So you’ve swiped right on your Kindling App and met a special someone. You’ve been conversing for a while, and you’ve checked out her/his profile on the Twitbook and MyFace and maybe swapped a picture or two on Clicktalk. You’ve somehow convinced them that you’re not a psycho and you’ve even gone for coffee and a mug of ale. All has gone well, she/ he doesn’t mind your smell and hasn’t let on that you’ve worn your only good shirt out for your first two dates.
You’ve convinced her that you’re a warlord in the kitchen and you’d like to cook her/him something spectacular for your third date, and then maybe watch ‘Apocalypse Now’, ‘The Deer Hunter’ or ‘Platoon’ on DVD. You’ve found that some words have come out of your mouth that don’t usually exist in your vocabulary like “Confit” and “Poulet” and you’ve boasted of exotic ingredients.
You’ve had a slight panic attack, but you’ve faced worse situations, only this is real life and you don’t have a reset button or the ability to go back to a previously saved gaming session. Breath into a paper bag because The Culinary Barbarian is your ultimate wing man. Sharpen your knives and straighten your bow ties with The Culinary Barbarian’s Date Night Chicken Confit with Mushroom Risotto and Truffle Oil.
Ingredients:
2x chicken thigh cutlets, skin on
1kg clarified butter
1/2 knob garlic (3 cloves minced, the rest pealed and whole)
1 bunch sage
6 button mushrooms
1 carrot, finely diced
2 celery sticks, finely diced
1 cup arborio rice
1large onion, ½ diced, ½ minced
1 litre chicken stock
2 cups dry white wine
Parmesan cheese, a sprinkle
4 sprigs asparagus
2 eggs
Truffle oil, optional
Method:
- With paper towel, pat dry the chicken cutlets, removing any excess moisture. Cautiously lift the skin without piercing and stuff with sage leaves and whole garlic cloves and minced onion. Arrange in an oven safe dish and pour melted ghee over until completely submerged. Toss in some extra garlic cloves. Place in an oven at 90°c and roast for about 3 hours.
- Prepare the risotto. Melt butter in a large pot and sauté the remaining garlic, onions, carrot, celery and mushrooms until translucent. Pour in the rice and coat with the butter. Cook for about 2 min and add the stock and wine. Reduce to simmer and stir repeatedly until the rice is tender and creamy. Add a fist full of parmesan and stir in.
- Remove the chicken from the oven and turn heat up to 200°c. Drain off the butter. Pat off any extra butter and place on a flat oven tray with the whole garlic cloves. Sprinkle with salt and return to the oven until the skin is crispy.
- Blanche the asparagus in boiling water for 10 seconds and then immediately plunge into ice water to keep crisp.
- Poach 2 eggs, one egg at a time
- To serve. Arrange chicken thighs on top of risotto with the poached egg, asparagus and confit garlic. Sprinkle with parmesan and a drizzle of truffle oil.
