Roasted Cardamom, Oregano and Garlic Chicken Thighs

I wrote briefly about these chicken thighs from Deborah Krasner's Good Meat cookbook in the cookbook giveaway post.  After the counts and recounts were tallied this recipe won the right to be shared here.  While the list of ingredients is short the flavor is complex and satisfying.  Cardamom is an ingredient many people have not played with so this chicken will have an elusive flavor and fragrance, a touch of romance.  Please remember to leave enough time to remove the cardamom seeds from the pods.  Harvesting the seeds can be time consuming but worth it.

The first time I made this dish I was running out of Kosher salt and had to use less then the printed recipe called for.  When I made it a second time I used the full tablespoon and it was too much.  I sent Deborah a message and she confirmed that a full tablespoon must be a typo.  The measurement below is a more modest amount.

As I met Deborah Krasner on Facebook it seems fitting to share Hippo Flambé's new facebook page on this post.  My plan is to share food related links, random thoughts on food and life and links to my new posts.  I would love it if you would go and "like" it.  Please join Hippo Flambé on Facebook.

Roasted Cardamom, Oregano and Garlic Chicken Thighs
Reprinted with permission from Good Meat, (with notes from the test kitchen of Hippo Flambe included).

Adapted from a recipe by Greg Malouf in Artichoke to Za'atar, this dish roasts to a crisp at high heat.  While it cooks the perfume of cardamom and garlic infuses the kitchen.  You can find green cardamom pods at any good spice purveyor and [far less expensively] at Indian and Middle Eastern groceries.  (Here in Burlington you can get it inexpensively in the bulk section at City Market).  please don't use ground cardamom - you need the crunch of the tiny seeds, which are more intensely flavored.  Similarly, if if you can get intensely flavored wild Greek oregano [found hanging upside down in bunches in some Greek markets], use it here.  Be sure to leave time for the marinating - at least 4 hours.  If you like, make a batch of rice to soak up the fragrant juices.



1/4 cup whole green cardamom pods or 1 to 2 Tbsp whole black cardamom seeds out of the pods
2 cloves garlic
1/2 tsp kosher salt, or to taste
1/4 cup fresh or dry oregano
1/4 cup plus 2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
4 to 6 large skin on, bone in pastured chicken thighs
freshly ground black pepper

Select a shallow pan that will hold the thighs closely in one layer, such as a quarter sheet pan, cast iron lasagna pan or frying pan or gratin dish.

Using a mortar and pestle, or a heavy resealable bag and the back of a cast iron pan, pound the cardamom pods until they split.  (When I tried to use a mortar and pestle the pods kept leaping out of the mortar without breaking and I try not to use plastic bags just because I don't want more work.  So I resorted to peeling all the pods by hand.  Effective, but time consuming.  If you are more coordinated than I am use a mortar and pestle.  Although I would guess it would work fine if you just put a few in at a time.)

Discard the husks, and bruise the tiny black seeds by pounding them  a little to to release their oils. (More operator error with my mortar and pestle technique so I ended up skipping this step to prevent the seeds flying to all corners of my kitchen.  I am sure it would taste better with the seeds bruised but it was delicious without this step as well.)  Add the garlic, salt and oregano and bash away a bit more to make a rough paste.  (I chopped the garlic fine and then mashed it to a paste with the side of my knife with the kosher salt before mixing all the ingredients together.  Maybe I just need a better mortar and pestle).  Transfer the mixture to a bowl, then stir in the olive oil to thin the paste.

Arrange the thighs, flesh side up, in the pan and massage half the paste onto the flesh; turn them over and do the same on the skin side with the remaining paste.  Allow the meat to marinate, covered and refrigerated, for at least 4 hours or overnight before bringing it back to room temperature.  (I have made it on nights where I did not have the time to let it marinate and it was still flavorful and delicious.  Marinating is best but don't let it stop you from making this dish).  Grind black pepper over the thighs.

Heat the oven to 450 degrees, and set a rack, a the top of the oven just under the heating element [although you are not broiling this, this exposes the skin to more heat for crispness].  When the oven is good and hot, roast the chicken for 45 minutes, turn the meat over halfway through the cooking.

When done the meat should be beautifully crisp and the flesh completely cooked through.  pour off the fat in the pan and arrange the pieces on a serving platter.  Serve warm or at room temperature with rice.

Good Meat Cookbook Giveaway Winner

Julian Draws a Name From the Hat 

The Name is Passed to Sebastian

And the Winner is... Susan!

Congratulations Susan!

Salted Browned Butter Healthier Rice Crispy Treats

In reality this post is a final attempt to get my blog to be featured on Foodgawker and Tastespotting while the Good Meat Cookbook giveaway entry period is still open.  Don't forget that you have until 11:59 PM Eastern Standard time on Sunday February 27 to leave a comment on the Good Meat Cookbook Giveaway post to be entered for a copy of this amazing book by James Beard award winning author Deborah Krasner.   I am not saying that these rice crispy treats are not tasty.  Nor am I saying that they are not worth your time and energy to make them.  I would have shared them eventually, but as they are photogenic I decided to share early.

My mother never made rice krispie treats.  As a woman who referred to iceberg lettuce as "junk food" and made a convincing argument for marshmallows being disgusting puffed sugar, it is really no surprise that she did not make them.  Her description of marshmallows kept me from trying one until I was eighteen.  I suppose to be completely honest I would have to say I never tried a plain marshmallow before I was eighteen.  I probably ate my weight in rice krispie treats at every bake sale at my school when I was growing up.  I never knew they contained marshmallows, but somehow they were an illicit favorite.

Now that I have children of my own it is not my mother's brainwashing that kept me from making rice krispie treats at home.  It is because marshmallows are really puffed high fructose corn syrup, not sugar.  However the other day I found vegan marshmallows which are high fructose corn syrup free.  When I brought them to the register the cashier told me how much she loves them.  Then when she saw the whole grain rice puffs she said in an awed voice, "You're making healthy rice krispie treats."  Personally I think they are less unhealthy or even healthier, calling them healthy is still a stretch.

The recipe is from Smitten Kitchen and it is for Salted Browned Butter Crispy Treats.  I figured if I was going to the trouble of buying better quality ingredients I might as well start with the best recipe I could find.  While these are not health food they are rich, nutty and buttery.  Tastier then your average rice krispie treat and with at least reduced guilt when you indulge.

Salted Browned Butter Healthier Rice Crispy Treats
Adapted from Smitten Kitchen just by upgrading the ingredients

8 Tbsp unsalted butter, plus extra for the pan
1 10-ounce bag vegan no high fructose corn syrup marshmallows
Heaping 1/4 teaspoon coarse sea salt
6 cups puffed whole grain rice cereal

Butter (or coat with non-stick spray) an 8 x 8 x 2 inch pan (mine was pyrex).

In a large pot, melt butter over medium heat.  Continue to cook the butter over medium heat, stirring often, until it becomes golden brown and smells nutty, about 5 minutes.  Don't walk away while you are browning the butter because butter can go quickly from browned to burnt.  As soon as the butter is browned and fragrant turn the heat off and add the marshmallows, stirring them in well.

Turn the heat back on to low and continue to stir until the marshmallows are completely melted and smooth.  When I made them at first the marshmallows did not want to melt at all and I began to panic that healthier marshmallows don't melt.  Eventually the mixture became melted and smooth.

Once the marshmallow butter mixture is completely smooth turn off the heat and add the cereal and salt all together.  Stir well and quickly spread in the buttered pan.  Press the top down firmly with a spatula to make sure it is evenly spread in the pan.  Allow to cool completely before cutting into squares.

Good Meat Cookbook Giveaway!

For the last several years the cookbooks I have added to my collection have mostly been focused on vegetables.  As my cooking evolved to be as seasonal as practical I found myself most at a loss when I stared down the same vegetables every week.  At the same time we began buying sustainable and humanely raised meat from local farmers by the whole or part animal.  Most of the time I could find an appropriate recipe in my collection of cookbooks.  Although I did face a stumbling block with many of the organ meats and other lesser known cuts lurking in my freezer.

The organ meats are listed as "optional" on the cut sheet but I could not bring myself to say no.  Many factors went into that decision.  Firstly, I had paid for the animal, ALL of the animal.  In addition I feel it is more respectful to the animals we eat as well as our planet not to waste what we don't know how to deal with.  The world could live off of what we in this country throw away.  However I still struggled with some of these cuts.

One year I made one of my families favorite dishes, an Armenian lamb and beef sausage, using the heart and kidneys of that years lamb.  The smell when I ground the meat prevented me from enjoying the finished product.  As I was alone in the kitchen when I made them the rest of my family enjoyed the finished product as they normally would.  Sebastian looked a little surprised when I did not limit the number he ate the way I usually do.  We shared them at a neighborhood pot luck where they were enjoyed by my neighbors as well.

Another problem I have found when cooking with a whole animal is scale.  I once pulled apart my freezer searching for 2 more lamb shanks to complete a recipe.  The problem was the recipe called for 6 lamb shanks, a recipe designed for cooks who are disconnected with the farmer's who grow their food and the cuts available per animal.  I needed a meat cookbook that explained the techniques necessary to prepare grass finished meats, that shared how to prepare everything, not just the choice cuts.

This Fall after reading an article about Deborah Krasner's new cookbook, Good Meat,  I knew right away I needed this cookbook.  I needed it not only because Krasner's cookbook collection makes mine seem small, I needed it for all the insight on how to cook sustainable meats.  I have now been cooking with it for half a year and I only have one complaint,  it is so large that it topples over my cookbook holder.  Every time I use it I have resorted instead to balancing it precariously on a step stool or the box from my new food processor.  However I am really not complaining about a cookbook so filled with recipes and advice on how to fill out a cut sheet that it is too big, or at least not complaining a lot.  Every recipe I have tried so far from this cookbook has been a success.  Some have even elevated cuts of meat my family usually disdained to favorite dinners.

I contacted the author, Deborah Krasner, and I was able to arrange a copy to give away to one of the readers of this blog.  A copy that is now signed by the author!  To be entered in the drawing just leave a comment telling me which of the following recipes you would most like to see on my blog.  I will share the top vote receiving recipe here after I announce the winner of the cookbook.  In addition I would also love to know if there is a specific cut of meat you need help finding a recipe for.

I am not going to give out multiple entries for this giveaway, mostly because I am not good at keeping track of many different things.  However if you are a regular reader of Hippo Flambe sharing this giveaway with your friend's means cookbook publishers are more likely to give me books to giveaway in the future.  I am also not going to use a random number generator to select the winner, because I have two very random boys who would be crushed not to have a role in the fun.

Lamb Tagine with Preserved Lemon and Green Olives

Brightness from preserved lemons, richness from olives and complexity from ginger, cumin, saffron, cinnamon, paprika, parsley and cilantro.

Salt and Spice Cured Loin Lamb Chops

You start by mixing up the salt and spice cure, a blend that will add complexity and subtly to other meats as well.  The blend is then mixed with olive oil and herbs before being rubbed on to the lamb chops to marinate.  After the meat is grilled the lamb is savory and sweet and irresistible.  A dish I prepared and then told the boys they better hurry up and come to the table, before I ate all of the lamb.

Salt Seared Burger with Red Wine Reduction

This technique for cooking a grass fed burger is inspired.  It produces a juicy, caramelized burger with a red wine reduction to gild the lily.  The same technique can be used for a perfect sirloin steak.

Beef Liver Mousse

As a young child I used to enjoy the "sport" of ordering beef liver in restaurants.  I never enjoyed the dish itself, but I could worry down a few bites in order to enjoy the reaction from the waitress when I ordered it.  Happily this pate does not taste like that liver did, instead it is reminiscent of chopped liver and french pate.

Roasted Cardamom, Oregano, and Garlic Chicken Thighs

I was prepping this dish while hanging out with a friend.  As I crushed the cardamom she smelled them in wonder.  "I would look at a recipe that calls for cardamon and just ignore it.  I would not have realized it smells so wonderful."  The smell of the cardamom comes through in the finished thighs as the perfume of the cardamom is blended with the oregano and garlic on these succulent thighs.

To be entered into the cookbook giveaway please leave a comment telling me which recipe (Lamb Tagine with Preserved Lemon and Green Olives, Salt and Spice Cured Loin Lamb Chops, Salt Seared Burger with Red Wine Reduction, Beef Liver Mousse, Roasted Cardamom, Oregano, and Garlic Chicken Thighs) you most want me to share.  Please tell me as well if there are any cuts of meat you need recipes for.  I would also love to know who you, my readers are.  Please make sure I have a way of contacting you.  So either include your e-mail address in the comment, (you should use spaces in your e-mail address to avoid unwanted spam), or send me your e-mail address at: robin at hippoflambe dot com,   a blog address in the url, or link to a blogger profile that is not private and includes a way to contact you.  If try to contact someone and I do not have a way to do so I will draw a new winner.  Entries are closed at 11:59 PM (eastern standard time) Sunday February 27th.

Giveaway is now Closed.  My children will draw the winner later today (February 28th)