Cerkes tavugu (cold shredded chicken with walnut sauce)

8 servings

Ingredients

Quantity Ingredient
3½ pounds Chicken; cut into 8 serving
;pieces
3 cups Water
1½ teaspoon Salt
1½ cup Walnuts, shelled
½ cup Onion; finely chopped
3 slices White bread; (homemade type)
1 teaspoon Paprika
Black pepper; freshly ground
1 tablespoon Parsley; finely chopped and
;preferably flat leaf

Directions

In a 4 to 5 quart saucepan, combine the chicken, water and ½ teaspoon of the salt. Bring to a boil over high heat, reduce the heat to low, partially cover, and simmer for 30 minutes, or until the chicken is tender but not falling apart. Transfer the chicken to a plate, and boil the stock rapidly, uncovered, over until reduced to 1½ cups.

Combine the walnuts, onions and stock in the jar of an electric blender and blend at high speed for 15 seconds. Add the bread, ½ teaspoon of the paprika, the remaining 1 teaspoon of salt and a few grindings of pepper, and blend at high speed until the mixture becomes a smooth puree.

(To make the walnut puree by hand, pulverize the nuts with a nut grinder or mortar and pestle. Transfer them to a bowl, add the onions, and, with the back of a spoon, mash them together to a smooth paste. Tear and shred the bread with a fork, then mash it into the nuts. Beat in the hot stock, a few tablespoons at a time, and continue beating until the mixture is smooth and thick enough to hold its shape almost solidly in a spoon.) When the chicken is cool enough to handle, remove the skin with a small knife or your fingers and cut or pull the meat away from the bones. Discard the bones, and cut the chicken meat into strips about ⅛ inch wide and 1 to 1 ½ inches long. Place the chicken in a bowl and add 1 ½ cups of the walnut sauce, tossing the chicken about with a spoon to coat the pieces well.

Mound the chicken on a platter, mask the top with the remaining sauce, and sprinkle with ½ teaspoon of paprika. Garnish with parsley if desired.

NOTE: A more traditional garnish for cerkes tavugu is made from paprika and the oil of ground walnuts. For this, pulverize ¼ cup of shelled walnuts with ½ teaspoon of paprika in a mortar and pestle. Place a spoonful of the mixture at a time in a garlic press, and squeeze the oil over the chicken.

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Source: Time Life Series: Middle Eastern Cooking "circa '69" MMed by: earl.cravens@...

Submitted By EARL CRAVENS On 01-06-95 (2059)

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