Missing Charlie

(Wall Street Journal)

It's still rhubarb season and Charlie isn't at home.  I'm not complaining, believe me.  He has a job, which any parent of a college student will agree is a good thing, and he's enjoying his summer.  But I can't help it.  Every time I see rhubarb I have a desire to whip up something that he would love.

The other day The Wall Street Journal had a recipe for crispy chicken with a fennel and rhubarb compote.  It sounded really good so I decided to try it.

I have to start by saying that I am not usually a fan of bone in, skin on chicken thighs.  I know that the bone and skin add a lot of flavor, and I also know that the thighs are very flavorful as well.  But all that skin and connective stuff just turns me off.  I thought about making the recipe with breasts but then decided to take a leap of faith and go with the thighs.  I'm glad I did.  The meat was juicy and flavorful in a way that breast meat cannot be.  Obviously there's something to the hype on the thighs.

The compote was delicious as well.  I am so used to using rhubarb to make something sweet that the savory nature of the compote was unexpected.  It had just a little honey in it and that balanced the tartness of the rhubarb without being cloying.  The fennel added a really nice licoricey taste which was really nice with the rhubarb.

I'm actually not sure if Charlie would have liked this as he's kind of a strawberry rhubarb guy.  But he'll be home for a couple of weeks in August so I think I may give this recipe a whirl for him then.

Recipe:  Crispy Roast Chicken with Rhubarb and Fennel

(Andrea Reusing, Lantern Restaurant, Chapel Hill, NC from The Wall Street Journal)

Ingredients:

4½ teaspoons kosher salt

1 teaspoon fennel seed, ground or smashed

1 teaspoon whole fennel seed

¼ teaspoon chili flakes

4 chicken thighs, bone in, skin on

3 tablespoons olive oil

2 cups dry white wine

1 cup water

3 tablespoons honey

2 cloves garlic

5 whole black peppercorns

1 bay leaf

1 teaspoon whole coriander seeds

1 small yellow onion, peeled, halved and sliced thin

2 medium fennel bulbs, outer leaves removed, halved lengthwise and sliced into ¼-inch half rounds, inner fronds reserved

2 large stalks rhubarb, cut into ½-inch pieces

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

2. Mix 2 teaspoons salt with ground fennel seeds and chili flakes. Rub all over chicken.

3. Set a medium heavy-bottomed pan over medium heat. Swirl in 1 tablespoon olive oil. Lay chicken, skin-side down, in pan. Cook 5-7 minutes, or until skin is browned and crisped. Flip chicken, so skin-side faces up, and transfer to oven. Roast until done, about 10 minutes. Remove from oven and let rest.

4. While chicken roasts, combine wine, water, honey, 2 ½ teaspoons salt, garlic, peppercorns, bay leaf, coriander and whole fennel seeds in a medium pot. Bring to a simmer over medium heat. Add onion, fennel and remaining olive oil. Simmer 10 minutes, or until fennel is al dente.

5. Add rhubarb and simmer until just tender, about 4 minutes. Season broth with salt, if needed.

6. Spoon about ½ cup vegetable mixture into 4 shallow bowls. Ladle ¼ cup broth over top. Place a chicken thigh in each bowl and garnish with reserved fennel fronds.