My Tomato Salad

Now, as they are in season, vendors are almost giving away tomatoes.  Take advantage of this largess and try my tomato salad recipe:

Peel three or four large dead-ripe tomatoes (this is important ... try dipping them in boiling water for a few seconds to loosen the skin) and cut them into bit-sized pieces.  Put this into a large bowl.  Clean and dice a small bunch of scallions and add them.  Chop a good four or five sprigs of Italian parsley and add to the bowl.  If you want, you can also add chopped fresh basil and oregano (I often don't.)  Add a good five-finger pinch of salt and about six grinds of fresh black pepper.  Squeeze in a half a juicy lemon through your fingers to catch the seeds.  Add about four dollops of good olive oil and about three of a good (but not great) balsamic vinegar.  Mix well and refrigerate until cold.  (I know, I know, you are not supposed to refrigerate tomatoes ... but trust me on this.)

If you can keep from eating this all yourself, serve what is left to your good friends and family ... with a good crusty bread to soak up the juices. 

Catch a Tory

I've never cooked chicken cacciatore before ... but tonight I tackled it (without benefit of a recipe) ... and it turned out pretty well.  Today I bought four chicken thighs for $4.35 and decided to try my hand at this dish.  Here's how it went:

Rinse the chicken thighs and dry them thoroughly.  Salt and pepper them liberally on both sides.  Heat a large cast iron skillet over high heat.  Add a good olive oil (I actually used peanut oil tonight ... I couldn't find the olive oil) and heat until smoking.  Add the chicken thighs and cook them until well browned.  Remove the thighs to a plate and add one well chopped onion ($0.30), three slivered garlic cloves ($0.25) and one well diced Italian pepper ($0.50).  Then add a good sprinkling of red pepper flakes and some fennel seeds to taste (I like a lot of them).  Put a big can of good whole tomatoes ($1.69) in a big bowl and squeeze them to a pulp and then add them to the frying pan.  Add a good pinch of salt and some more black pepper grinds, a palm-full of dried parsley flakes, a bay leaf, and a good pinch of oregano.

Cook this sauce for about ten minutes and then return the chicken thighs to the pan along with a can of drained artichoke hearts ($1.89) or just artichoke heart bottoms and any juices from the thighs.  Reduce the heat to a simmer and cook another fifteen minutes or until the chicken is real tender.  (A few things I could have added but didn't -- some chopped-up sun-dried tomatoes and a good splash of red wine.)  In a separate pot boil a good quantity of salted water and cook some cappellini ($1.29).  Serve the chicken cacciatori over the pasta with a liberal sprinkling of Romano cheese.  Enjoy.  (You pick the side entrees ... maybe oil and garlic broccolini and a balsamic-vinegar tomato salad, see: My Tomato Salad.)

So, for around ten dollars I main-course fed very generously three people (with enough left for my lunch tomorrow.)  We all said it was delicious.  Not bad for a chicken-cacciatore tyro.