Chicken

This is a perfect autumn dish, full of rich flavor and deep color. Be sure to really press down on the chicken when you add it to the pan to help the shallots and green onions stick to the skin and form a sort of caramelized onion crust. I prefer dark meat because it is generally juicier and more flavorful, but this method works very well with both dark and light meat.

My friends request this recipe more often than any other. I am often asked if it’s a family recipe. I take it as a compliment that people always seem so surprised to hear that I found it in a magazine when I was about twelve years old. I’ve made it so many times since then and it has evolved into what it is today. I think it’s so delicious—and popular!—because of its clear but very flavorful broth. So often tortilla soup is heavy, but this one is hearty without being unpleasantly thick. In fact, I make such a large batch because everyone always wants seconds and thirds. On the rare occasions that I’ve had leftovers, I’ve discovered that the soup keeps very well, and even gets better, stored in a tightly covered container in the refrigerator. The garnishes keep well stored in zip-top bags; keep the fried tortilla strips at room temperature and everything else in the refrigerator. When serving the second day, just place all the garnishes at the bottom of the bowl and ladle the soup over. I use two kinds of dried chiles—ancho and pasilla—because they add more depth and smoky notes to the broth. Use more or fewer chiles depending on how strong you want their flavor to be. For more on dried chiles, see page 96.

A departure from classic chicken stew, this one-pot wonder with Middle Eastern flair is a little bit exotic but not off-putting or difficult to make in the slightest. In fact, my kids love it. The sweet apricots and salty olives play nicely off each other and collide under a shower of cilantro to jack up the flavor even more. The recipe should make a little extra for leftovers, which are even better the next day.

Cooking and cleaning pigs’ heads all day gave me a powerful hunger for chicken. This is an especially aromatic roasted chicken with an all-in-one sauce and side dish.

For the bones, select a combination of the following: chicken (necks, whole carcasses, wings, or feet), pork (any bone, shanks, necks, split feet, smoked hock, or ham bone), or beef (oxtail or any bones).

A laying hen is a different animal from the six- to ten-week-old supermarket fryers, roasters, and broilers we usually see. Laying hens are typically sold between one and three years old and create a different sort of stew, deeper in overall flavor but with less succulent meat. If you are using a laying hen, increase the cooking time to about an hour and a half, or until the meat is very tender. It will not be necessary to remove the breast meat during cooking as directed below.