If you made a resolution to cook more good stuff and eat less bad, by this point in the new year, you already may be backsliding.
Convenience meals and fast food can seem an easy fix when workdays are busy, commutes are long and your house is full of hungry people at 6 p.m.
Yeah, yeah, the solution is better organization on your days off. But who wants to be a kitchen slave on the weekends? Better to learn some tricks.
To that end, two tools: your oven and aluminum foil. Baking in foil packets is not a revolutionary technique, but rather a time-tested one that essentially steams food — usually chicken breasts or fish fillets — to tenderness. It’s also a technique, though, that lends itself to advance preparation.
Layer a portion of protein over raw potatoes or cooked rice, season and top with a handful of vegetables. Seal the packet, tuck it in the fridge and bake it later (you could even trust the task to a responsible child who gets home before you). The result is a hot meal on the table in 30 minutes or less — meat, starch and veggies all served in the packet.
This chicken recipe is adapted from the appropriately titled "The Make-Ahead Cook," by the editors of America’s Test Kitchen (Cook’s Illustrated, 2014, $26.95). It’s a dish with plenty of fresh flavors that requires minimal slicing and chopping.
Many variations are possible by customizing the seasonings and the vegetables. Sweet potatoes and celery not being popular at my house, I used white potatoes and snap peas instead. You could also simplify. It takes time to grate a tablespoon of ginger, for example. You could forfeit that flavor in favor of more pepper flakes. Or compromise and incorporate one convenience food — use a prepared salad dressing as seasoning.
Another weeknight bonus: Cooking and serving in the foil packets means no dishes to wash.
MAKE-AHEAD CHICKEN BAKED IN FOIL
» 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
» 1 teaspoon sesame oil
» 6 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
» 1 tablespoon grated ginger
» 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
» 12 ounces sweet potatoes, peeled and sliced 1/4 inch thick
» 4 radishes, trimmed and quartered
» 2 celery ribs, trimmed of fibrous strings, halved lengthwise and cut in 2-inch pieces
» 1/2 large red onion, sliced 1/2 inch thick
» Salt and pepper, to taste
» 4 (6-ounce) boneless, skinless chicken breasts
Garnish:
» 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
» 2 tablespoons minced cilantro
Combine oils, garlic, ginger and pepper flakes in bowl. Microwave on high 1 minute to 90 seconds, until garlic begins to brown. Combine potatoes and vegetables in bowl; toss with warmed oil and salt.
Tear off 4 (20-by-12-inch) sheets of heavy-duty foil. Brush center of each sheet lightly with vegetable oil. In center of 1 piece of foil, lay 1/4 of potato slices in 2 rows. Sprinkle 1 chicken breast with salt and pepper; place on top of potato layer. Place 1/4 of vegetables around chicken. Gather up edges of foil and crimp to seal. Leave as much headroom as possible inside packets.
Repeat to make 3 more packets. Place on plate and refrigerate 1 to 24 hours.
To finish: Heat oven to 475 degrees. Place packets on rimmed baking sheet and bake 20-25 minutes, until chicken is cooked through (larger or very thick breasts will take longer; a thermometer can be poked through the foil into the chicken to check for internal temperature of 160 degrees).
Let rest 3 minutes, then open packets and drizzle chicken with rice vinegar and cilantro. Serves 4.
Approximate nutritional analysis, per serving (assuming 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt used): 450 calories, 19 g fat, 3 g saturated fat, 110 mg cholesterol, 500 mg sodium, 28 g carbohydrate, 5 g fiber, 10 g sugar, 39 g protein
Clarification
In last week’s recipe for Roast Pork a la Rainbow Drive-In, I neglected to specify whether to cover the pot when you put the roast in the oven. The answer is yes, cover the pot.
Nutritional analysis by Joannie Dobbs, Ph.D., C.N.S. Write "By Request," Honolulu Star-Advertiser, 7 Waterfront Plaza, Suite 210, Honolulu 96813; or email requests to bshimabukuro@staradvertiser.com.
