I get a daily email from La Cucina Italiana magazine – in Italian. It always has lots of recipes – also in Italian. My web browser automatically translates to English, but we all know how web translators can butcher a language. I think it’s especially true with recipes. There’s a nuance with cooking terminology that they just can’t always get – they’re still a bit too literal. Fortunately, I know how to cook and rarely follow recipes, anyway.
One recipe that I saw a few days ago caught my eye – Spiedini di Pollo, Fagioli, e Albicocche – Skewers of Chicken, Beans, and Apricots. I decided it was a must-try, even before reading the recipe. I’m an apricot fiend, so anything with apricots is sure to grab my attention.
Skewers of Chicken, Beans, and Apricots
INGREDIENTS
- 400 g a chicken breast
- 200 g chicken sausage
- 200 g boiled borlotti beans
- 80 g dry white wine
- 2 fresh apricots
- a yellow pepper
- a red pepper
- extra virgin olive oil
- garlic
- salt
For the recipe of chicken, bean and apricot skewers, reduce the chicken breast and large-sized sausage and cut the peppers into squares. Put the chicken and sausage meat dice in 4 wooden skewers alternating with the yellow and red pepper squares.
Heat a little oil and 2 cloves of peeled garlic in a large pan, and cook the skewers for 5 ‘each side, drizzling with the wine halfway through cooking. Remove the frying pan and season the beans with the apricots in pieces for 10 minutes, sprinkling them with a little water. Lightly salt the skewers and serve with the beans and apricots.
I changed the recipe around a bit…
The local Wegmans didn’t have any apricots, today, and a single yellow pepper was $2.69. I’m doing a produce run down to Gentile’s tomorrow, but that didn’t help me, today. I bought a couple of over-priced plums, instead. No apricots. I know it’s the end of the season, but…
You’ll note that the recipe calls for 200gr – 7 ounces – of boiled borlotti beans. Borlotti beans are cranberry beans – a nice nutty, creamy bean. In theory, one could just boil them and toss them with a bit of olive oil – and that’s probably how the recipe intended them – but I decided I wanted something a bit more flavorful. I cooked them with ham, a bit of bell pepper, and shallots – and a healthy splash of red wine – along with smoked paprika and garlic. There’s enough left over for a side with lunch, tomorrow…
The skewers were a chicken breast, bell pepper, and a zucchini – no need for sausage on top of chicken breast. (My, how times have changed!)
I did cook them in the skillet as the recipe stated – and added the white wine halfway through. What I didn’t do was add the plums to the beans. I tossed them into the skillet after taking out the skewers and served them atop the beans – not mixed in.
All-in-all?!? A really good meal.
Other than soaking and cooking the beans, it was a quick to put together dinner. We’ll probably have variations for years to come!