Gin is not just for James Bond anymore. Over the past decade gin has become the darling of the spirits world. Countries all over the globe make gin enhanced with everything from botanicals from a specific Downton Abbey plot of land to Asian tea. My husband and I have amassed quite a collection of gin from around the world. We like gin, but wine is our "go-to" beverage, so I decided to put our collection to work in the kitchen and here are 3 simple recipes to try it yourself.
007 Chicken
Sear skin on, bone in, salted chicken breast or other mild protein (rabbit hind quarters from D'Artagnan mail order pictured here) in a dutch oven or saute pan. Remove and add a couple smashed garlic cloves; discard when browned and add finely chopped red onion or shallots and cook until softened. Stir in a tablespoon of Wondra flour (it's extra fine and great for sauces). Pour in a cup of vermouth, 1/2 cup of aromatic gin and a cup of chcken broth. Reduce a bit before reintroducing the chicken back into the pan, skin side up. Add abit of lemon zest (1/2 lemon), one 10 oz. bottle of un-pitted Castelveltrano olives along with their brine and a few more splashes of gin and place into a pre-heated 350°F oven. Cook uncovered until done, approximatly 30-40 minutes. I like to serve it in bowls with lots of extra sauce. Garnish with parsley.
Pre-pitted olives can get mushy in the middle so I prefer to buy unpitted. For a busy weeknight, don't worry about pitting them, just warn your family about the pits!
Pasta al Gin
Who doesn't love a plate of the Italian-American pasta with vodka sauce? It's heavenly silky and makes a perfect weeknight meal with ingredients you likely have on hand. My friend Merete makes a delicious one and was inspiration for this recipe.
Simply melt some finely chopped red onion in olive oil and add a finely grated garlic clove (I do this with a microplane). Add a squeeze of tomato paste (1 T) and a large pinch of red pepper flakes. Introduce about 1 C passata (strained tomotoes) and 1/4 C gin. Cook down a bit and before adding in 1/4 C cream, cook to combine and thicken. When pasta is almost al dente, add another splash of gin to the sauce, stir and add in the pasta along with whatever pasta cooking water sticks to the noodles. Cook together to incorporate, another minute or two adding more pasta water if necessary. Off the heat add in some grated parmigiano.
Slow Roasted Salmon with Gin (Food & Wine, June 2024)
I don't measure often measure so I will explain what I did which streamlines the process. Heat oven to 225°F while making the sauce, which is combining thinly sliced shallots, halved grape tomatoes, rinsed salt-cured capers, 1/4 C gin, a splash of olive oil and the zest and half-moon slices of half a lemon. Drizzel olive oil on a sheet pan, add salmon (skin down if it has skin) and a little more oil on top of the salmon and then salt. Just before cooking pour the sauce over the salmon and bake for approximately 10-15 minutes depending on fish thickness.
I hope these ideas will encourage you to experiment in the kitchen. Please send me your feedback and let me know how you like to cook with your liquor cabinet!
Buon appetito!
Ciao for now,
Andrea
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