1 4-lb chicken, quartered
1/4 cup butter
1 tbsp vegetable oil
1 onion, sliced thinly
1 cup beer
4 tbsp tomato paste
1 bay leaf
1 salt and pepper to taste
1/2 cup light cream
1 boiled rice, to serve
Directions
Melt the butter and oil in a flameproof casserole or a heavy-bottomed
pan large enough to hold the chicken in one layer. When the foaming
stops, brown the chicken over medium-high heat, turning it until
golden on all sides. Remove the pieces from the pan and add the
onion, cooking until golden and stirring frequently.
Replace the chicken in the casserole or pan, mix the beer and tomatoe
paste together and pour the mixture around the chicken. Add the bay
leaf and seaon with salt and pepper. Cover and cook the chicken over
low heat for 45 minutes or until tender.
Place the chicken quarters on a bed of boiled rice and keep warm.
Skim off any fat from the cooking liquid, stir in the cream and
reheat without letting it boil, then pour it over the chicken and
rice and serve.
This recipe for chicken and beer comes from Switzerland's Tecino
region, where the cooking tends toward Italian-style.
Servings: 4 servings
Brewer's Chicken Recipe brought to you by Recipe Ideas
Categories: Chicken; Poultry
The History of Recipes
It is possible to track the history of `recipes` far back into the distant past, in truth as far as pharonic Egypt, and maybe even further. Interesting though that maybe, mostly, these ancient cook books were just basic hieroglyphic recipes for preparing food.
Fascinatingly, the most ancient recipe discovered, according to Professor Solomon Katz, is a collection of stone tablets in ancient Sumerian which show the preparation of bread which is then used to make a drink, quite possibly a form of beer as it is recorded as making those who drank it feel exhilarated and blissful. Progressing into The time of the roman empire around 25BC a roman called Apicius wrote a few documents which described recipes enjoyed by wealthy Romans. In his publication, Apicius recounts how the meals were split into hors d`oeuvres, main course and dessert, something that is very familiar to us today. Additionally, he describes how the Roman chefs made use of a good variety of spices, including some that we all recognise such as basil, mint and parsley. In the 15th century, people returning from the crusades brought back many new spices and herbs from the holy land, including spices like coriander, basil and rosemary. These new spices and herbs created a torrent in manuscripts on food, some of which still exist in private cookery archives. Over the following few centuries, the powerful and wealthy tried to serve the most exotic banquets, and consequentially the best chefs and their recipes were highly sought after. Even so, it wasn`t until the nineteenth century that formal cookery and recipe publications became really popular. Mrs Beeton in the UK, and the equally famous Fannie Merritt Farmer in the US, dedicated the best years of their lives to collecting, testing, and writing down popular recipes of the day. When we get to the 1900s, cook books were increasing in popularity mostly due to better eduction, people having increased free time and being a little richer. |
We hope you enjoy this Brewer's Chicken recipe.
