Kale and Some Other Stuff

Spoiler alert: Mine was good, but nothing like this!
Photo: Christopher Testani for The New York Times.
Food Stylist: Simon Andrews

The actual title of this dish by Julia Moskin is Chicken Braised With Potatoes and Pine Nuts. Kale is just one of more than a dozen ingredients, and not among the three or four most important. But we are not big kale people, so I had to push myself to include it. I am glad I did.

Pamela had bookmarked this recipe during one of her regular perusals of the NYT recipe pages. When she shared it with me today, I was attracted by the combination of flavors and decided that cooking it would be a fine way to spend the last couple hours of my spring break. (*Not counting the additional week of spring break that will be provided by the COVID-19 pandemic.)

I thought that the title was a bit odd, implying that the potatoes were somehow searing the meat. This is because the title is awkwardly phrased and because it turns out I had no idea what braising means. 

I followed the recipe rather closely, and the result was delicious -- both on the plate and in the aroma of the whole house. Rather than choosing between cloves and cinnamon, by the way, I used both -- Gabriela style -- and I am glad I did.

My result was, however, more like a stew than the professionally prepared, styled, and photographed result shown above. I will adjust my cooking in three ways next time to achieve better braisedness:

1. I will not crowd the pan in the first step, so that I can really brown each piece;
2. I will turn each piece to brown them on both sides, even though the recipe does not specify this; and
3. I will take more seriously the advice to use much less water. With the closed lid, steam will do the job anyway. I will also be more aggressive in driving off the residual water in the final step.

The flavors were complex and rich enough that I plan to add a few more next time, including an ample dose of ginger. I can hardly wait!