MAIN DISH
ARGENTINE CHICKEN IN ORANGE SAUCE
Serve with rice, mashed potatoes or potato salad.
• 1 (3- to 3 ½-pound) chicken, quartered
• Salt and freshly ground pepper
• 3 tablespoons butter
• 1 cup chicken stock (homemade or canned)
• 1 cup orange juice
• Grated zest of 1 orange
• 1 tablespoon flour
• 2 eggs
• 1 tablespoon heavy cream
Season chicken with salt and pepper. Heat the butter in a Dutch oven or large, heavy skillet on medium-high heat. Sauté chicken pieces, one or two at a time, until golden on both sides; set aside. Pour off any fat into a small bowl and set aside.
Return the chicken to the pot, putting the legs in first with the breasts on top. Add the chicken stock, orange juice and zest. Cover and simmer 35 to 45 minutes, until the chicken is done. Lift the chicken onto a serving dish and cover to keep warm.
Mix the flour with a tablespoon of the reserved fat and stir it into the liquid in the casserole. Bring to a boil and cook, stirring for a minute or two. Reduce heat to low. Beat the eggs with the cream. Stir 1 cup of the thickened liquid from the casserole, 1 tablespoon at a time, into the egg mixture, then pour the mixture into the casserole and cook, stirring with a wire whisk, until the sauce is lightly thickened, a minute or two. Avoid boiling the sauce, as it will break apart. Pour some of the sauce over the chicken and serve the remaining on the side. Makes 4 servings.
Source: Adapted from The Book of Latin American Cooking by Elisabeth Lambert Ortiz (Ecco, 1994).
Per serving: 506 calories (66 percent from fat), 36.7 g fat (14 g saturated, 13.7 g monounsaturated), 242.5 mg cholesterol, 30.8 g protein, 11.7 g carbohydrates, 0.2 g fiber, 283.9 mg sodium.
