Chicken Carciofi with Corn Salad and
Some Secrets to Using Canned Vegetables
recipe
Nutritionists and food purists may shudder at the thought, but canned vegetables
can taste good while providing more than adequate nourishment. Analyses
done by the US Department of Agriculture and the University of Illinois
Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition show that many canned vegetables
can be as healthful as their frozen and fresh counterparts. And there’s
no denying their convenience for 15-minute meals.
This doesn’t mean every canned vegetable is worth keeping in your pantry. I wouldn’t use canned string beans, peas, or potatoes on a bet. What canned vegetables are worth stocking? Beans, of course, as I’ve noted in previous columns. Canned beets are fine for salads and quick cold soups. Corn doesn’t lose much in the can and is terrific in chowders, as a side vegetable, and in salads, like the corn salad below. Canned pumpkin is almost indistinguishable from fresh pumpkin in soups and as a side vegetable. Tomatoes may be the most utilitarian canned vegetable, not only because they can be used in countless dishes, but because they are available so many ways, whole, diced, crushed, and stewed, to name just a few.
Though I prefer olives cured in brine or oil, canned ripe olives (which are technically a fruit) can be very useful if employed judiciously. You can usually find them sliced, which adds to their convenience for salads and pastas. Sliced water chestnuts are great to have around for stir-frys and salads. Canned artichoke hearts in water are unencumbered by the fat of artichoke hearts marinated in oil and sold in glass jars.
Vegetables in jars can also be considered “canned.” I usually have a jar of pimiento-stuffed green olives around, often the cheaper broken olives called salad olives, which I use in pasta salads or with sautéed meats like chicken or lamb. Roasted red bell peppers in the jar are incredibly versatile in soups, sauces, pastas, and salads. Milder pimientos are often available already chopped.
When you use canned vegetables, or any canned ingredients for that matter, it’s important to combine them with fresh ingredients and not just open cans into a bowl or pot. For example in the recipe below, I use fresh onion and parsley with canned artichoke hearts for the chicken and fresh celery, onion, and cilantro in the salad.
Chicken Carciofi with Corn Salad
4 boneless and skinless chicken breast halves, about 6 ounces each, pounded
to half their original thickness (by the butcher if possible)
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 small Vidalia or other sweet onion, 6 to 8 ounces
1 rib celery
1/2 cup cilantro leaves
Two 15-ounce cans corn
One 4-ounce can sliced olives
One 4-ounce jar chopped pimientos
1 1/4 cups fat-free, reduced sodium chicken stock
One 15-ounce can artichoke hearts in water
2 tablespoons cider vinegar
Dash of cayenne pepper or more to taste
1/4 cup Italian parsley leaves
1)Put a 12-inch skillet or sauté pan over medium heat. Season the chicken with salt and pepper. (Pound the meat to half its original thickness before seasoning if the butcher hasn’t done so already.) Add 2 tablespoons of the oil to the skillet. Put the flour in a pie plate or on waxed paper. Dredge the chicken breasts in the flour and shake off any excess. Put the chicken into the skillet. Increase the heat to high.
2)Peel and halve the onion. Cut each half into thin half moon slices. Cut the celery crosswise into thin crescents. Chop the cilantro. Put half of the onion, the celery, and cilantro into a mixing bowl.
3)Turn the chicken over and add the remaining onion to the skillet. Stir to distribute the onions evenly. Cook for 2 minutes. Meanwhile, open the cans of corn and olives, and the jar of pimientos into a small colander. Allow to drain.
4)Add the chicken stock to the sauté pan, stir well, cover, and bring to a boil over high heat. Meanwhile, shake the colander to remove any additional moisture and put the corn, olives and pimiento into the bowl with the celery, onion and cilantro. Rinse out the colander and open the can of artichoke hearts into it to drain. Quarter the artichoke hearts. When the chicken comes to a boil, uncover, add the artichoke hearts and stir well. Reduce heat to a brisk simmer. Cook for 3 or 4 minutes or until the chicken is done. (Cut through with a paring knife if you’re not sure. There should be no pink remaining inside.)
5)Meanwhile, mix the remaining oil with the vinegar, cayenne, and salt and black pepper to taste. Add to the corn salad. Toss well. Chop the parsley.
6)When the chicken is done, remove the pieces to a platter. Reduce the sauce if needed. (It should be lightly thickened.) Pour the sauce over the chicken. Sprinkle with the parsley. Serve with the corn salad.
Serves 4.
Per serving: 589 calories, 50 grams protein, 57 grams carbohydrate, 19.6 grams fat, 3 grams saturated fat, 99 mg cholesterol, 701 mg sodium.