Winner winner Chicken Putanesca dinner
After a long interval, the Maya Kitchen Culinary Arts Center has brought back its Elite Gastronomy Series, which features cooking demonstrations by renowned chefs. This series embodies much of what the Maya Kitchen stands for: product development, innovation, and engagement with the community through cookbooks and the sharing of recipes.
Those in the past who have conducted cooking demonstrations at the Maya Kitchen include luminaries such as chef Manuel Ariel (of Lolo Dad’s fame); chef Tatung Sarthou; chef Noel dela Rama; and Nina Daza Puyat, who now heads Maya Kitchen herself.
In this recent reincarnation of Maya’s Elite Gastronomy Series, the focus was on farm gastronomy, which explored rustic cooking and sustainable dining. Appropriately enough, the demonstrators were chefs Jayjay and Rhea Sycip, chef/owners of The Fatted Calf in Tagaytay and the bakeshop Flour Pot.
Young, idealistic, and full of vibrant energy, the SyCips make it a point to source their ingredients only from places that practice sustainability and ethical ways of farming. Jayjay himself personally visits and checks the farms where they buy their free-range eggs and hormone-free chickens. They also source their ingredients from as far North as Benguet and as far South as Bukidnon.
A baker who traces her ties with Maya to her first cooking class at age 13, Rhea demonstrated her recipe for Mixed Berries Tres Leches, which she described as the restaurant’s “pahabol” cake—one which she can whip up easily when they’re running out of dessert. She emphasized the role of baking powder in the recipe, which she said helps relax the gluten of the flour and makes the cake rise better.
For his part, Jayjay showed how to prepare Spanish-style tuna crostini, vegan glow salad, roasted pepper and cashew pasta, and chicken putanesca casserole. “We use artisanal salt such as those made in Pangasinan and Zambales,” he said while mixing the maple vinaigrette for the salad. For the oranges, they use the Satsuma variety grown in Nueva Vizcaya.
All that talk about food made everyone hungry—and we were all delighted when lunch, featuring the dishes prepared by the SyCips, was finally served. Everything tasted wonderful. The salad was crisp, with the fascinating textures and flavors of mixed greens, zucchini, asparagus, squash, pumpkin seeds, raisins, grapes and orange segments. Equally enticing were the tuna crostini and the roasted pepper and cashew pasta. And for a cake that’s considered only “pahabol,” the tres leches was pure indulgence.
My own personal favorite was the chicken putanesca, which cleverly used the classic Italian pasta sauce to turn chicken into a rich, hearty casserole.
Here’s the recipe for the chicken putanesca casserole.
Chicken Putanesca Casserole
(Note: Proportions of a few ingredients have been adjusted for home cooking.)
For the pomodoro sauce:
- 1 ½ - 2 kilos ripe, fresh tomatoes
- 3 liters (12 cups) water, for boiling the tomatoes
- Ice water, for chilling the tomatoes
- ¼ cup pomace oil or olive oil
- 2/3 cup chopped white onions
- Sea salt
- 3 Tablespoons chopped garlic
- ¼ cup tomato paste
- ¼ teaspoon cracked black pepper
For the chicken:
- 8-10 pieces chicken drumsticks and thighs (use a combination of both)
- Salt and pepper
- ¼ cup olive oil, divided
- ¼ cup diced white onion
- 2 Tablespoons minced garlic
- 8 pieces anchovy fillets (1 small can)
Prepared pomodoro sauce (see recipe)
- 1 cup water
- Sea salt, to taste
- White pepper, to taste
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 teaspoon chili flakes (or red pepper flakes)
- 1 teaspoon chopped parsley
- ¼ cup black olives (you can also use green olives)
- 2 teaspoons capers
To garnish:
Chopped fresh parsley leaves
Prepare the pomodoro sauce:
Cut an X slit at the bottom of each tomato (this makes it easier to peel the tomatoes). In a stockpot, bring the three liters of water to a boil. Once the water starts to boil, add the tomatoes in batches. Boil each batch for one to two minutes. Transfer the tomatoes to a bowl of ice water and let it cool for about one minute. Peel the tomatoes then dice them into medium sizes. Set aside.
In another stockpot, heat the oil and sauté the onions with a pinch of salt until the onions are translucent. Add the garlic and sauté (do not brown the garlic). Stir in the tomato paste and let cook until blended. Add the diced tomatoes and simmer until the tomatoes break down, stirring occasionally. Season with salt and pepper. Set aside.
Cook the chicken:
Wash the chicken well and pat dry with paper towels. Season the chicken with salt and pepper. In a sauté pan, heat two tablespoons of the oil. Sear the chicken on all sides until nice and golden brown (the chicken does not have to be fully cooked as it will be simmered later). Remove from the pan and set aside. (You may have to do this in batches.)
In a saucepan, heat remaining two tablespoons oil and sauté the onions until translucent, adding a pinch of salt. Add the garlic and sauté, but do not let garlic brown. Stir in the anchovy fillets and sauté until the fillets start to break down.
Pour in the prepared pomodoro sauce and mix well. Bring to a boil then lower heat to a simmer. Simmer for 15 to 20 minutes or until the sauce is thickened.
Return the chicken to the sauce and pour in the water. Mix well until water is combined into the sauce. Season with salt and pepper. Add the oregano, thyme, chili flakes and parsley. Simmer until the chicken is well cooked, about 20 minutes. Stir in the olives and capers and simmer gently. Turn the heat off and garnish with fresh parsley leaves before serving.
