Peppered Black Currant Vermicelli and Chicken Pizza

Warning this post is photo heavy! please be patient while it loads. Thanks.

Actually you can eat 2 meals on this recipe .
the second ( or first) being the pizza and the other being one of the following serving alternatives

The first:
Make up the Peppered Black Currant Vermicelli and Chicken using chicken breast and thighs instead of tenders. Serve the chicken on a bed of the peppered black currant vermicelli which has been topped with fresh or roasted sweet bell peppers , roasted or fresh sliced tomatoes, a sprinkling of fresh chopped sweet basil and top the whole thing with shredded mozzarella and asiago cheese..

The second:
Slice a loaf of focaccia bread into 4 equal parts. Then slice each part between the top and the bottom to form a rectangular shaped "bun" ( you should have 4 tops and 4 bottoms.) Brush all sides of each top and bottom lightly with olive oil (can be Extra Virgin Olive Oil) and place them open faced on a cookie sheet lined with parchment papper . Cover the sandwich tops ( should be a bit thicker than the bottoms) with the chicken that has been sliced to about 1/4 inch thick . Cover the bottoms with the Peppered Black Currant Vermicelli. Lay fresh, thinly sliced sweet bell pepper, tomatoes and white or yellow onions over the vermicelli side and lay Pancetta over the chicken side . Top both sides with some fresh grated Parmigiano-Reggiano and sliced Provolne cheese . Place under the briler for 3 to 7 minutes to melt and brown cheese or bake in a 425 degree F. oven for for 7 to 13 minutes. remove from the oven . let set 3 to 5 minutes then fold tops onto bottoms and cut in half . Serve

OK, now that you have the alts , lets get to the pizza shall we??

Ingredients :
For The Peppered Black Currant Vermicelli:

4 cups cold water
1 tablespoon Olive oil ( can be extra virgin or virgin)
1 good sized long black pepper
1 scant Tablespoon loose Black Currant Tea leaves (brand-optional)
1 sliver orange peal (preped as in the candied orange peal recipe)
Fresh crack ( in pepper mills) the following with the turns given

Organic Cubeb pepper- full 3 turns
Grains of Paradise- 2 full turns
Pink peppercorns - 4 full turns
Organic Green peppercorns - 3 full turns
Organic Ceylon White Peppercorns- 3 full turns

1/4 teaspoon onion powder
1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon dry Tarragon
1/2 teaspoon dry basil
1 -- 6.3 oz bag vermicelli noodles
6 to 8 thin chicken tenders
For Pizza:
2 to 3 tablespoons sun dried tomato bread dipping oil or olive oil
Your favorit pizza crust ( for a 12 to 14 inch pizza)
5 thin slices each: yellow, orange, and red sweet bell pepper
1/4 cup diced tomatoes ( caned or fresh)
1/4 cup diced red onion ( any onion works here)
1/2 cup mushrooms (Iused can tonight but fresh are awesome too)
3/4 cup Fresh grated Parmesan cheese
1 - 1/2 cup Grated Mozzarella cheese
1/3 cup grated sharp cheddar cheese

Into a heavy sauce pan place the water, oil, herbs, spices, tea leaves, orange peal peace, and the long black pepper piece broken in half. Bring this JUST to a boil , then reduce heat and simmer covered for 15 minutes. Add the washed chicken tenders and cover. Simmer another 45 minutes ( use a meat thermometer to be sure the chicken is cooked through out!).







Leave the chicken and spices in the water and add the amount of vermicelli noodles you need ( i use the whole bag so i have enough to make one of the alt recipes and this one) ..







the cooking time for the noodles will be the time recommended on the package.. i cooked my noodles for 7 minutes


Remove the long black pepper pieces and the orange pieces before serving or using the Peppered Black Currant Vermicelli and Chicken.







While the above is cooking, prep the Pizza crust

about the bread dipping oil , I get this inthe bakery/deli section at walmart, But if you can't find it you can infuse olive oil ( type of your choice) with wonderful bits of herbs, sun dried tomatoes, and spices to your likeing and use that.








Place the pizza crust into/on a good pizza pan that has been well sprayed with olive oil (I use a restaurant quality deep dish pizza pan for this. these pans can usually be found at a local restaurant supply shop/store)
Poke holes into the dough.. called docking.. you can do this with a fork.. cover the surface evenly with lots of little holes to keep the crust from bubbling up and displacing your toppings.
Brush the crust with the bread dipping oil




start with the pasta .. ( click to enlarge the photo) Drain about 1/4 to 1/2 cup of the pasta . Don't use a lot. and Spread it evenly all over the pizza.
then add the chicken torn to bite sized bits.
then the peppers ( isn't that pretty)








next addd the tomatoes and onions.

then the mushrooms ( speaking of mushrooms this is awesome with fresh spring Morel or morchella mushrooms and Mushroom season is coming!!! WOOWHOO!)




top with the cheeses starting with the Parmesan, then the mozzarella , followed by the cheddar ( and maybe some asiago if you have some?)

Place this into a 425 degree F. oven for 14 to 18 minuted








Bet your wonderen' what I want them pliers hu?
(Insert a almost- wicked Grin, raised right eye brow, the "I know a secret." twinkle in the eye and a semi-evil laugh here. )
Actually you may know this trick.








I use the pliers to hold on to the hot pizza pan .
This only works with the heavy duty deep dish style pizza pans and some times cake pans that have the rolled edge like the pan here. You should be able to find a pan like this at the local restaurant supply store. This is also a very useful tool to take pans on and off open fire cooking when camping .. any way ..





get a good hold of you pan and with a flat large spatula loosen the the pizza from the pan by sliding the spatula between the the pizza and the pan going all the way around the pan .








then use the spatula to guide the pizza out of the pan and the pliers to pull the pan out from under the pizza .






let the pizza sit 3 to 5 minutes before cutting .
isn't that a lovely little crust??









waiting that 3 to 5 minutes for the cheese to set is the hard part...

OK.
Time to cut








mm-ya-oh-yesss..mmm--soryy..hot
Sorry guess i shouldn't tal.. um, type with my hands full hu??



Enjoy!



Bountiful blessings
Ma Fey

Red Pepper Chicken with Saffron Black bean Rice- aka-The tureens and casseroles preformed wonderfully part 2

Warning: this post is very photo heavy and may take some time to load

Red Pepper Chicken with Saffron Black bean Rice- aka-The tureens and casseroles preformed wonderfully part 2

As you know i won this lovely set of tureens and casseroles in Jaz and Teddy's giveaway over at Octoberfarm... and as promised I am using them ..

So the menu is

French onion soup with homemade Croutons
Red pepper Chicken with Saffron Back Bean Rice
and
Strawberry Rhubarb cobbler


this post will cover the Red pepper Chicken with Saffron Black bean rice

(I will link the dish titles to thier recipe pages when I get them all posted.)


ingredients list :

for the black beans -these are made the day before and left in the refrigerator to soak over night

1/2 to 1 cup of dry black beans (I usually use 1/2 cup, some like more beans some may like less)
3 cups of water
1 half of a medium onion, quartered ( white or yellow , which ever you prefer)
2 cloves garlic, pealed and scored
3 bay leaves
fresh cracked pepper

For the Rice
1/2 cup Jasmine rice
1/2 Long grain Wild Rice
3 tablespoons unsalted butter ( you can use salted.. we don't usually)
1/2 medium onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, pealed and minced
1/2 cup chicken broth (we use low sodium with no MSG added organic , or i make my own)
1 fresh lemon, zested
1/4 teaspoon saffron threads

For the chicken
4 to 6 raw chicken tender strips, cut into about 3 pieces each (I used 4 this time)
2 sweet red bell peppers, sliced into strips and divided int 3 some what equal piles
1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon tarragon, dried
1/2 teaspoon cumin, ground
3 Tablespoons chopped fresh parsley ( or 3 teaspoons dried)
1/2 Tablespoon Fresh chopped Opal or Sweet basil ( or 1/2 teaspoon dried)
1/4 Tablespoon fresh lemon thyme (or 1/4 teaspoon dried time - lemon or English garden)


note: you can skip cooking up the dry black beans and use 1/2 ( or more) of a 14.5 ounce can of black beans if you like .

Rinse and pick through the beans.

Put these into a heavy pot with the water.
Bring them to a boil . boil 3 minutes then turn them off and let them sit covered for about and hour and a half.





then quarter up on half of the onion , the other can be chopped and placed in a covered container in the refrigerator for later use in the saffron rice.












Peal and Score the cloves of garlic with a sharp knife on all sides ( sorry I just wasn't able to get a decent picture- but you can almost see the score marks)














place the onion , garlic , bay leaves and black pepper in to the pan of water and beans . bring to a boil , boil 3 minutes then reduce heat to simmer.

note: the finished texture of beans is a personal thing, some like them firm and crunchy some like them soft and mushy and we, like others, like them some place in between ..

so I simmer them about 3 to 4 hours ( some times a bit more) to get them almost done -these will have about another 45 min to and hour in the oven to cook yet- so don't over cook them . You may need to add a bit more water now and then over the cooking time.

Let them cool to room temp and place them in the liquid in the refrigerator over night .


the next day , heat them till the beans are warmed through and then drain them well.
(basically your beans are "cooked" three times before they hit the casserole)











remove the garlic, bay leaves and onions .. they will be all kinds of ugly from the beans .

and keep the beans warm.










in a saute or skillet over medium heat, melt the 3 tablespoons butter and let it heat till it is all foamy and sizzly.. don't let it burn and it shouldn't be browned
















Add the rice and stir well till the rice turns opaque, about 3 to 4 minutes.


add the chopped onion and minced garlic and stir continuously till the onions turn translucent.

Add the chicken broth and stir well








add the saffron, ( sorry again i just couldn't get a nice shot) and stir well . turn off the heat .












add the lemon zest, 1/3rd of the red bell pepper and black beans and toss all together.

Leave this in the pan till you are ready to assemble.










( Now i do this on a plate but you can do this in a bowel)

toss together the raw chicken pieces, the herbs and spices and another 1/3rd of the peppers so that all are coated well with the herbs.









Place the warm rice and black bean mixture into a casserole that has been sprayed with olive oil ( or coated with non spray oil)


top this with the raw chicken mixture









lay the remaining 1/3 of the red bell peppers over the top and cover with aluminum foil .

bake at 400 degrease F. for 15 minutes. then Reduce the oven temp to 350 degrease and continue to bake for 45 minutes or until the chicken, rice and beans are cooked through.. ( a fork and a meat thermometer are essential)








plate and serve with some white fruity wine if you like or a nice glass of milk work to.

This is also yummy served with a crisp baby spinach leaf salad topped with pine nut and the juice of the lemon that was zested for this dish.





Ok so thats the second course. next i will post the Strawberry Rhubarb cobbler!~




Tasty Blessings One and all
Ma Fey