Elegant Entertaining ~ Passionate about healthy food and entertaining!

• Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.

Prepare Roasting Pan

• Add some olive oil to a roasting pan and 1 cup of chicken broth, add 2 quartered onions and chopped carrots to the bottom of the pan to create a bed for the chicken. I add a grate on top of the vegetables to allow air to flow under the chicken for an even cook. Set aside.

Prepare the chicken

• Chop fresh herbs.
• In a small bowl, add butter and then mix in chopped fresh herbs (oregano, thyme, parsley) with the butter until combined.
• Rub the herb butter under the skin of the chicken breast and all over the outside of the chicken.
• In a small bowl combine Herbs de Provence, smoked paprika, salt and pepper.
• Season inside the chicken cavity with half of the Herbs de Provence mix. Put lemon, garlic, onion, in the cavity.
• Season the outside of the chicken with the remaining Herbs de Provence mix.
• Wrap the chicken with butcher twine. Place the chicken breast side up in the prepared roasting pan.
• Roast at 425 degrees for an hour and half or until an instant read thermometer reads 165 degrees.
• Take the chicken out of the oven and remove it from the roasting pan. Let the chicken rest for 10 minutes before slicing.

Gravy

• Place the roasting pan on medium heat. In the roasting pan with the chicken drippings, add the flour and whisk well to ensure there are no lumps. Gradually add the chicken broth and Worcestershire sauce, stirring continuously until smooth. Season to taste and continue cooking until the gravy has thickened.
• Enjoy!

• In a large pot or Dutch oven add olive oil and sauté onions, ginger and garlic until the onions are translucent.
• Add salt, pepper, turmeric and chili flakes and mix well.
• Add chickpeas that have been drained and rinsed. While rinsing the chickpeas I remove most of the outer skin, but that is very optional. Note: You can use dried chickpeas, as well, but they must be pre-soaked and fully cooked before adding them to the stew.
• Cook chickpeas and aromatics for 10 minutes.
• Add coconut milk and vegetable or chicken broth. Stir well and season with salt and pepper.
• Cook for 30 minutes.
• Prepare greens – remove the stem from the swiss chard and cut into bite size pieces. Add greens just before serving. Cook for about 5 minutes.
• Serve in bowls.
• Garnish with 1 tablespoon Greek style yogurt, topped with mint leaves, chili flakes, a nice drizzle of olive oil and a squirt of lime juice.

• In a large pot or dutch oven, heat olive oil over medium high heat and sauté onion for 4 minutes. Add in the garlic and sauté for an additional minute.
• Add in the rest of the ingredients, except cilantro and lime juice, and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and let the soup simmer for about 30 to 45 minutes, until chicken is tender and cooked through.
• Once the chicken is cooked, remove it from the pot and shred the chicken using two forks. Add the shredded chicken back into the soup along with the cilantro and lime juice.
• Serve steaming hot in large bowls. Top the soup with avocado cubes, cheese, cilantro, tortilla strips or chips.

• Chop the mushrooms in a food processor or by hand.
• In a pot, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the shallot and garlic, reduce the heat to low, and cook the vegetables for 3 or 4 minutes.
• Add the mushrooms to the vegetables and stir well, add oregano, season with salt and pepper. Increase the heat to medium and cook for 5 minutes until the mushroom liquid releases and begins to reduce.
• Add the red wine, worcerstershire sauce and cook until the mixture is nearly dry. Add the tomatoes, reduce the heat to a simmer, and cook for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the chili flakes or hot sauce. Adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper to taste, cover, and keep warm while you cook the pasta.
• Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add a large pinch of salt, add the pasta, and cook to al dente, according to the package directions.
• Drain the pasta and divide it among four warmed bowls. Ladle the sauce over each portion of pasta and serve. Garnish with parmesan.

Prepare your Ingredients

• Slice fennel into fine slices, chop onion, shallots, garlic, parsley, basil.
• Add 1 cup of warmed stock to a bowl, add a pinch of saffron and stir.
• In a bowl of water soak the clams prior to cooking.
• Scrub and debeard your mussels, then soak in a bowl of water.
  

Prepare the Cioppino Sauce

• Heat the olive oil in a very large pot or dutch oven over medium heat. Add the chopped fennel, onion, shallots, and salt. Saute until the onion is translucent, about 10 minutes.
• Add the chopped garlic and red pepper flakes, then saute 4 minutes.
• Stir in the tomato paste. Add the wine and fish stock and tomatoes with their juices. Add bay leaves. Add saffron stock.
• Cover and bring to a simmer, reduce the heat and simmer for about 30 minutes.
  
• If you are makeing the sauce ahead of time, then cool the sauce and store it in an airtight container. It can be refriderated two or three days befor your dinner. Or it can be frozen for upto two months.

Putting it all together

• Into the warmed cioppino sauce, add the clams and mussels. Cover and cook until the clams and mussels just begin to open, about 5 minutes. Add the shrimp and fish. Simmer gently until the fish and shrimp are just cooked through, and the clams and mussels are completely open, stirring gently (discard any clams and mussels that do not open)
• Season the stew, to taste, with more pepper, salt and red pepper flakes. Remove the bay leaves.
• Meanwhile, cook the spaghetti according to package directions or to desired doneness.
• Remove the lid and stir. Remove the shrimp, mussels, clams and fish to a bowl. Drain the pasta, reserving a cup of the pasta water. Add the pasta water to the tomato mixture followed by the spaghetti and stir through the sauce. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Add the chopped parsley, reserving some for garnish, and stir.
• To serve, add the pasta to serving bowls, spoon over the tomato sauce and add the shrimp, mussels, clams and fish. Garnish with parsley, basil and a drizzle of olive oil.

A Refined Cioppino

• If you want to have a more refined Cioppino, then with an emersion blender, blend the sauce, then run the sauce through a sieve.
  
• Ladle the sauce (and pasta if using) into serving bowls. Top with mussels, clams, prawns, fish.
• Garnish with parsley and basil.
• Serve with warm crusty bread.