CHICKEN BIG MAMOU ON PASTA
Source of Recipe
Chef Paul Prudhomme's Louisiana Kitchen, by Paul Prudhomme.
Recipe Introduction
The town of Mamou, in southeastern Louisiana, claims itself as the "tomato capitol of the world." So dishes with the term "Mamou" usually mean that there are tomatoes in the dish. Calling the dish "... Little Mamou" means just a few tomatoes; "... Big Mamou" means lots of tomatoes. So here is a pasta dish that is Cajun in inspiration.
List of Ingredients
6 quarts hot water
1/4 cup vegetable oil
3 Tbsp salt
1 1/2 pounds fresh spaghetti, or 1 pound dry
1 pound unsalted butter
4 Tbsp unsalted butter
1 cup very finely chopped onions
4 cloves garlic, medium-size, peeled
2 tsp minced garlic
3 1/4 cups rich chicken stock (in all)
2 Tbsp worcestershire sauce
1 Tbsp Tabasco sauce
2 16-ounce cans tomato sauce
2 Tbsp sugar
2 cups very finely chopped green onions (in all)
2 pounds boneless chicken (light and dark meat), cut into 1/2" cubes
Seasoning mix no. 1 (for sauce, see below)
Seasoning mix no. 2 (for chicken, see below)
Recipe
Place the hot water, oil and salt in a large pot over high heat; cover and bring to a boil. When water reaches a rolling boil, add small amounts of spaghetti at a time to the pot, breaking up oil patches as you drop spaghetti in. Return to boiling and cook to al dente stage (about 4 minutes if fresh, 7 minutes if dry); do not over cook. During this cooking time, use a wooden or spaghetti spoon to lift spaghetti out of the water by spoonfuls and shake strands back into the boiling water.
(It may be an old wives' tale, but this procedure seems to enhance the spaghetti's texture.)
Then immediately drain spaghetti into a colander; stop cooking process by running cold water over strands. (If you used dry spaghetti, first rinse with hot water to wash off starch.) After the pasta has cooled thoroughly, about 2 to 3 minutes, pour a liberal amount of vegetable oil
in your hands and toss spaghetti. Set aside still in the colander.
Meanwhile, thoroughly combine the seasoning mix ingredients in a small bowl and set aside.
In a 4-quart saucepan, combine 1 1/2 sticks of the butter, the onions and garlic cloves; saute over medium heat 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the minced garlic and the seasoning mix no. 1; continue cooking over medium heat until onions are dark brown but not burned [not unlike you cook onions for Indian curry dishes], about 8 to
10 minutes, stirring often. Add 2 1/2 cups of the stock, the worcestershire and Tabasco; bring to a fast simmer and cook, about 8 minutes, stirring often. Stir in the tomato sauce and bring mixture to a boil. Then stir in the sugar and 1 cup of the green onions; gently simmer uncovered about 40 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Heat the serving plates in a 250 deg F. oven.
Combine the ingredients of the chicken seasoning mix no. 2 in a small bowl; mix well. Sprinkle over the chicken, rubbing it in with your hands. In a large skillet melt 1 1/2 sticks of the butter over medium heat. Add the remaining 1 cup green onions and saute over high heat
about 3 minutes. Add the chicken and continue cooking 10 minutes, stirring frequently. When the tomato sauce has simmered about 40 minutes, stir in the chicken mixture and heat through.
To finish the dish, FOR EACH SERVING melt 2 Tbsp butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add one-sixth of the cooked spaghetti (a bit less than a 2-cup measure); heat spaghetti 1 minute, stirring constantly. Add 1 1/4 cups chicken and sauce and 2 Tbsp of remaining stock; heat thoroughly, stirring frequently. Remove from heat. Roll
spaghetti on a large fork and lift onto a heated serving platter.
Repeat process for remaining servings.
Seasoning mix no. 1 (for sauce)
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2 tsp dried thyme leaves
1 1/4 tsp ground red pepper (preferably cayenne)
1 tsp white pepper
3/4 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp dried sweet basil leaves
Combine all ingredients and set aside
Seasoning mix no. 2 (for chicken)
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1 1/2 Tbsp salt (reduce this if desired)
1 1/2 tsp white pepper
1 1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 1/4 tsp ground red pepper (preferably cayenne)
1 tsp black pepper
1 tsp ground cumin (optional)
1/2 tsp dried sweet basil leaves
Combine all ingredients and set aside
Serves 6.
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