Chicken

WHY IT’S LIGHT This rendition of a Tex-Mex favorite uses lean chicken breasts, corn tortillas, and just enough Monterey Jack cheese to create a luscious topping. The gentle, moist heat of pan steaming keeps the chicken breasts juicy and tender without any oil.

GOOD TO KNOW One easy way to ensure boneless, skinless chicken breast halves cook up moist and flavorful is to stuff them. Here, a combination of bread, ham, sage, and olive oil does the job in delicious fashion. Sauté broccoli in the same skillet as the chicken for a fast side.

SECRET INGREDIENT Beer flavors this robust chicken and vegetable stew. Any light-or medium-colored lager will do, but pilsner—with its pronounced taste of hops—works best.

WHY IT’S LIGHT Rather than cooking this hearty Italian stew on the stove, in the traditional manner, it is prepared in the microwave, using far less oil (because you don’t have to brown the chicken thighs first) and in much less time.

WHY IT’S LIGHT Lean chicken breast replaces the more common corned beef in a hearty-yet-healthy hash. For more flavor, roast the chicken with bones and skin intact, then remove them once the chicken is cooked. Spinach is another unexpected—and fat-free—addition.

WHY IT’S LIGHT Only one side of the chicken is breaded here, and an egg white instead of a whole egg is used to bind the whole-wheat crumbs to the meat. Serve the chicken with a side of whole-wheat spaghetti tossed with olive oil and fresh herbs, or a simple salad.

WHY IT’S LIGHT Baking the lightly breaded pieces on a wire rack results in “fried” chicken that is lower in fat and calories; removing the skin before cooking also helps. For spicier chicken, add a few drops of hot sauce to the buttermilk marinade.

GOOD TO KNOW Even though the chicken thighs are seared with the skin on, the extra fat is poured off from the pot before the other ingredients are added. Swapping brown rice for white adds a better dose of fiber and nutrients.

FLAVOR BOOSTER Fennel, tomato, and wine are common ingredients in Mediterranean cooking; in this recipe, they make a wonderful bed for chicken breast halves. Once the chicken is cooked through, the vegetables become a flavorful sauce to serve alongside.

FLAVOR BOOSTER Chicken thighs and drumsticks are not as lean as breast meat, but they have great flavor and stay juicy when cooked by long and slow methods such as braising. Here, they are braised in an oil-free liquid seasoned with soy sauce, brown sugar, fresh ginger, garlic, cilantro, balsamic vinegar, scallions, and ground spices.

I like to roast a chicken with nothing more than a few herbs and seasonings. It is always satisfying, and the pan juices make a perfect sauce for the cooked bird.

Thomas likes to roast chicken and vegetables together in what he calls one-pot cooking. The vegetables make a bed for the chicken and prop it up so that it browns nicely, and the juices from the roasting bird permeate through the vegetables that caramelize on the bottom of the pot. He also removes the wishbone before cooking to make carving the roasted bird easier.

This is the soup I always make when I want something comforting and restorative. This method easily becomes second-nature and is good for all kinds of seasonal vegetable soups: Soften the vegetables in oil or butter, add stock, and simmer until the vegetables are tender. Flavor with herbs, and, for a more substantial soup, add cooked pasta, beans, or, as in this recipe, chicken. Brothy vegetable soups are even better with a plate of garlic croutons (see page 37) to dip in the soup.

Not only is homemade stock easy to make and economical, but it also tastes better than any you can buy. I always like to have a quart of fresh stock on hand—or in the freezer—because then I know I have the makings of many a meal, notably a soup of seasonal vegetables. A whole chicken makes the most flavorful stock; otherwise, the meatier the chicken parts you use, the better. Sometimes I cut off the breasts of a chicken to save for another meal, and make stock with the rest of the bird. Whenever you roast a chicken, freeze the carcass to save for making stock; add it along with the other chicken parts.

A boiled dinner, which to be more precise might be called a simmered dinner, is an assortment of meats and vegetables simmered slowly and gently until tender. The resulting broth is clear and full of flavor and the meat is fork-tender and moist, comfort food at its best, restorative to body and soul. A variety of meats can be put into the pot; among them is usually a gelatinous cut to add a bit of body to the broth and a bony one to enrich the flavor. Some favorites are short ribs, brisket, beef cheeks, shanks, oxtail, chuck, beef tongue, chicken (either legs or a whole chicken), and sausage, or sausage-stuffed cabbage leaves. A boiled dinner is often served with the broth as a first course followed by the meats and vegetables, but I prefer to serve it all at once, with the meat and vegetables arranged in deep soup plates, moistened with a generous ladle of broth. Typical accompaniments for the meat are coarse sea salt, pickles, and a piquant sauce such as salsa verde, Dijon mustard, horseradish cream (grated horseradish, heavy cream, a pinch of salt, and a splash of white wine vinegar), or a tomato sauce spiked with capers. It is worthwhile to get the meat a couple of days ahead and to season it generously with salt and pepper. This will make it even more succulent and tasty. When a beef tongue is included (and I am quite partial to tongue in a boiled dinner), it should be soaked in salted water for at least eight hours to purge and season it. When deciding how much meat to buy, plan for ample leftovers. The broth makes fabulous soups and risottos and the meat is great sliced and served hot or cold with salsa verde, or in sandwiches, or chopped for hash. Classically, a boiled dinner is made with water. For a richer, sweeter broth, I like to use chicken broth instead, or half chicken broth and half water. This dish is easy to make, but it does take a while to cook, so plan for a few hours of simmering. Keep the pot at a bare simmer, with bubbles breaking the surface only now and then. Cooking meat at a boil will make it dry and stringy. Because their flavors can dominate the broth’s, beef tongue, sausage, and cabbage should be cooked separately from the beef and chicken. As an option to cabbage and sausage, or as a lovely further addition, consider preparing stuffed cabbage leaves. Add vegetables to be served with the meats towards the end of the cooking so that they leave a fresh, sweet taste in the broth. Here is a recipe for a complete boiled dinner—a classic Italian bollito misto—that includes different cuts of beef, a beef tongue, chicken legs, sausage, and stuffed cabbage. This is a bountiful dish that can easily be pared back all the way to the simplicity of boiled beef with carrots alone. Although this is a long recipe, some parts can be prepared in advance. The meats and tongue can be cooked ahead and stored in their broth. The sausage, stuffed cabbage, and vegetables are best prepared and cooked close to serving time. Timing is not critical; once everything is cooked and ready to eat, all the meats and vegetables can be reheated together in the broth and served.

This is a classic Mexican soup that is brought to the table with a variety of serve-yourself garnishes.

This soup is what I want to eat when I’m feeling under the weather. It is light, clean, and full of flavor.