I spotted this vegetable today at the farmer's market. Never having seen it before, my mind immediately jumped to "Invasion of the Body Snatchers" (nice imagery there...). While not quite as menacing, the maxixe, or Brazilian cucumber, is an intriguing vegetable sold by Hmong Family Farms. Eager to try a nice vegetable, one whose appearance is quite enticing, I purchased this bunch to for dinner this weekend.
A little background information: the Maxixe, similar in texture and flavor to a cucumber, is thought to have originated in Africa. It can be eaten raw or cooked and has a slight lemony taste. It is common in Brazil where it is used in soups, salads, and cooked with beef dishes.
I plan to make a salad with heirloom tomatoes, bianca (ivory!)and chocolate bell peppers (!) and perhaps some Kalatama olives and feta cheese. I'll let you know how it tastes/turns out.
I have been a little uninspired lately with my cooking, so I wanted to try something new. Greek is a cuisine that I have little experience cooking but intrigues me. Greek foodies: ANY comments or suggestions are greatly appreciated! : )
This recipe looks complicated, but each step takes about ten minutes to complete. The chicken can be marinated & stuffed the night before serving or earlier that day. The cucumber-yogurt sauce can be prepared up to 2 days before serving. This serves about 3-4 people.
For Chicken Marinade:
2 lbs chicken drumsticks (about 6)1/2 lemon, juiced12 Kalamata olives, pitted and chopped
1/4 cup EVOO (8 tablespoons)
1/4 cup dry white wine3 cloves chopped garlic
Freshly ground black pepper
1 cup chicken stock (reserved for cooking)
Rinse chicken with water and pat dry with a paper towel. In a shallow baking dish, drizzle olive oil, lemon juice and white wine over chicken.
Sprinkle garlic and olives over chicken and cover with freshly ground black pepper. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour.
For Spinach & Feta Stuffing:
1 cup chopped spinach (I used frozen chopped spinach for this recipe)
1 tablespoon minced dill
2 green onions6 oz crumbled feta cheese
Remove chicken from marinade.
Heat up marinate in saute pan until simmering. Simmer until liquid is reduced (less than 1/4 cup liquid).
Add green onions and saute 1 minute.
Add spinach and cook 1 minute.
Mix in dill and feta cheese.
Remove from heat.
Carefully push cooled stuffing into each chicken drumstick.
To Cook Chicken:
Heat oven to 350.
Pour 1 cup chicken broth into saute pan and bring to boil on high heat. Pour into 9 x 13 glass baking dish.
Place each chicken drumstick stuffing-side up in baking dish.
Bake approximately 45 minutes to 1 hour (until juices run clear).
While chicken is roasting, prepare Spinach-Dill rice.
For Spinach-Dill Rice:
1 tablespoon EVOO 1 small onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon chopped spinach
1 tablespoon minced dill
1 1/2-2 cups chicken stock
1 cup of rice
Heat up 1 tablespoon olive oil in medium-sized sauce pot. Add onion and garlic and saute 5 minutes until onion is translucent.
Add chicken broth and bring to a boil.
Add rice and stir 1 minute.
Stir in dill, reduce heat to low and cook about 20 minutes, until liquid has evaporated, stirring very occasionally.
Stir in spinach and fluff to serve.
For Cucumber-Yogurt Sauce:
1 /2 cups Greek yogurt
1 large cucumber, peeled, seeded and finely diced
1 minced garlic clove
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
2 teaspoons EVOO
Stir ingredients together, cover and refrigerate a minimum of 3 hours before serving.
Scoop rice over 3-4 dinner plates. Place 1 or 2 chicken drumsticks over rice. Carefully scoop cucumber-yogurt sauce over chicken and rice.
Happy Eating,
Caitlin
