Think On It

Insalatona fra diavolo

June 30th, 2006

It begins here with a butterflied chicken rubbed with salt, mixed herbs and then hot paprika, all massaged in with your hands. This bird is then roasted at a high temperature– about 425° F (215° C) for 30-40 minutes until an instant thermometer inserted into the thigh joint reads near 180° F.
You can serve the legs and thighs hot or cool the whole chicken. Save the breasts with any juices there are in a tightly closed foil package in the fridge.

And here it becomes a salad. The ingredients here are per person:

one of the chicken breasts
salad leaves, washed and dried and torn into pieces
a handful of pitted cherries (or kiwi pieces or strawberries or whatever fresh fruit sounds appealing to you)
a small spring onion cut into small pieces (you can use a scallion if you don’t find spring onions)
the juice of half a lemon
salt
olive oil to four times the amount of lemon juice
about 1 teaspoon of honey
freshly ground black pepper

Take the chicken breast out of the fridge and carefully remove the bones and cartilege, then thinly slice it including the spicy skin.

In a very big bowl, juice the lemon and add about 1/4 teaspoon salt and a pinch of powdered chili pepper. With a fork, whip in the olive oil, then add the honey, bit by bit until it tastes just sweet enough to you and has a warmth from the chili.
Add the green, the fruit and the onion and toss thoroughly so that all is coated. Taste again. I added a sprinkling of chili, because I felt that to be hot and sweet it needed it. I also wanted just a bit more salt.

Pile the salad onto a plate and arrange the chicken slices, then drizzle the bit of dressing that is in the bottom of the bowl over the chicken slices. Grind black pepper over it all and eat it up!

I had a couple of slices of good German brown bread with mine. Life was very tasty.

In italiano:

Inizia con il pollo. Spargete del sale, profumi misti e paprika forte sul pollo intero, massagiando bene con le mani. Infornatelo a 215° C per 30-40 minuti, fino a è proprio cotto. Guardate che non è troppo cotto. Si può mangiare subito le coscie calde.

E poi mettete i petti con la pelle nel frigo, ben chiusi in un pacchetto di aluminio.
Per fare l’insalata, togliete i petti dal frigo e disossarli con cura, ma lasciate la pelle piquante. Tagliateli a fette sottili.

Gli ingredienti per l’inslata sono alla persona:

un petto di pollo
foglie d’insalata ben pulite e asciugate, a pezzetti
delle ciliege snocciolate (o kiwi, or fragole o qualsiasi frutta volete)
una cipolla di primavera tagliata a pezzi
il succo di mezzo limone
sale circa 1/4 cucchiaino
un bel pizzico di peperoncino in polvere
olio d’oliva in quantità 4 volte la misura del succo
circa 1 cucchiaino di miele
pepe nero

In una ciottola grandissima, mettete il succo di limone con il sale e peperoncino in polvere. Con una forchetta, aggiungete l’olio, man mano, mescolando in continuo. Aggiungete il miele qb per fare una salsa agrodolce e un po’ piccante.

Aggiungete l’insalata, le ciliege o l’altra frutta e la cipolla e fa saltare bene bene. Assagiatela e aggiungete più sale e peperoncino al gusto. Volevo io un po’ più sale e peperoncino. L’insalata deve essere agrodolce e un po’ piquante.

Togliete l’insalata a un piatto, mettete le fette di pollo in un bel disegno, e mettete la salsa che rimane nella ciottola sopra le fette di pollo. Spolverarla con pepe nero. Pronta!

Entry Filed under: Food

18 Comments Add your own

1. eg | June 30th, 2006 at 10:58 am

That chicken looks good….

Oh! I forgot to tell you. The polenta Valsugana that I bought here is different from the polenta bought in Italy. Not as good.
2. Judith in Umbria | June 30th, 2006 at 2:09 pm

Well, it is more instant. Try more salt and cooking it the 8 minutes and see. Then when you come in Sept. we can buy you a bunch of it.
That chicken can be your chicken! Use you shears to cut along one side of the back bone, and then spread the chicken a bit cut side down and whack it with a heavy pot or cutting board. Tuck the wings and the legs and proceed as if you were here. It is a quite small chicken.
Just cook it late or very early so you won’t get hot.
3. Judith in Umbria | June 30th, 2006 at 2:20 pm

BTW, I would never have guessed how very good cherries and onions taste together! Maybe it is the sweet/sour/spicy dressing, but wow!
4. eg | June 30th, 2006 at 2:55 pm

I cooked it just the same but not as good.

When I opened the box it had little lumps … pellets … something of white stuff. I gingerly poked at one and it burst open. It looks kinda like corn starch. But it can’t be because that’s not listed on the label. So I don’t know what it is but it just didn’t taste quite the same.

I am thinking of going back down to the food thingy and going to Litteri’s this time. They might have the original polenta and Pocket Coffees(!). Their website is really not very informative.

My word this time is roella. Sounds like some kind of exotic dessert.
5. Judith in Umbria | June 30th, 2006 at 3:31 pm

Here is the #1 reply when you Google roella:
http://www.roella.com/
The next one is in Swedish.
6. eg | June 30th, 2006 at 4:02 pm

Well, that’s not an exotic dessert!

This may have something to do with the fact that I’ve being thinking about Nutella.

Maybe a swiss roll with Nutella inside? Like maybe a buttery or, better, a caramely or toffee-y cake with crunchy bits of hazelnut brittle in it?
7. Judith in Umbria | June 30th, 2006 at 6:30 pm

Or my Tuscan Wall Cake. Chocolate sponge with chocolate butter cream, Between the layers are crunches of toffee in the buttercream and on top shards of it sticking up like on top of a wall. Cruel to be kind.
I just found out it isn’t Saturday. I feel like I get to live another extra day of life.
8. miss piperita | July 1st, 2006 at 6:58 pm

Hello! I just joined here, this is my first visit. I’m a native Italian and my name’s Claudia. I noticed some mistakes in your Italian translation, could I correct them?
9. Judith in Umbria | July 2nd, 2006 at 3:59 am

Certo, Claudia. Per favore. Conosco che sbaglio.
But if you don’t try, you never can. I expected Italians to come along and help out.
10. Ivonne | July 5th, 2006 at 1:11 pm

Judith,

It looks and sounds fantastic! I’m hungry …
11. traveller one | July 7th, 2006 at 9:44 am

Hi Judith!
Of course I would love to be a safety factor for your friends daughter! Email me at khakkenberg@gmail.com with the details and I’ll see what I can do ok?
Hugs,
Your Friend (there was never any doubt),
Kim (in Tirana!)
12. Judith in Umbria | July 11th, 2006 at 9:32 am

Just in case anybody wonders where I am, I am here. Blogspot won’t let me in to post. I can visit like anyone, but can’t edit or add anything except a comment.
13. eg | July 12th, 2006 at 3:00 pm

We thought you were hiding from us….
14. Snowpea | July 12th, 2006 at 3:46 pm

That explains it. I thought you had altogether stopped cooking and being fabulous, from sheer heat prostration.

Will your new mouse help? That remains to be seen.
15. eg | July 12th, 2006 at 5:37 pm

So you got a new mouse, hunh? Good thing I didn’t get you one for your birthday.

(Wouldn’t that have been a boring present….)
16. Anonymous | July 12th, 2006 at 7:12 pm

The mouse is being overly sensitive for a stinky rodent, but I suspect Zone Alarm. It often won’t even allow an email to be shown when I click on it. Somebosy who write stilted Engliah said they will apply the ZA brains to my problem within 48-72 working hours. Isn’t that like 2 weeks?
It now doesn’t recognize me here, either.
17. Snowpea | July 12th, 2006 at 11:19 pm

You should be able to set mouse sensitivity and speed in the control panel.
18. Anonymous | July 13th, 2006 at 3:09 pm

Che cassino! I still can’t get in to post or edit nor nuttin. I have received three auto emails and not one of them succeeds.
I think I will have to move the blog once I can save it.
I am getting used to the mouse. The other two were so terrible that I was sweeping a yard to move the pointer. I will get over it.