July 28, 2011

On Bringing New to The Old.

Don’t discard the giblets!

Pan fired Chicken giblets is a regular dish on my home-cooking menu. Not only do they taste delicious, they are also packed full of nutrients such as iron, among many. Really good for your and your children’s bodies and blood flow. But not to dwell on the health/technical part of this food, this post is more on Bringing New to the Old. This pan fried chicken giblets preparation is an old and traditional dish belonging to the classic Palestinian cuisine. Here, I am using this classic recipe as a base and building on it 3 different serving ways. This is to keep the recipe alive instead of it falling out into old and boring. Also this is to bring new to this dish to allow it to fit well into today’s buffets and meals.

Chicken giblets, are mainly chicken hearts & livers.

They are traditionally prepared by blanching them in milk or wine. Another way is to stir fry them. They are often discarded and pushed to the “don’t like them” category. But don’t give up on them just yet, try this recipe and these different ways to serve them and see how you like them. I really think you will love them if you just try and really follow the recipe.

Final note: Giblets need to be properly cleaned, to include the cavities, otherwise they will taste and smell off. When prepared properly, they are a treat.

Ingredients

Pan Fried Chicken Giblets

500g mixed chicken giblets
1 medium brown onion, finely chopped
3 tbsp DS Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil
2 tbsp lemon juice
3 tbsp DS Pomegranate Molasses, diluted with 1 tbsp water
1 tsp DS Meat & Poultry Spice Mix
2 bay leaves
Salt & Black pepper to taste

Chicken Giblets Pie

1 recipe Chicken Giblets (above)
1 brown onion sliced thinly
1 tbsp raw honey
2 tbsp butter
Frozen Puff Pastry, thawed
Egg wash (1 egg + 1 tbsp cooking cream beaten together)

Chicken Giblets Samboosik

Frozen Puff Pastry, thawed or thawed filo Pastry
1 recipe chicken giblets (above)
Vegetable oil for frying (if using filo pastry)
Egg wash

Chicken Giblets Croissants

Thawed Puff Pastry squares
1 recipe classic giblets (above)
egg wash

This Preparation is the base to the rest of the recipes.

Trim the fat off the giblets, roughly chop them and rinse the thoroughly with cold water. Drain on a sieve, set aside.

Place the cleaned and drained giblets in a saucepan, top with water, season with salt & black pepper and add the bay leaves. Bring to a boil, then simmer for 5 minutes. Drain the giblets and discard the water and bay leaves.

In a large saucepan, dry fry the giblets until liquids run out. Then add seasoning, spices, olive oil and chopped onion and stir until onions are softened and the giblets are slightly browned. Add the diluted pomegranate molasses and lemon juice. Stir all until the sauce is thickened and the giblets are cooked through.

Place in serving dish, and sprinkle with Chopped parsley. Serve as a side dish/appetiser with pita bread or toast.

For Giblets Pie

Preheat oven to 400F-200C.

In a large saucepan, heat the butter, add honey and stir to incorporate. Add sliced onions and cook stirring occasionally over low heat until the onions are caramelised (softened and slightly browned). Place 1 tbsp caramelised onions at the bottom of each ramekin. Top with 2 tbsp prepared chicken giblets.

Roll out puff pastry and using a round cutter (the size of the ramekin) cut rounds of pastry. Top each filled ramekin with pastry round and press against the edge of the ramekin to enclose the filling. Using Kitchen scissors, cut a cross at the centre of pastry to allow steam to escape. Brush the tops with egg wash. Repeat until all quantity is finished.

Bake in preheated oven 10 – 12 minutes or until puffed and golden. Remove from oven and let them set for 5 minutes. Sprinkle tops with chopped parsley and serve warm.

For Giblet Samboosik

I have gone with puff pastry for a change from the classic samboosik dough, or filo. The outcome is very tasty and light. If you go for filo, then treat it the same as you would any other type of samboosik, folding it into triangles then frying until golden.

If you wish to try this puff pastry version, then preheat your oven to 400F-200C.

Roll out the pastry and cut out circles. Fill the centre with 1 tsp prepared giblets. Brush the edges with egg wash. fold the sides over and seal by pressing the dough onto itself. Make sure all edges are sealed. Press the dough over to create a ruffled look. Repeat until all quantity is finished. Place all on a parchment lined cookie sheet. Brush with egg wash and bake in preheated oven until puffed and golden. Serve warm alone or alongside soup.

For the Giblets Croissants

Preheat oven to 400F-200C. Cut each pastry square diagonally into 2 triangles.

Place the pastry on work surface with broad side facing you and triangle tip facing away. place 1 tsp prepared giblets at the broad end and roll pastry over pulling at the triangle tip to elongate. Roll until the tip is rolled over the broad side. Tuck the corners of the croissant in a little bit for the classic croissant look. Place on parchment lined cookie sheets and brush with egg wash. Bake in preheated oven until puffed and golden. Serve warm.

This recipe is from the repertoire of over 280 recipes in my book Plated Heirlooms. The book contains recipes from all sections of the Palestinian cuisine, starting with Mooneh (pantry recipes) to dessert and everything in between. Plated Heirlooms is a documentation of recipes and cuisine rationale as well as the compiled story of the cuisine.
All Plated Heirlooms recipes come with background information and thorough descriptions that in the end tie up with the rest of the book’s narrative to explain to you the formation and makings of Palestinian cuisine.
You can order “Plated Heirlooms” here and we will ship it to you anywhere in the world.