By Request
The Assaggio restaurant chain has a reputation for no-nonsense Italian food. The hearty, tasty meals have many devoted followers who keep outlets in Kailua, Hawaii Kai, Mililani and Ala Moana busy. Chicken dish
takes precise timingDiane Mosier is a particular fan of a house specialty -- "Their Sicilian Chicken is wonderful!" she says. She'd also like to make the restaurant's basic tomato sauce.
Chef/owner Thomas Ky was willing to share both, although he notes that the chicken dish would be "humbug" to prepare at home. Although it can be cooked in just 10 minutes if you time everything right, it requires two skillets going at once, and you have to go from stovetop to oven to complete the dish, pretty much fussing with it the whole time.
The tomato sauce, on the other hand, involves an hour of straight-forward simmering. Ky serves it with poultry, fish and vegetable pasta dishes.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.Sicilian Chicken
1 to 2 tablespoons olive oil, divided use
4 large potatoes, peeled and quartered
Dried thyme, salt and pepper, to taste
1-1/2 cups chicken stock
10 ounces boneless chicken thighs, cut in 1-by-2-inch strips
Pinch dried basil
4 ounces (1 cup) bell pepper, any color, in 1-inch strips
4 ounces (1 cup) onion, sliced
4 ounces (1 cup) button mushrooms, sliced
1 cup white wineCoat the bottom of a skillet with olive oil and heat. Sear potatoes on all sides, then season with a pinch each of thyme, salt and pepper, more or less, to taste. Add chicken stock. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat, cover and simmer 8 minutes.
Meanwhile, coat the bottom of a second, ovenproof skillet with more olive oil and heat. Add chicken, skin-side down and sear. Season with a pinch each of salt, pepper and basil. Add bell peppers and onion. Place pan in oven and roast 5 minutes. Flip everything over and roast another 3 minutes. Add cooked potatoes and mushrooms; return to oven for another 2 minutes.
Pour 1/2 cup white wine into pan and shake. Serves 2.
Approximate nutritional analysis, per serving (not including salt to taste): 840 calories, 37 g total fat, 8 g saturated fat, 120 mg cholesterol, 150 mg sodium, 77 g carbohydrate, 35 g protein.*
Purée tomatoes in a blender. Set aside.Assaggio Tomato Sauce
1 No. 10 can (3-pound, 3-ounces) Italian tomatoes (whole, peeled)
3 ounces (6 tablespoons) olive oil
8 ounces (1-1/2 cups) chopped onion
4 ounces (3/4 cup) chopped garlic
1 teaspoon EACH salt, pepper and dried basil
1 tablespoon sugar
1 whole carrot, about 8 ouncesHeat oil in a large pot. Sauté remaining ingredients. Add tomatoes and stir while bringing to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer gently, 1 hour. When oil begins to float on the top, sauce is done.
Remove carrot; cool and refrigerate sauce overnight.
Sauce may be used with poultry, fish or vegetables in pasta dishes. Makes 3-1/2 quarts.
Approximate nutritional information, per serving: 130 calories, 6.5 g total fat, 1 g saturated fat, no cholesterol, 650 mg sodium, 18 g carbohydrate, 3.5 g protein.*
Can you help?
If you have a line on any of these recipes, be a hero and get in touch through one of the means listed below:
>> James M. Hart wants to know how to make honey-roasted macadamia nuts.
>> Candace Yap is looking for a recipe for salt meat and watercress. Now that she's moved to the mainland, this dish is impossible for her to find.
>> Mary Odayami yearns for the date-nut bread served at the old King's Bakery.
>> Lance Tamura never liked turkey stuffing -- except the stuffing served at the old Bea's Drive-Inn. He's hoping someone has that recipeFood Stuffs: Morsels
Send queries along with name and phone number to:
"By Request," Honolulu Star-Bulletin,
500 Ala Moana, No. 7-210, Honolulu 96813.
Or send e-mail to bshimabukuro@starbulletin.com
Asterisk (*) after nutritional analyses in the
Body & Soul section indicates calculations by
Joannie Dobbs of Exploring New Concepts,
a nutritional consulting firm.
