Dish of Circasian Chicken
(click to enlarge)

Circasian Chicken


Turkey   -   Sebzeli Terbiyeli Kuzu Haslama
Serves:
Effort:
Sched:
DoAhead:  		 10 app
***
1-1/4 hrs
Yes		 A most excellent spread or filling for pita, toast, lavash, etc. In Ottoman times, Circassia was famous for horses, fierce horsemen and beautiful women.

2
------
5
2-1/2
1-3/2
4
few
1
3
1
ar
------
4
2
1
2
1
------
2
2
1
------
4
2
1
#
---
oz
oz
oz
oz

T

t

---
oz
oz
cl
t
c
---
oz
oz
c
---
T
t
T
Chicken meat (1)  
-- Stock
Onions
Carrot
Celery
Leek
Parsley sprigs
Rice
Cloves
Salt
Water
-- Sauce
Walnut Meats
Stale Bread
Garlic
Chili flake (3)
Stock
-- Finish
Onion
Butter
Stock
-- Garnish
Walnut Oil (4)
Chili Flake (3)
Parsley
Chicken   -   (1 hr   (25 min work))
  1. Chop Stock Vegetables coarse. Place all Stock Items in a pot along with CHICKEN and Water to cover well.
  2. Bring to a boil and simmer covered until Chicken is just done (See Note-2), about 30 minutes - don't overcook.
  3. Strain Chicken from the pot and set aside. If you have bones, skins and offcuts, put them back into the stock and bring it back to a simmer for up to two hours for a richer stock.
  4. Tear Chicken apart, shredding quite fine.
  5. Strain Stock, discarding solids. Remove fat using your gravy separator.
Make Sauce   -   (10 min)
  1. In a food processor or large mortar, grind WALNUTS to powder. Crush GARLIC and chop fine. Work all Sauce items together into a smooth paste, adding the 1 c Stock last. Add more stock if needed to make a pourable sauce.
Make Garnish   -   (5 min)
  1. Heat Walnut Oil gently. Stir in Chili flake. Let cool.
  2. Chop PARSLEY.
Finish   -   (20 min)
  1. Chop ONION fine.
  2. In a sauté pan, melt Butter and fry Onion until lightly colored. Stir in Chicken and 1 c Stock. Simmer uncovered, stirring frequently, until liquid has evaporated.
  3. Mix together Chicken mix and Sauce. Spread into a serving bowl and smooth down nicely.
  4. Without stirring up (if you want a bright red color), drizzle on the Walnut Oil. Sprinkle on the chopped Parsley
  5. Serve at room temperature.
NOTES:

  1. Chicken:

      Weight is skinless, boneless and with all excess fat removed - but see Note-2. This will be about 1-1/4 pounds after simmering. Most Turkish recipes call for breast, but Ottoman chicken breasts are probably a lot more flavorful than the cardboard product produced by North American chicken factories, so I always use thigh meat.

  2. Stock:

      The easiest way to do this recipe is to take 4 pounds of chicken thighs. Put them in a pot with all the Stock ingredients. Bring to a boil and simmer for about 30 minutes. Pull out all the thighs (make sure you get them all) and, when you can handle them, remove all the meat and set aside. Everything else goes back into the pot to simmer another hour or more to make the stock. When done, strain, and remove the fat using your gravy separator. Some stock is used for this recipe, the rest for other recipes.

  3. Chili Flake:

      This should be Aleppo pepper, coarsely ground and quite mild. A mix of sweet and hot paprika could be substituted, or ground ancho chili, but aleppo is fairly available in North America now. For details see our Chilis page.

  4. Walnut Oil:

      If you just can't get this (California Walnut Oil is available on-line), use a good extra virgin olive oil, but the flavor will be noticeably different.
  5. U.S. measure: t=teaspoon, T=Tablespoon, c=cup, qt=quart, oz=ounce, #=pound, cl=clove in=inch, ar=as required, tt=to taste
tmc_chkcirc1 121006 tcbh40   -   www.clovegarden.com
©Andrew Grygus - agryg@clovegarden.com - Linking to and non-commercial use of this page permitted