Poached Chicken with Celery and Rice

What a boring sounding dish. What, are you making sandwiches for tea time or something? Like it’s 1935 and your grandmother from England is coming over? Jeez, it just sounds so…meh. Fine, I’ll try it. Truth is, you’ll like poached chicken and celery. Just like that dude in Green Eggs and Ham, you’ll try it and declare that you’d eat it everywhere and with anyone (boats, goats, boxes, foxes, etc etc). Trust me. Serves 4 Ingredients: 1 L bone broth (recipe follows, or you can get a liter at our shop!) 2 pieces star anise 8 whole peppercorns 2 bay leaves 4 chicken legs 1 celery head, outer stalks removed and trimmed to 4-5 inches above the base 2 cups short grained rice to taste salt and pepper 4 tbsp blue cheese, crumbled 2 tbsp green onion, sliced Method:

1. Pour the bone broth into a sauce pot and add the star anise, peppercorns, bay leaves, and the chicken legs. Bring to a light simmer over a low heat. Add the celery, cover, and poach at a very low heat until the chicken legs are cooked through (about 40 minutes). To know when the chicken is cooked, use an internal thermometer plunged into the thickest part of the leg until it reads 165°F. Remove the chicken and celery and set aside.
2. While the chicken is poaching, rinse the rice under cold water to remove the excess starch. Soak the rice in cold water until the chicken is cooked.
3. After the chicken and celery are cooked and set aside, strain the broth, then measure and pour 2 cups back into the same pot. Quarter the celery lengthwise and place in a small bowl. Pour any excess broth over the celery and place the bowl on your stovetop (off the heat) to keep it warm until serving time.
4. Strain the rice and add to the pot with the broth. Bring to boil over a medium heat, then lower the heat to a bare simmer, cover, and cook for 20 minutes, or until the rice is fully cooked and has absorbed the broth. Take off the heat and let sit for an additional ten minutes.
5. Preheat the broiler to high.
6. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil. Place the chicken legs, skin side up, on the sheet. Place it under the broiler until the skin is golden brown (about one minute or two).
7. To serve, place a scoop of rice into four shallow bowls or plates. Take the celery out of the broth and set on the rice, then place the browned leg next to the celery. Pour a tablespoon or two of the broth from the celery bowl over the chicken leg. Season with salt and pepper if desired, then sprinkle 1 tbsp of the blue cheese and green onions over each dish. Serve immediately.

Bone Broth Makes 4 liters Ingredients 1 kg chicken carcass bones ½ kg beef knuckle bones, cut into small pieces (ask your butcher) ½ kg beef marrow bones, cut into small pieces (ask your butcher) 2 tbsp tomato paste 2 pc Spanish onion, peeled and cut into quarters 2 pc garlic bulbs, left unpeeled and cut in half width-wise 4 pc medium sized carrots, peeled and cut in half width-wise 4 pc celery stalks, washed and cut in half width-wise 2 pc parsnip, peeled and cut in half width-wise 5 tsp salt 2 tbsp whole peppercorns 6 pc bay leaves 8 branches fresh thyme Method Preheat the oven to 375°F. Ask your butcher to cut up the beef bones as small as they feel comfortable doing so. Spread the beef bones and the chicken bones out in a roasting pan and place in the oven. Roast for forty-five minutes, or until golden brown. Take the bones out of the oven and put them into a large stock pot. Add the tomato paste, onions, carrots, celery, garlic, and parsnips to the same roasting tray, and stir them around to pick up some of the fat from the bones. Put into the oven and roast for another forty-five minutes, stirring once or twice, until the vegetables are golden brown. Take the tray out of the oven and scrape the vegetables into the stock pot. Pour a cup of water into the roasting pan and place it over a medium heat on the stovetop. As the water comes to a simmer, use a wooden spoon to scrape all of the good bits of roasting bones and vegetables from the bottom of the pan, and add that to the stock pot. Pour 4.5 cups of COLD water over the bones and vegetables in the stock pot. If the bones aren’t completely covered with the water, add just enough to cover them. Add the salt, peppercorn, bay leaves, and thyme to the pot and place over a medium heat. Bring the broth to a simmer, then turn the heat down to low. The broth should be just bubbling, maybe a bubble or two every ten seconds. Allow the broth to simmer at this temperature for at least eight hours, carefully skimming any scummy water off the surface. After the eight hours, strain the broth through a large colander, and then again through a fine mesh strainer. This extra step just helps ensure a clearer broth. Taste the broth for seasoning, and add more salt to your liking.