Chicken rug with peppers
This is an idea I picked up from chef Elise Labide. Just like chef Labide, I view cooking as a fun pursuit, an escape from the mundane and the dreary.
I meet a lot of people who tell me: ” I don’t cook” and who view cooking as a chore to avoid at all costs.
What about you?
Have you ever asked yourself why do I cook?
INGREDIENTS:
- 2 chicken breast (deboned)
- 1 red pepper, 1 yellow pepper, 1 green pepper
- 1/2 cup of red pepper paste (mild)
- 4 cloves of garlic
- salt, 1 teaspoon of thyme, 1 teaspoon of seven-spice
- olive oil, as needed
METHOD:
- Cut the chicken into strips about 1/4 inch in width (1 cm.)
- Douse the chicken strips with olive oil, salt, sumac and other spices or herbs. Let it marinade for 15 minutes or longer.
- Cut the peppers into strips the same width as the chicken, discarding the white part and the seeds. Fill a large pot with 4 cups of salted water and bring to a rolling boil; boil the pepper strips for 2 minutes until they become more pliable and drain.
- Cut a piece of parchment paper and set it on the work surface. Place two strips of chicken vertically side by side (one half inch apart or 1 1/2 cm.) and insert a pepper strip underneath the two strips; continue the operation with another piece of pepper, this time going over the strips of chicken; keep going until you have used a few strips of pepper and a few strips of chicken. Tighten the “rug” and cut the uneven ends if desired.
- With a pair of scissors, cut a square all around the chicken rug. Heat some olive oil in a frying pan and when hot, flip the piece of paper holding the chicken rug onto the oil; remove the paper and let the rug cook for 3 minutes until the chicken is browned.
- Heat the oven to 400F and place the chicken rug on a piece of foil on a small cookie sheet. Bake without flipping the chicken rug so that the uncooked side bakes and cooks for a few minutes (no longer than 4 minutes).
- When all the rugs are cooked, keep warm in the oven and make the sauce: Heat some olive oil in a skillet and add 1/2 cup of red pepper paste and 2 cups of water. Stir to dissolve the paste and bring to a boil; add 3 mashed cloves of garlic to the mixture, stirring to mix well. Let the sauce thicken and when ready to eat, spoon on a plate and place the chicken rugs over it.
Comments
36 Comments • Comments Feed
Belinda @zomppa says:
I LOVE this idea! What a great way to draw that “ooo” – will definitely give this a go.
On April 1, 2011 at 9:10 pm
bergamot says:
Very creative…The rug looks beautiful and a great combination of veggies and chicken.
On April 1, 2011 at 9:31 pm
5 Star Foodie says:
So neat, I love this idea! I totally have all the ingredients and would love to make a fun project with 5 Star foodie jr. tomorrow, thanks so much!
On April 1, 2011 at 9:36 pm
Maria @ Scandifoodie says:
Such an unusual look! But I love the idea of this dish and it looks so tasty and colourful too!
On April 1, 2011 at 11:04 pm
Ivy says:
Very impressive and creative. This looks amazing but I don’t think I have the patience to braid the chicken with the peppers.
On April 2, 2011 at 12:08 am
Chiara says:
That looks so beautiful!!! You are very creative. I love all the different colors in this dish.
On April 2, 2011 at 5:15 am
deana says:
I think you could get peckish children to eat those in a snap… really smashing idea and the name is inspired, Joumana!
On April 2, 2011 at 8:16 am
T.W Barritt says:
This is ingenious! It’s so beautiful! I can guarantee you it would have fallen apart in the pan at my house!
On April 2, 2011 at 9:15 am
Angie's Recipes says:
What a cool idea! I love this creative recipe. ;-))
On April 2, 2011 at 10:13 am
Scienter says:
This looks really cool! I eat so much chicken, this would be a fun new way to try it.
I started cooking because I was bored with eating “grad student food.” I love the freedom of being able to make whatever I want! I grew up with a limited diet. My mom is a good cook, but her repertoire is limited to what her mom cooked for her. She’s a super picky eater so there wasn’t a lot of variety. Teaching myself to cook let me eat all the international foods I loved eating in restaurants. It’s a way for me to learn about the world through food. I’m not “artistic” except in the kitchen, so it turned into a hobby.
On April 2, 2011 at 11:06 am
Banana Wonder says:
I’ve never seen chicken prepared like this! Truly genius!
On April 2, 2011 at 11:57 am
Nadji says:
Une manière très originale de présenter du poulet.
Tu nous surprendras toujours.
Bon week-end et à très bientôt.
On April 2, 2011 at 12:36 pm
Mark Scarbrough says:
What a great idea! And so very beautiful. Perfect for spring. Ça me fait très plaisir!
On April 2, 2011 at 2:38 pm
arthur says:
Wow, what an exciting idea this is! This is the best looking chicken dish ever! I love to do this with food too because somehow they taste better and look more appetizing. Cheers!!!
On April 2, 2011 at 6:45 pm
Christine @ Fresh says:
This is so creative and fun to eat! Living in NYC many people do not have the time or kitchen space to cook. I cook for myself because I have better control over the ingredients and what I am eating. This is the best reason to cook in my view.
On April 2, 2011 at 7:14 pm
Amanda says:
Joumana, this is very creative and looks great but, like many of the others, I am just a bit too lazy and lack the patience for this.
I think I like to cook mainly because I like to eat!
On April 2, 2011 at 8:35 pm
Bo says:
How fun! This is a really neat idea.
On April 2, 2011 at 10:05 pm
D.Ramadan says:
This is such a creative idea, love it. And the ingredients are so simple and always available in my fridge! Just a question, instead of the red pepper paste, could I make a homemade marinara sauce instead?
On April 3, 2011 at 4:00 am
Joumana says:
@D.Ramadan: A homemade marinara sauce would be lovely with it! 🙂
On April 3, 2011 at 9:13 am
Susan says:
This is beautiful!!!!!!
On April 3, 2011 at 5:39 am
domi says:
Voilà un superbe tapis sur lequel j’essuierai volontiers mes lèvres gourmandes. Un beau tapis gourmand avec de belles couleurs. Une très belle idée de décoration…
On April 3, 2011 at 5:59 am
Priya says:
Lovely presentation, fabulous!
On April 3, 2011 at 7:44 am
Caffettiera says:
What a funny presentation! It makes a nice change from the usual dinner.
When I was a child I wanted to cook because it made me feel grown up, then I cooked because I wanted to eat less and control what I eat, then … Maybe because it is rewarding. Because I like doing things with my hands. Because it is creative but bounded.
On April 3, 2011 at 8:19 am
Joanne says:
This is such a crazy unique idea! I am in awe.
On April 3, 2011 at 9:52 am
Min {Honest Vanilla} says:
This is brilliant! The weaving makes the simple dish gorgeous 🙂 I started to learn how to cook was because I wasn’t too used to the local food when I moved away from home (and even lost weight!) and somehow along the way I found it therapeutic (never quite a chore when I’m inspired!) 🙂
On April 3, 2011 at 11:41 am
Biksuit says:
Très original cette présentation, on n’ose même pas toucher à son assiette tellement c’est joli.
On April 3, 2011 at 2:14 pm
Julie says:
C’est une superbe présentation que tu as fait, le plat est digne de figurer à la carte d’un grand restaurant !
On April 3, 2011 at 4:44 pm
tigerfish says:
I love the weaving too. Brilliant idea!
I cook because there was a need to – well, we can’t be surviving on take-outs 3 meals a day every day of the year! Then I started to enjoy cooking – it makes me appreciate whole foods, and how to create new flavors without sweating through the cooking. When I cook, I am also better in control of what the family is eating.
On April 3, 2011 at 4:46 pm
Beverly says:
I love the look of this! I’ll be trying it soon.
On April 3, 2011 at 6:08 pm
kouky says:
superbement joli et coloré ce tapis!! je partage tout à fait ton goût pour ce type de cuisine ludique, qui fait que c’est toujours un plaisir de la préparer, la présenter à ceux qu’on aime et la déguster!! super bonne idée! merci! bises!
On April 4, 2011 at 8:05 am
Joan Nova says:
Great technique! Makes a very attractive presentation…and oh so clever.
On April 4, 2011 at 9:35 am
Dana says:
I cook because I really love feeding people. Food is love, doncha know? This is a gorgeous presentation!
On April 4, 2011 at 11:44 pm
grace says:
a rug…made using chicken and peppers. i never thought i’d see the day–massively impressive, joumana!
On April 5, 2011 at 3:08 am
Grapefruit says:
So very creative, and so pretty too!
On April 6, 2011 at 9:59 am
Magic of Spice says:
What an wonderful dish…I love to cook, I see it as an art form. An art form that you are very talented in for sure…Creative and lovely 🙂
On April 6, 2011 at 11:09 pm
rebecca says:
fun recipe and it really does look like a rug 🙂
On August 16, 2013 at 3:49 pm