Lilly's Kitchen

Makes 6 servings

Ingredients

• 6 chicken thighs skin-on, bone-in optional
• 550 grams of Yukon gold potatoes, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
• 3 tablespoons harrisa
• 2 and 1/2 tablespoons of olive oil
• 2 leeks halved lengthwise and thinly sliced
• 1/2 teaspoon cumin
• 1/3 cup plain yogurt
• 1 small garlic clove
• baby arugula
• chopped fresh dill
• lemon juice as needed
• Salt and black pepper as needed

Directions

1. The Night Before

Dry brine the chicken thighs, skin side up, overnight in the fridge. Leave them uncovered.

2. Prep the Chicken and Potatoes 

Preheat the oven to 425 ˚F. Combine chicken and potatoes in a large bowl. Season with salt and pepper. In a small bowl, whisk together the harissa, cumin and 1 and 1/2 tablespoons oil. Pour over chicken and potatoes and toss to combine. Let stand at room temperature for 30 minutes, or up to 8 hours in the refrigerator.

3. Prep the Leeks

Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, combine leeks, lemon juice, a pinch of salt and the remaining tablespoon of oil.

4. Bake

Arrange chicken and potatoes on a large rimmed baking sheet in a single layer. Roast 15 minutes. Toss potatoes lightly. Scatter leeks over pan. Roast until chicken and potatoes are cooked through and everything is golden and slightly crisped, 25 to 30 minutes longer.

5. Make Yogurt Sauce and Plate

While chicken cooks, place yogurt in a small bowl. Grate garlic over yogurt and season to taste with salt, pepper, and lemon juice.

To serve, spoon yogurt over chicken and vegetables in the pan. Scatter arugula and dill over mixture. Drizzle with oil and lemon juice and serve.

Notes:

Makes 4 servings

Ingredients

• 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 2 shallots, thinly sliced
• 7 clove garlic, thinly sliced
• 1 carrot,  julienned
• 3 Thai bird or holland chilies, sliced
• 1 pound ground meat
• 1 teaspoon palm, brown, or turbinado sugar, preference in that order
• 1 tablespoon fish sauce
• 1 tablespoon tamari
• 2 teaspoons soy sauce
• 2 teaspoons oyster sauce
• 1/3 cup chicken broth 
• 1 and 1/2 cups of Thai or holy basil leaves, packed

Directions

1. Prep

Combine the sugar, fish sauce, soy sauce, tamari, and oyster sauce and stir to combine. Combine the shallots and garlic and combine the carrot and chilies.

2. Stir-fry

In a wok or carbon steel pan over high heat add the oil and wait until the oil shimmers, then swirl it around the sides to season the pan.

Add the shallots and garlic and fry for 3 minutes. Add the carrot and chilies and cook for another 3 minutes. Add the meat, breaking it up into small bits and stir-fry until the meat is browned and crisped in places.

3. Add the liquids

Add the soy sauce mixture. Stir-fry for another minute or until the liquid is gone. Deglaze the pan with the broth. After almost all the broth cooks off add the basil, and stir-fry until wilted. Serve over rice or with crusty bread.

Makes 8 pitas

Ingredients

• 1 and 1/2 cups warm water
• 1 teaspoon yeast
• 300 grams AP flour
• 200 grams bread flour
• 40 grams rye or whole wheat flour
• 2 tablespoons oil
• 3 and 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt

Directions

1. Activate the yeast

Combine the water and yeast in a stand mixer bowl and let sit for 5 minutes.

2. Mix the dough

Reserve 60 grams of AP flour and add the rest to the bowl along with the oil. Stir the mixture on low until all of the flour is incorporated. Cover the dough and let it rest for 30 minutes.

With the stand mixer on low add the salt followed by the remaining flour 2 tablespoons at a time. The dough should feel tense, but soft. It should be tacky and pull away from the sides of the bowl.

3. Bulk rise

Pour the dough out onto a floured work surface. Tighten up the dough by tucking the edge of your hand under the dough and pulling it towards you, moving your way around the edge of the dough to keep tucking the edges underneath. This will help to smooth out the surface of the dough and ensure an even fermentation.

Add a little olive oil to a large bowl or tub, spreading it around using your fingers to coat the container. Place the dough inside and cover with a cloth or the lid, and leave to bulk ferment at room temperature on your kitchen countertop for 1 hour. After 1 hour stretch opposite sides if the dough over the center. Rotate the bowl a quarter turn and repeat, then flip the dough over and let rise for one more hour.

Repeat the stretching and folding one time followed by an additional hour of rise.

4. Cold rise

Tightly cover the dough and let it rise in the fridge for 48 hours.

5. Shape and final prove

Pour the dough out onto a floured work surface and divide into 8 equal pieces. Roll the pieces into smooth taunt balls and lay seam side down on a baking sheet. Cover the balls lightly with oil and then cover the whole sheet and let the balls rise for 2-4 hours until they’re pillowy.

6. Rolling out the dough

Immediately after starting the final rise, set a baking steel on the middle rack and turn on the broiled as high as it goes.

When the dough is ready lightly flour your work surface and gently grab a dough ball and briskly roll it out a few times along its length. Flip in upside down and rotate it a quarter turn and roll it our along its length again. Repeat this process until the dough has become a 7 inch round circle.

7. Baking

Carefully pick of the pita and drape it over your palm. Either by pulling the rack slightly out of the oven and dropping the pita onto the stone by upending your hand or by hucking the pita onto the stone, place the pita onto the stone. Watch the pita and after the pocket fully forms flip it using tongs and cook for another minute. Remove the pita and let it cool on a baking sheet covered by a towel.

Repeat this step for the remaining 7 pieces of dough

Makes about 2 liters of stock and 1 liter of second stock. 4-6 servings of stock

Ingredients

• 1 whole chicken
• ~20 black peppercorns
• 2 cloves of garlic
• A few whole sprigs of dill, optional
• Enough water to submerge the chicken, more for the second stock

Directions

1. Prepare the Chicken

Wash the chicken. Make sure to remove any giblets. Remove the breasts and reserve if the stock will be used for ramen type soups.

2. Boil and Skim

Place the chicken in a pot and add enough water to cover completely. Bring the water to a rigorous boil and skim any scum that comes to the top. Boil for 15 minutes or until no more scum comes up. If you are making a clear stock (Chintan) proceed to step 3. If you are making a cloudy or white stock (Paitan) proceed to step 4.

3. Clear Stock (Chintan)

Reduce the temperature of the pot to just below boiling and hold. Add the peppercorns. After 2 hours remove the chicken from the pot and allow to cool for 20 minutes. Shred the chicken and return the carcass to the pot. At the last hour add the garlic and dill. After 5-6 hours filter the stock through a cheese or muslin cloth. You will need to press the stock through the cloth. Allow the stock to cool before portioning into jars for freezing. Proceed to step 5 for making a second stock (remouillage).

4. Cloudy or White Stock (Paitan)

Keep the pot at a boil. Add the peppercorns. After 2 hours remove the chicken from the pot and allow to cool for 20 minutes. Shred the chicken and return the carcass to the pot. At the last hour add the garlic and dill. After 5-6 hours filter the stock through a fine mesh sieve. Use an immersion blender or a blender to homogenize the stock. Allow the stock to cool before portioning into jars for freezing. Proceed to step 5 for making a second stock (remouillage).

5. Second Stock (Remouillage)

Add water to cover the carcass. Boil for 5-6 hours adding water as necessary to keep the bones covered. Filter the stock through a fine mesh sieve, being sure to press the bones to get all of the liquid out. Use an immersion blender or a blender to homogenize the stock. Allow the stock to cool before portioning into jars for freezing.

Makes 2 ~14 inch pies

Ingredients

• 500 grams bread flour
• 310 grams of water
• 14 grams of olive oil
• 12 grams of honey
• 12 grams of kosher salt
• 0.3 grams of yeast (1/4 teaspoon)
• 14 grams of diastatic malt (Optional, improves browning)

Directions

1. Make the dough

Combine all of the ingredients in a stand mixer bowl and mix on low until an all of the ingredients are incorporated. Let the dough rest for 10 minutes, then mix on high for 5-7 minutes or until the dough windowpanes. The dough is finished kneading when it’s smooth, bouncy and its shape bounces back after pressing into the dough with your fingers. You should be able to squeeze it and pull it without any tearing.

2. Bulk rise

On a floured work surface, tighten up the dough by tucking the edge of your hand under the dough and pulling it towards you, moving your way around the edge of the dough to keep tucking the edges underneath. This will help to smooth out the surface of the dough and ensure an even fermentation.

Add a little olive oil to a large bowl or tub, spreading it around using your fingers to coat the container. Place the dough inside and cover with a cloth or the lid, and leave to bulk ferment at room temperature on your kitchen countertop for 3 hours. The dough is finished bulk fermenting when it’s at least doubled in size and has lots of air bubbles appearing under the surface.

3. Divide and cold rise

Portion the dough into 2 equal pieces. Shape each piece of dough into a ball using the same technique as tightening up the bulk dough.

Once shaped, place the dough on a floured piece of parchment paper. Then place the dough and parchment paper in a tupperware large enough for the dough to double or triple in size. Cover with the tupperware’s lid and place inside the fridge to cold prove for 24-72 hours. 48 hours has given me the best results so far.

4. Shaping the dough and baking the pizza

Take the dough out of the fridge at least two hours before you want to use it. Turn the oven on to its highest setting with the steel on the lowest rack at least 1 hour before you want to cook the pizza, longer is better. Ensure that there is a heavy dusting of cornmeal or semolina on the pizza peel before shaping.

After the dough has warmed up start to shape the dough by pressing down in the center and work your way towards the edges in a circular pattern until a crust has formed. Stretch the crust further by pulling it in a circular motion around the outside of the dough. Then you can stretch the dough the rest of the way in the air.

After stretching place the dough on the peel and dress the pizza. Be sure not to overload it. Add greens like arugula after baking.