Chicken Pockets and Black-eyed Peas

I like to look back at old cookbooks and see if I can find some good recipes that I have forgotten about. Such is the case with these recipes. I used Emeril’s cookbooks when he was in his prime and always liked his chicken recipe with goat cheese and chorizo over black-eyed peas. This dish feels old and new at the same time, since stuffing chicken pockets is really current and black-eye peas are so traditional. I had not done this recipe in years. But it needs a classier name, maybe Chicken Emeril?

This is a perfect company dish since the chicken breasts can be cooking while serving drinks and the black-eyed peas can be done a day ahead. I served some broccoli on the side. So try this chicken dish. It has a wonderful flavor and the peas are so flavorful with the tasso.

 

From Emeril’s N. E. W. New Orleans Cooking, 1993.

Makes 4 main-course servings

8 ounces (1 cup) chopped chorizo, the casings removed and discarded (I used smoked kielbasa and added some smoked paprika to give the chorizo flavor.)

4 ounces (1/2 cup) goat cheese, such as Montrachet

¼ cup roasted pine nuts

3 tablespoons chopped green onions

1 tablespoon minced garlic

1 tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro

1 teaspoon chili powder

1 teaspoon ground cumin

½ teaspoon salt

3 turns freshly ground black pepper

3 cups Southern-Style Black-Eye Peas (recipe below)

4 skinned and boned chicken breast halves (about 6 ounces each), pounded very thin

4 teaspoons Creole seasoning

2 teaspoons olive oil

Preheat the oven to 400°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment or wax paper.

Combine the chorizo, goat cheese, pine nuts, green onions, garlic, cilantro, chili powder, cumin, salt, and pepper in a bowl and mix until thoroughly blended. Makes 1 ½ cups of stuffing.

Spread the chicken breasts on a flat surface and sprinkle each, top side only, with ½ teaspoon Creole seasoning. Place a heaping 1/3 cup of the stuffing on half of each chicken breast and fold the other over the stuffing and pinch the edges together. Brush the tops with oil, using ½ teaspoon on each, and sprinkle each with ½ teaspoon of the remaining Creole seasoning.

Place the pockets on the baking sheet and bake until the chicken is golden brown, for about 18-20 minutes.

To serve, spread ¾ cup of the Black-Eyed Peas on each of 4 plates, and top with 1 chicken pocket.

 

Southern-Style Black-Eyed Peas

Makes 3 cups

1 tablespoon olive oil

¼ cup chopped onion

2 ounces (1/4 cup) chopped tasso or other spiced ham

1 tablespoon minced garlic

1 ½ cups dried black-eye peas

1 teaspoon Creole seasoning

4 cups basic chicken stock

1 teaspoon salt

Heat the oil in a saucepan over high heat. Add the onions and sauté for 1 minute. Add the tasso, garlic, peas, and Creole seasoning and stir-fry for 1 minute.

Add the stock and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium, cover, and cook for 15 minutes. Uncover, stir once, re-cover, and simmer for 15 minutes. Add the salt, stir, cover again, and simmer for a final 10 minutes, or until the peas are tender. Remove from the heat.