Cisco is a small town to the west of Dallas. It has at least one famous son in the "Cisco Kid" and an underwear factory, it is also "dry". Failing to find a quiet place to slump with a bottle of wine and a book, I found this recipe or at least its ancestor, being Texas, there was a generous amount of jalapenos. European's tend to rate chilies on the amount of suffering caused without realizing they have can also have flavor, so choose you chilies carefully. This dish is essentially braised chicken.
2 lb (1 kg) of chicken bits (legs, thighs etc.), a large Spanish onion, celery stalk, green pepper and some chilies. The choice of chilies is important, if the chilies are simply hot, use the minimum quantity that give the desired effect, if you are using a milder variety be generous.
Method
Braising is a combination of baking and boiling. The water boils underneath and the oven bakes it on top in a steam ridden atmosphere. The vegetables sit in the bottom of the pot, providing a space between the meat and the pot for liquid and stop the meat sticking to the pot. Use a nice big casserole with a good fitting lid and smear the sides with oil. Chop the vegetables coarsely and lay on the bottom, add a wine glass of water and lay the chicken on top. Place in a moderate oven (gas 5 - 7) for one to one and a half hours. If you leave the pot in the oven for a prolonged time, check the liquid level to prevent drying out.
Braising produces a mess of washed out looking vegetables which taste good, but look, washed out. You now have a choice. Take some of the liquid from the bottom of the pot and thicken it by adding a wine glass of cold water into which two/three tablespoons of flour have been beaten in and serve this as a sauce with the chicken bits. Alternatively the serve the chicken with the vegetables as an accompaniment.
Comment
Serve with long grain rice. A lot of older cookery books suggest using the vegetables which have been used to braise meat as the basis for soup.
Page Created: 23rd November 2000