I eat everything.

But there are things that really attract me to certain cuisines and cooking styles, and any regular reader of Recipe of the Week can probably guess which ones gas my rockets:

1. Eating clean.

2. Jacked up flavor.

3. Affordable.

4. Easy to make.

5. Heat.

6. As needed, you can do it all veg.

7. And I like my umami.

Now, most cuisines offer food that checks these boxes.

But Italian food seems to have figured this out — often gorgeously, always deliciously.

This weeks guest contributor Stefanie Pollard of the “Wearemidlife” shared with me her recipe for this beautiful and wickedly easy one pan meal. It’s almost fool-proof easy, but sumptuous and full or big flavors so you know —style points and you look like you got it going on in the kitchen. The prep is literally a 15 minute ordeal, then into the oven to bubble away. Browning the edges, crisping the skin and marrying the Italian flavors of thyme, garlic and oregano to all that it touches. This chicken is delicious served with the now known: Pandemic Loaf, or the sour dough loaf. I’ve got a recipe for a no kneed-no yeast soda bread. It’s a super delicious one that’s virtually idiot proof. (pictured down below but with a few add-ins -allepo fake and black pepper)

CHICKEN WITH WHITE BEANS, HERBS AND TOMATOES.

This dish will serve 8 easily with a loaf of bread and a salad.

INGREDIENTS

• 2 15.5 oz cans cannellini beans. One can rinsed, one can include the liquid from the can.

• 1 pint grape or cherry tomatoes

• 4 sprigs fresh thyme

• 4 springs fresh oregano, plus more for garnish

• 2-5 cloves garlic, smashed and finely mined

• 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper

• 2 Tablespoons olive oil

• kosher salt and freshly ground pepper

• 8 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs ( approx. 3 pounds)

PROCEDURE

Preheat oven to 425F.

In your EuroCAST Double Roaster lid (or other large, shallow baking dish)

1. Toss the beans and the tomatoes with the thyme and oregano springs, garlic, red pepper, 1 tablespoon of olive oil, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon of black pepper

2. Pat the chicken dry and place on top of the bean mixture, skin-side up. Rub with the remaining Tablespoon of olive oil and season generously with 1 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon black pepper.

3. Roast until the chicken is golden and cooked through, 35 to 45 minutes.

4. Sprinkle with remaining oregano leaves. Serving suggestion

SERVING SUGGESTION:

Stefanie suggests a big crusty loaf of bread and a crisp chilled salad. Here’s one of our Evergreen recipes for no-kneed, no yeast soda bread which hits the easy and delicious mark every single time.

Soda bread is a quick, reliable bread ... quick because it doesn't use yeast to generate carbon dioxide for fluffiness, but instead uses a combination of a base (baking soda) and acid (lactic acid from the buttermilk) which -- as all you chemistry nerds remember -- immediately results in carbon dioxide. It's reliable because you're not at the mercy of temperatures and healthy active yeast cultures.. 

INGREDIENTS

• 4 cups all-purpose flour

• 4 tablespoons granulated white sugar

• 1 teaspoon baking soda

• 1 Tablespoon baking powder

• 1/2 teaspoon salt

• 1/2 cup, softened butter

• 1 egg

• 1-1/2 cups full-fat buttermilk

PROCEDURE

1. Mix above ingredients until well-blended. Let rest 10 minutes ... because chemistry.

2. Dump out onto a lightly-floured board and knead gently to bring it together into a round loaf.

3. Don’t overdo it, though. The bread should look slightly unkempt when you place it on your slightly-oiled EuroCAST skillet. That's what will make it flakey when it's baked.

4. With a very sharp knife, cut a large X over the top. You'll be glad you did.

Brush with:

• 3 tablespoons melted butter

• 3 tablespoons buttermilk

Bake the bread at 375 degrees F on your the EuroCAST griddle or in your EuroCAST skillet (handle removed!) until well browned. 40-50 minutes. 

ALLOW ME TO INTRODUCE: STEFANIE POLLARD OF “WEAREMIDLIFE”.

STEFANIE IS A NEW PAL TO EUROCAST AND THE GENIUS BEHIND WE ARE MIDLIFE - A BLOG AND SOCIAL MEDIA FIXTURE CREATED TO GENERATE COMMUNITY AND CONVERSATION FOR MIDLIFE WOMEN.

I chatted with Stef about her journey, how she entertains with her family, and then how this near perfect chicken and cannelloni one-pan meal saved more than one night during the Covid - lockdown.

Four years ago Stefanie and her former partner started We Are Midlife as a space to support, encourage, and create community for midlife women. Stefanie is from a large family, born in Southern California, and continues to live with her family here (her oldest child has flown the coop but is just a few miles away from the family home).

During the lockdown, Stefanie and her husband realized they were going to have to up their cooking game, or be bored to death eating their same old everyday recipes. For the last few months they have been trying new recipes, often Mexican inspired ones (Southern California is lucky enough to have some of the best Mexican food ever), new takes on traditional recipes, and looking for recipes that are baked/cooked in a single pan to eliminate a lot of clean up.

One of Stefanie’s favorite things to do prior to the lockdown due to the pandemic, was to have a Sunday Supper. “Sunday Supper nights were  all about family and friends coming to share a meal together before the start of a new week. We had anywhere from 8-12 people for dinner, rain or blistering hot. It was often a hodge-podge of people, but there was always a lot of love and laughter around our table.”

The thing I love about his dish is the pure ease of it all. Mix a few things together, dice some garlic, open some cans and in 15 minute you’ve got dinner in the oven with just enough time to wrangle one of the kids or other dinner guests to make a salad and set the table.

I was a bread maker long before the ubiquitous “Pandemic sour-dough” hit all the social media and cooking shows, so I’ve got a whole stable of breads i make and share. My favorite is a 50% whole wheat and 50% white flour. I use flour from Grist and Toll, a local Los Angeles Flour Mill.

At the end of the day, I want my people around me. I want good food and i want it easy and beautiful.

Enter EuroCAST cookware!! And stay tuned for another post dedicated to Stefanie and her love of all things yeasted!! She’ll share some tips, recipes and resources for bread and bread making.