Chicken with Cumin and Pimentón Dressing —and planning a vegetable garden (PART 1)
The recipe I’m sharing today, chicken with cumin and pimentón dressing and tomato arugula salad holds flavors that remind me of summers in Spain —grilled meats, pimentón and fresh vegetables in one single dish. The grilled chicken has the right amount of heat to please every palate at the table, and the tomato arugula salad, with a dressing that incorporates the flavors of the marinade, blend beautifully in this very summery dish.
This is the summer of what could have been and will not be. Of plans that came undone and yet thankfulness for our health. Of “what if‘s” that have affected us all.
As I write this, I should have been in Spain for three weeks now, expecting the rest of my family to arrive today. We would have been heading to the beach on Sunday for a week of family time and fun, relaxation and tapas bars hopping, beach games and daily ice creams, trips to neighboring charming towns and hikes along the Mediterranean coast. I would have met up with my sister, a visiting professor at the University of Edinburgh, for a few days in that Scottish city that I’ve never visited before. But mostly, I would have been spending time with my mom and my sisters, with my children and husband and cousins and nephews and nieces, brothers-in-law and aunts and uncles and friends. None of that will happen, except for the children and husband part (my three sons are home this week, first time together since Christmas, for which I am very thankful).
Future home of the vegetable garden
Three is better than two
Getting a feel for the space we have
Building the first bed
Admiring their work
Very happy with the result. Now my job starts!
Keeping the social distance at the 7:00PM neighborhood wave
Proper and exact measurements are key
Now my job starts! I get to paint
Posts need to be treated before being set in concrete
All squared out! More in the next post
I know, I know, I shouldn’t cry over spilled milk. And believe me, we are making the most out of our summer at home. I’ve been talking on social media about the vegetable garden we are building, about which I’m starting chronicling with this post. And meeting up with our neighbors every evening at 7 PM (with summer hours we moved it to 8 PM), always keeping the customary 6 feet distance, has given us that social connection we’ve been missing for years, everybody too occupied and busy driving children to and from activities.
So while we wait for that vaccine to develop, or that treatment to be the miracle we are all anxiously awaiting, I will keep on dreaming and reminiscing of summers past, of life before the pandemic, while at the same time appreciating what we have now, and the opportunities that have opened to us and the projects we never dreamed of undertaking.
The vegetable garden is one of those projects.
If you’ve been following me on social media, you know I’ve had a small vegetable garden for a few years. However (and cooks and gardeners will understand), the garden was getting small —not enough area to grow the different vegetables I was dreaming of. With the pandemic upon us, the cancelation of our summer trip to Spain and the prospect of spending most of our summer at home, my Mother’s Day wish was granted and the family starting planning.
My husband and master planner and builder was the most reticent to start the project, and more than half way into it now, I understand why. Being an engineer, I should have known that just anything would not do. The garden had to be harmonious and perfectly executed, with not one inch of it left to chance. Needless to say, perfection requires tender loving care —or in other words, many hours of work! This project will keep our family occupied all summer long, and today I leave you with PART 1: the master planning and building of the beds.
Chicken with cumin and pimentón dressing and tomato arugula salad seems to be a very appropriate recipe to accompany this post: before the summer’s over I’ll have tomatoes galore for gazpacho, sofrito and tortas of many kinds. I can’t wait!
CHICKEN WITH CUMIN AND PIMENTÓN DRESSING AND TOMATO ARUGULA SALAD Pollo con salsa de comino y pimentón y ensalada de tomatitos y arúgula
Equipment
Ingredients
- 4 chicken breasts
- 2 garlic cloves
- 1 chipotle pepper in adobo
- 2 Tbs pimentón de la Vera
- 2 tsp cumin seeds
- 2 tsp caraway seeds
- 3 Tbs extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp pepper
Salad:
- 1 red pepper
- 1 small red onion
- 1/2 pound grape tomatoes
- 1 Tbs chopped fresh cilantro
- 1 cup fresh arugula
- 1 Tbs extra virgin olive oil
- Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- In a mortar, combine the pimentón de la Vera, cumin, caraway, chopped chipotle in adobo and garlic cloves and pound until a paste forms. Add the olive oil, season with salt and pepper and mix until combined (alternatively, you can use a small blender instead of the mortar and pestle).
- Cut the chicken breast into 3 pieces (I like to cut the pointy end and then slice the thicker part transversally). Save 1 Tbs of the paste and spread the rest all over the chicken. Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.
- Roast the pepper on a gas stove or broil it in the oven, rotating it so it blackens on all sides. When cool enough to handle, peel it and slice it into thin strips, then into 1-inch pieces, reserving the juices (altenatively, you can use jarred roasted red pepper).
- Cut the tomatos: some of them in half transversally, some in half crosswise, some in rings.
- Cut the onion into very thin slices.
- In a small bowl mix the olive oil with the reserved 1 Tbs pimentón and cumin sauce, chopped cilantro and salt and pepper to taste.
- In a medium bowl, add the tomatoes, onion slices and red pepper pieces. Add the dressing and gently stir to incorporate the ingredients.
- Brush the chicken with olive oil and grill over moderate to high heat on both sides, about 6 minutes total. Don’t overcrowd the chicken in the pan; if necessary, work in batches.
- To serve, arrange the chicken on a platter, then arrange the tomato and pepper salad and the fresh arugula liberally throughout the platter.
