Keeping Calm and Cooking: Country Captain

Now more than ever, the kitchen is where many of us are seeking refuge and solace in light of the COVID-19. This is a tough time, but we’re going to make it through and hopefully eat some great food, too.

 I don’t know how the rest of you relax or de-stress. Yoga, running, and walking are all good options, but for me, it’s always been reading cookbooks and taking time to prepare a new recipe step-by-step. It’s a habit I developed with my mother. We’d spend long relaxing Sundays lounging in her comfy bed, with classic movies on the TV, surrounded by stacks of cookbooks. 

On one such occasion I stumbled across Chicken Country Captain in an old edition of The Joy of Cooking. I showed the recipe to my mom, and she exclaimed, “I love Country Captain, but not with curry powder.”

For those of you aren’t familiar with Country Captain, it’s a low country concoction. This warm, delicious one-pot chicken stew reflects the diverse culinary influences of the region by blending the French-inspired flavors of Creole cooking with the flavors of India. That means curry powder. Chicken Country Captain is almost always made with curry powder, so I’m not sure what the dish was that Mom loved so much, but I don’t think it was what she thought it was.

Like most of you, I’m sticking around the house and trying to stay busy. And when I feel my stress levels start to rise, I think of those Sundays with Mom and head to the kitchen. The recipe has a lot of ingredients, but it all comes together pretty quickly. So, without further ado, here’s my recipe for Country Captain - with two kinds of curry.

Stay calm and keep cooking, friends. 

Chicken Country Captain

(adapted from The Joy of Cooking)

Ingredients:

8 bone in, skin on chicken thighs
Salt and pepper
1 cup all purpose flour
1/2 tsp smoked paprika (or plain)
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1 TB curry powder
1 TB garam masala
4 slices of thick cut bacon
1 dried chile (I use an Arbol but you can use 1/2 teaspoon dried red pepper flakes)
1 large diced red bell pepper
1 large diced onion
2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
1 (28-ounce) can crushed tomatoes, with juice
2 tablespoons grated fresh ginger
2/3 cup slivered toasted almonds, toasted and chopped
1 cup golden raisins or 1/2 cup dried currents
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro or flat leaf parsley
Chutney

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Season the chicken with salt and pepper

Combine the flour, smoked paprika, and cayenne in a shallow bowl and dredge the chicken pieces one at a time until covered. Shake off excess flour and set aside.

In a small bowl, combine the curry powder, garam masala, salt, and black pepper and reserve.

Cut the bacon into 1/2 inch batons and cook over medium-high heat in a Dutch oven until it is golden brown. About 5 minutes. Scatter the bacon in a 4 to 6-quart enameled cast-iron pot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. With the slotted spoon, transfer the bacon to a small bowl and reserve.

Line a plate with paper towels. Brown the chicken thighs in the bacon grease in batches over medium-high heat, taking care not to crowd them in the pot, until they are golden brown, about 3 minutes per side. Remove the chicken and put on the paper towel lined plate.

If there is no bacon fat left in the pot, add 2 teaspoons canola oil. Add the chile and toast the chile in the fat, about 30 seconds per side, until very fragrant.

Add bell peppers, onions, and garlic and cook until slightly softened, about 6 minutes. Add the tomatoes, spice mixture, ginger, and the raisins or currants. Reduce the heat to medium-low, and simmer until the tomatoes have cooked down to a puree and the sauce has thickened around the vegetables, about 8 minutes.

Put the chicken thighs into the sauce so that the skin side faces up above the surface of the sauce. Loosely cover the pot with foil and transfer to the middle rack of the oven.

Bake the Country Captain for 20 minutes. Remove the foil and bake until the sauce has thickened further and the chicken skin is just beginning to crisp, about 15 minutes more.

Remove from the oven, skim any excess fat from the surface, and season to taste with salt and pepper. Discard the chile.

Serve the chicken and sauce over rice with the reserved bacon, almonds, chutney, and cilantro or parsley. (I like Naan bread with it, too!)