CHICKEN AND CAULIFLOWER TRAY BAKE WITH ROASTED GARLIC–YOGURT SAUCE
I plan to make this dish for dinner this weekend. I want to turn up the heat level (spicy) and need suggestions for which type of pepper to use. Also, how much?
Thanks
I plan to make this dish for dinner this weekend. I want to turn up the heat level (spicy) and need suggestions for which type of pepper to use. Also, how much?
Thanks
Comments
I made this dish last night. I generally add hot pepper flakes to everything, but I didn’t do it to this dish, I wanted to taste it as written first. Despite the lack of heat, it was really good. I think adding hot pepper flakes to either or both the chicken and cauliflower would be fine, but I think I’d choose to sprinkle it on the items rather than adding it to the spice mix as the mix goes into the yogurt sauce as well. I would also think that just having a good bottle of hot sauce on the side of the plate would be fine.
I have two notes regarding the recipe. (1) The garlic placed in the center of the chicken was not done when the chicken was. I put it in some foil, added some of the oil from the pan, and put it back in the oven for another 20 minutes before it was soft enough to mash. The cauliflower wasn’t soft enough to mash, either, so I chopped it with a knife (2) The fat from the chicken produced so much grease on the pan that I did not put the water in the pan for adding to the sauce. After removing all of the food from the pan I tipped it up so the grease could all run towards the bottom, and scraped up the brown bits the best I could to the top of the pan for the grease to run off. Then I added the browned bits to the sauce, along with the tap water (I don’t think I put in a whole 1/4 cup).
Next time I will leave the garlic in the skins, and put them in foil prior to putting them in the oven. They’ll cook faster that way, and will be ready along with the chicken.
Overall, this recipe was really good. The chicken and cauliflower were both delicious, and it was easy to prepare.
I made this dish last night. I generally add hot pepper flakes to everything, but I didn’t do it to this dish, I wanted to taste it as written first. Despite the lack of heat, it was really good. I think adding hot pepper flakes to either or both the chicken and cauliflower would be fine, but I think I’d choose to sprinkle it on the items rather than adding it to the spice mix as the mix goes into the yogurt sauce as well. I would also think that just having a good bottle of hot sauce on the side of the plate would be fine.
I have two notes regarding the recipe. (1) The garlic placed in the center of the chicken was not done when the chicken was. I put it in some foil, added some of the oil from the pan, and put it back in the oven for another 20 minutes before it was soft enough to mash. The cauliflower wasn’t soft enough to mash, either, so I chopped it with a knife (2) The fat from the chicken produced so much grease on the pan that I did not put the water in the pan for adding to the sauce. After removing all of the food from the pan I tipped it up so the grease could all run towards the bottom, and scraped up the brown bits the best I could to the top of the pan for the grease to run off. Then I added the browned bits to the sauce, along with the tap water (I don’t think I put in a whole 1/4 cup).
Next time I will leave the garlic in the skins, and put them in foil prior to putting them in the oven. They’ll cook faster that way, and will be ready along with the chicken.
Overall, this recipe was really good. The chicken and cauliflower were both delicious, and it was easy to prepare.
I made this dish last night. I generally add hot pepper flakes to everything, but I didn’t do it to this dish, I wanted to taste it as written first. Despite the lack of heat, it was really good. I think adding hot pepper flakes to either or both the chicken and cauliflower would be fine, but I think I’d choose to sprinkle it on the items rather than adding it to the spice mix as the mix goes into the yogurt sauce as well. I would also think that just having a good bottle of hot sauce on the side of the plate would be fine.
I have two notes regarding the recipe. (1) The garlic placed in the center of the chicken was not done when the chicken was. I put it in some foil, added some of the oil from the pan, and put it back in the oven for another 20 minutes before it was soft enough to mash. The cauliflower wasn’t soft enough to mash, either, so I chopped it with a knife (2) The fat from the chicken produced so much grease on the pan that I did not put the water in the pan for adding to the sauce. After removing all of the food from the pan I tipped it up so the grease could all run towards the bottom, and scraped up the brown bits the best I could to the top of the pan for the grease to run off. Then I added the browned bits to the sauce, along with the tap water (I don’t think I put in a whole 1/4 cup).
Next time I will leave the garlic in the skins, and put them in foil prior to putting them in the oven. They’ll cook faster that way, and will be ready along with the chicken.
Overall, this recipe was really good. The chicken and cauliflower were both delicious, and it was easy to prepare.
Hi Rhonda - The easiest way to add some heat to this dish is to replace the sweet paprika in the spice mixture with hot paprika or simply add some red pepper flakes or cayenne to the spice mix. But, why not experiment with some more interesting flavors too? Aleppo pepper would be great here. Fruity and moderately spicy, Aleppo pepper is used throughout the Middle East. The one we sell in our store, Villa Jerada Aleppo Pepper, is impeccably sourced. You could also experiment with ground, dried chilies. Dried chilies can impart heat but also a ton of complex flavor. They do require a bit of preparation before use. First they should be toasted (to heighten their flavor) in a dry skillet until just beginning to darken, about 1 minute per side. Once cool enough to handle, tear the stem off and shake out the seeds. At this point, the chilies can be ground to powder in a spice grinder. Turkish Urfa pepper is one of our favorite dried chile flakes. - it packs a punch with deep, earthy flavor and moderate heat. The moist texture of the coarse-ground flakes make it better suited to garnishing a dish than using in a spice rub. Sprinkle a little on the chicken and cauliflower after cooking. Hope this helps! Thanks for writing to us, Lynn C.
Thanks for the feedback. I will let you know how it turns out.
Hi Lynn,
A word of warning about toasting dried chillies - keep a close eye on them! I used to live in Melbourne, Australia and my office was above the original Chin Chin restaurant (I believe Christopher has been to the Sydney one). They used to toast their chillies in batches for their curries. About once every eight weeks, the cook would forget them and it would set off the fire alarms in the whole building and we'd all have tears streaming down our faces from the fumes (like being hit with pepper spray!) as we were forced to evacuate...
Hi Nichola - Good tip and great story! We have filmed more than one episode of the show in which the cast was toasting chilies and cleared out the set with the fumes! Thanks for commenting! Best, Lynn C.