Blueberries were in abundance at the market this week and I picked up a whole flat along and my roommate also scored a large quantity. The best way to enjoy blueberries in my opinion is to simply eat them by the handful, but I really felt like doing something very different with them. Fruit and meat is something that goes together well and the combination is well known in certain dishes such as the famous tajines of Morocco and the infamous Canadian bacon and pineapple pizzas of the US. Following up on the success of my Strawberry-Cardamom Pork Chops, I wanted to spice up the blueberries and use them in a chicken dish.
Blueberries have a very fresh and bright taste to them and I needed something that would match that and make it pop. I chose to pair them with Thai basil from the market, lemon grass, ginger, and a few jalapeños; all spicy and at the same time very bright flavors that go well with a beautiful summer day. The blueberries and spices were thrown into the VitaMix and pureed into what turned out to be very gelatinous mixture. I’ve used the combination of spices before so it must be some component of the blueberries that caused this and it is something worth researching later.
I tend to not cook with chicken except to roast them fully these days. Buying a whole chicken makes much more economic and ecological sense than buying individual pre-cut parts. After roasting, the bones can be used for stock and the chicken can be shredded to be add to stir-fries, sandwiches, quesadillas, or whatever else you imagine. There are various theories and methodologies that different people swear by for roasting a chicken and I myself have become very fond of slow-roasting, starting with high heat – 450F – for the first 30 minutes and then turning the temperature down to about 300F for a few hours, letting the chicken cook to the point of falling apart and ending up a sticky gooey skin. This time around I went with a more standard quick roast with 450F for 15 minutes followed by 350F for about 1.5 hours but to retain moisture and flavor, I stuffed the blueberry mixture under the skin of the chicken. This is done by taking a very sharp knife and carefully separating the skin from the meat, peeling it back a bit and using hands and a brush to get everything in there. The end result was perfectly crispy on the outside and very juicy on the inside with an amazing sweet and spicy taste.
I had about two cups of the blueberry concoction leftover along with all the giblets. Giblets and blueberries? Why not I asked myself and proceeded to sauté the giblets in some coconut oil and then simmer them with the blueberries until they were tender. This was all thrown into the food processor and what came out was a lovely blue-black puree with an amazing contrast of flavors: richness from the heart, pungency from liver, sweetness of the blueberries, and the spices bringing everything together. It was divinely robust tasting and not something I could eat much of in one sitting. This would make an ideal potluck pleaser, specially spread on some sesame encrusted rice crackers and topped with a cilantro leaf.