots and adjust with salt and pepper to taste. Sprinkle with parsley and serve Chicken with Carrots over Rice or Mashed Potatoes. Enjoy!
More chicken recipes to try:
Serves 8-10
