i lived in london for a time
and discovered
you never know how many friends you have
until
you have a flat
in a city
everyone has been dying to visit
i rarely cooked when i had company
as it was
a great excuse to try the local fare
when my mom and my sister arrived for an extended stay
they had done their homework
and knew of a place
that was just beginning to make its mark
on the london food scene
called Moro
and it didn't disappoint
the food was moorish and lovely without being overtly heavy
five years later
i was wandering the aisles of a book store in firenze
and came across Moro's cookbook
in english no less
and i have been inspired by it ever since
tonight's meal is a combination
of
what the spanish call serranitos
and the italian saltimboca
i call the dish
but it could easily be called
delicioso!
8 chicken tenders (or breast meat sliced to resemble tenders)
1/4 tsp smoked paprika
2 garlic cloves--smashed to a paste
a few glugs olive oil
salt and pepper
2 pasilla chiles
4-5 slices prosciutto
rolls of choice or ciabatta or even a baguette
put the olive oil, garlic and paprika in a ziploc bag. drop in the chicken tenders rub them with the marinade and let sit for about 15-20 minutes. you can leave for longer, but i wouldn't go more than 4 hours.
Meanwhile prepare your bread and pasilla
toast the bread under the broiler or in a grill pan. set aside. on the stovetop, put enough olive oil in a frying pan to cover the bottom. drop the pasilla chiles (whole) into the pan and cook until they become soft and browned. remove from heat and when you can handle them, remove the stem and seeds and slice in large pieces. place on the bread slices.
remove the chicken from the marinade and pat to remove excess oil. wrap each piece in prosciutto and place in same pan you cooked the chiles--fry using medium heat. add olive oil as necessary...but don't over-do it.
once cooked, place chicken on top of pasilla
I use the same pan to make a warm romaine salad
take romaine hearts and slice in half or quarters--taking care to leave the base so the leaves don't come apart
place cut side down in pan and heat gently. remove from the pan and add a thinly sliced shallot. once the shallot begins to brown, pour in red wine or sherry wine vinegar to deglaze the pan. pour in a bit of olive oil, salt and pepper and a bit of mustard if you prefer to make a vinegary dressing. lightly pour over the lettuce.
I also served shoestring yams
slice purple, white and orange yams into matchsticks
deep fry and serve with good amount of salt
EAT UP!