rosemary dijon chicken ‘n rice arugula

The other night we hosted a number of friends and stoked up the big ‘ol outdoor turkey deep fryer which kept the folks entertained and well fed with an array of fried fare, and debauchery. At one point (with the first basket of french fries) I thought our band new outdoor shower might have gone up in flames, thankfully it was just a river of boiling oil next to a rocking open flame bubbling around my flip flop feet! Yikes!  You can be sure if the deep fryer comes out (which happens about once a year) some comedy ensues. We fried up: 2 whole chickens (1 from our stock and 1 my dear friend raised to it’s full on 7.5 lb fulness),  7 kokanee lake fresh fish the boys caught the day before they were fried whole until crunchy and perfect, dozens of veggie pakoras and a mountain of fries. Good thing I advised everyone to bring healthy leafy veggies and nothing fatty to accompony this fry up! My girlfriend for the first time in her life showed up at the party with a raw, thawed bird as her pot luck item! PERFECT!

It was a great night, and in the end most everything was consumed, except the last chicken  “Jayne Mansfield”, We had about 2/3 of her left and I felt she deserved the guest of honor place on the dinner table the next day so I whipped up this citrus mustard maple dish to soak her in and served her on a mountain of fresh arugula that another friend brought a pillow case sized bag full of!

This was a great way to serve left over chicken, but I think it would be perfect with tofu or white beans in place of the chicken. The nice thing about this dish is the hot rice blend was served over the fresh and unseasoned aruluga which wilted just a little and added such a nice fresh peppery crunch to the meal.

Cook 2-3 cups of rice using your favorite method.

Then in a large cast iron deep pan:

Brown 1 chopped onion in organic veggie oil

along with 4 cloves of garlic

once translucent and 4 cups of cooked chicken (or cooked beans, or add tofu and brown)

season with:

S+P

1 sprague of rosemary, beat and chopped

1.5 cups of hot water and one veggie bullion cube

2 tbsp dijon mustard

1 tbsp cayenne pepper

the juice from 1 lime

2 tbsp maple syrup

add 2 grated carrots

and one handful of crest finely chopped

Simmer away in the sauce for 5-10 minutes.

Mix chicken with cooked rice and serve over arugula (way more than you think you need as like spinach it wilts rapidly.. I used about 12 cups to serve 6 people)

Garnish with fresh chopped crest and rosemary, a squeeze of lime and a little sprinkle of sea salt.

Simple left over indulgence.

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