Food - Drink
The Secret Ingredient Andrew Zimmern Uses To Amp Up Chicken
By LAUREN ROTHMAN
Different countries around the world have their own methods and ingredients to create a delicious chicken dish — from the Mexican chipotle-sauced chicken tinga to the Indian tandoor-fired chicken tandoori. Chef and food television host Andrew Zimmern, however, uses an intriguing Middle Eastern ingredient to enhance his chicken dishes.
Commonly used in Iran, Iraq, and northern India, dried limes called loomi, lumi, or black limes, are soaked in a salt brine and then sun-dried. Sour, aromatic, and also funky and musty, the limes can be tossed whole into slow-cooking dishes such as stews, as well as ground into a powder and mixed into dry rubs.
In his recipe for chicken with black limes, Zimmern marinades pieces of dark meat chicken in black lime powder overnight, and uses whole black limes in his stock when braising the chicken the next day. He finishes the sauce off with lemon juice, fresh parsley, and mint, and serves the dish with steamed rice or couscous.