07.10.08: Pollo alla Cacciatora and salad

Once again She cooked up another round of the chicken and bnz firm family fav dish from Nigella (see the video!), but this time paired it with spelt penne pasta. A mixed leaf, avo, sweetfire beetroot and physalis salad decided to join in.

HE SAYS: This dish is always pleasant to come home to; the white wine aroma not only adds to the anticipation but also really bonds all the flavours together and makes it so richly moreish. The capers also help add that certain high note to the bowl. Tonight, there were lots of generous chunks of chicken and the smoked pancetta flavours seemed to cut through more so then the regular variety we have previously used. I thought the spelt pasta worked well and served as a brief intermission from our regular brown rice program. The avo and beetroot once again succeeded in transforming the salad from the mundane to the near spectacular.

SHE SAYS: Agree with Him, the smokey pancetta shone stronger than the plain version, but I still think maybe we need to try this dish without and see if we miss it. (We've one more pack to use up, so that experiment will have to wait.) Methinks spelt pasta is the partner of choice for the pollo; it rivals corn-studded polenta and bnz in the rice-alternative stakes. Capers will lways get big love from me, but I think their fruity teasings piques the tastebuds even more effectively when complemented by tomatoey goodness. He and I diverge slightly in opinion on the salad - for me, it's the tarty physalis that lifts the level, and how.

23.09.08: Pollo alla Cacciatora and rocket salad

He put together this fast-becoming-weekly staple stew of chicken, pancetta, crushed tomatoes, cannellini bnz and white wine reduction. As an added treat he cut up some chorizo and added it to the pot and then served it all over brown rice. A rocket salad with radishes, tomatoes, avo and physalis looked on eagerly.

HE SAYS: The inclusion of the chorizo really upped the taste stakes, a very nice addition, creating another note of spice and paprika within the sauciness of the dish. I added a touch more wine to keep the liquid ratio high and a little more chopped rosemary then the recipe called for in order to add more of an intense rustic herby flava. The chicken thighs really tasted fantastic, are a cheap cut, and helped season the broth (unlike breast meat, which although tasty doesn't release any flava and doesn't tend to infuse anything). The rocket salad was more savoury then we have had recently, the crunchy radishes making their peppery presence felt and finding only small resistance in the tiny shweetness of the physalis.

SHE SAYS: Agree the chorizo was a splendid indulgence, though this dish already packs quite an intensely savoury flavour punch. I think this version achieved the perfect ratio of brothy to saucy, and again totally agree with His observations on the infuse-ability of dark vs white meat. The tang of the physalis worked my tastebuds more strongly than His, it seems, or maybe it just gets more of my happy attention - I found the radishes more of a crunch supplier than a tastemaker.