Monday, October 27, 2014

Cajun Chicken, Chèvre and Veggie Flute

Did you know there are laws in France that dictate where, when and how bread is made and sold?

I didn’t either, until one of my fellow ex-pat friends told me.

Apparently, the law was passed in 1993 and dictates:

“traditional baguettes have to be made on the premises they're sold and can only be made with four ingredients: wheat flour, water, salt and yeast. They can't be frozen at any stage or contain additives or preservatives.” (http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/)

Once I knew this, it made a lot more sense that the ‘baguettes’ in our local grocery store look, feel and taste slightly different than the ones from the bakery near our house. They’re not made at the store, they’re bigger and much crunchier and they (gasp!) may have been frozen at one point. For these reasons, they’re not actually baguettes, they’re called flutes.

I know – my mind was all quoi?! too.

But a wise playwright once wrote: That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet. Hence French bread, by any name, is still French bread and that means they make très beaux sandwiches.

Of course, it takes more than just beautiful bread to make a beautiful sandwich, hence the fun I had assembling the ingredients for a warm, juicy, spicy, strong, crunchy concoction that became the Cajun Chicken, Chèvre and Veggie Flute.

Beautiful fresh ingredients make a beautiful sandwich.
It requires:

-chicken breasts, one for as each sandwiches you make
-Flute (or other such loaf-y bread)
-red and green bell peppers
- Chèvre (which literally means goat, so basically goat cheese)
-greens, such as baby spinach, arugula, mizuna, lettuce, etc.
 -Cajun spice
A flute is a bigger, thicker French loaf. Perfect for this sandwich!
-Olive oil
-fresh ground pepper


Prep:

1-Saute the chicken in olive oil over medium heat.
2-While chicken is cooking, chop up the peppers, slice the chèvre and cut the bread in half lengthwise.
3-Add some Cajun spice to the chicken in the last few minutes of cooking. To check for doneness, cut into the breasts at their thickest. The meat should be white, not pink.
4-Remove chicken from heat and slice lengthwise to thin the meat; it fits better in the loaf this way.
5-Place chicken on the bread, top with chèvre and veggies.
6-Assemble the sandwich and cut in half, if you like.
7-Mangez le sandwich!

Veggies and cheese ready for meat and bread.
What I really enjoy about this sandwich is the variety of flavours and textures: the crunchy, crusty bread, the warm, yet spicy chicken, the strong and smooth cheese and the fresh vegetables. You could also sauté the peppers for another flavour layer; I actually used leftover sautéed peppers and they tasted great.

A word about chèvre: I really love this cheese but it’s strong smelling and has a crumbly texture that’s not for everyone. It really pairs nicely with the Cajun spice on this sandwich but you could substitute it for a mellower cheese, like emmental, if you like.

The Cajun spice is a special blend we picked up at the local market and truth be told, I don’t actually know what’s in it, but the spice man said it’s great for poultry and gives it a Cajun/Louisiana style seasoning. He was right.

For a sandwich that covers all four major French food groups: bread, cheese, meat and veggies, give this one a try! It doesn’t matter if you use a baguette, a flute or a sub, just pack it full of fresh, tasty ingredients and it’s sure to please.

Cajun Chicken, Chèvre and Veggie Flute

Special thanks and credit for this sandwich go out to my fellow Canadian friend Kellen. It's great to have a new friend to talk sandwiches with! 

For more information about French bread, check out these great websites!




1 comment:

  1. Hmm good to know - I'll save the tidbit about French bread for my Foods 30 class when we do Advanced Cake and Pastry (making baguettes and croissants, among other things).
    Hope you are well,

    ReplyDelete