Ian Jones, Executive Chef of Elizabeth Restaurant
Elizabeth Restaurant
4835 N. Western Avenue
Chicago, IL 60625
773-681-0651
https://www.elizabeth-restaurant.com/
Event:
Elizabeth Restaurant Celebrates 10 Year Anniversary
September Tasting Pays Homage to Chef Regan’s Opening Menu
To celebrate the 10 year milestone in elevated dining, the acclaimed restaurant will offer a special menu during the month of September.
The price of the September tasting menu is $160 per person. Dining guests may add spirit-free beverage pairings ($75), wine pairings ($105) or reserve wine pairings ($150), curated by Beverage Director Ali Martin.
Elizabeth Restaurant is open Tuesday through Saturday, with seatings from 5:30-9 p.m.
Recipe:
Late Summer Vegetable Ragu with Smoked Chicken and Fried Soft Poached Egg
Smoked Chicken Thigh
1# Skinless chicken thigh
2c water
2 tsp. Salt
2 Tbsp Maple syrup
2 bay leaf
1 sprig fresh thyme
1 Tbsp. Whole toasted black pepper corn
1 Tbsp. Whole Toasted Coriander
3pc Smashed garlic clove
1pc Star anise
4pc whole toasted all spice
Bring water up to a boil and add salt, syrup and all spices and let sit for 10 minutes to infuse flavors. Cool down the brine and add chicken. Let the Chicken sit in the brine from 12-24 hours.
The following day Smoke Chicken thighs for 30 Minutes at 180F or until internal temperature reaches 165F If you do not have a smoker you can roast the chicken thigh as well.
Once Chicken is cooked cool down and Shred or Chop into small bite sized pieces (Save and Liquid From the Chicken in a separate container).
Roasted Chicken Jus
5# Chicken bones
2 white onions
2 carrots
2 stalks of celery
Roast chicken bones in the oven at 400f till you have a nice dark brown color on the surface of the chicken. Transfer chicken to a stock pot and cover with cold water. Under a medium flame bring up the liquid to a simmer While the stock is heating up, rough chop the onions and carrots and roast them in the oven. Once roasted, Transfer to the stock and add raw celery. Let it simmer for 12 hours and then strain. Take 4 cups of the stock and liquid from the smoked chicken and reduce it to half or until it coats the back of a spoon. Strain and cool down. Save the rest of the Stock for the Ragu.
Fried Soft Poached Egg
6 eggs, keep in cooler till ready to boil
For the dredge
2 eggs
1 Tbsp cream
1 C AP flour
2 C Panko
Bring 2 quarts of water to a boil.
While the water is coming up to a boil, prepare an ice bath and then crack the remaining 2 eggs into a small bowl and whisk together and then add the cream and mix it all together. Add the Panko to another bowl and season with salt.
Add the ap flour to a this bowl and season with black pepper and salt.
Pull eggs from the cooler and add them carefully to the water, try not to crack them as you put them into the pot, usually a spotted spoon will help.
Cook eggs for 6 minutes and 45 seconds and immediately pull egg out and transfer to the ice bath.
Cool down for 10 minutes then carefully peel each egg.
Have your flour, egg wash and panko bowls in a row and have the peeled eggs ready.
Working with one egg at a time add the egg to the ap flour and cover the egg in the flour and transfer to the egg wash. You may need to add the egg to the wash first to get the ap to stick but sometimes it should be ok to have the AP stick to the egg. You just want enough AP on the egg to get the second layer of egg wash to stick to the egg. Once you have the egg wash on the egg, transfer to the Panko and completely cover the egg with the panko. Repeat with the remaining eggs and place them in the cooler till you’re ready to fry them.
Late Summer Vegetable Ragu
1c diced eggplant
1c Diced Squash
1c Diced Zucchini
1c Diced red onion
½ c Chopped Shallot
2 cloves of garlic, Minced
½ c Chopped Shiitake Mushroom
½ c diced carrot
1c Diced fennel bulb
1c diced Pancetta
1 Tbsp Minced rosemary
1 Tbsp Minced sage
1 Tbsp minced thyme
¼ c tomato paste
¼ c Sherry Vinegar
1c red wine
2c Chicken stock
¼ c Pitted Black Moroccan olives, Cut into 1/4s
Reserved picked Chicken thigh
In a Large Pot or casserole dish heat up a few Tsp of oil to a medium heat. Add the Pancetta and cook till crispy and all the fat has rendered out. Pull out the meat and leave the oil and fat in the pan. Add the Mushrooms, season with a small pinch of salt and cook for a minute or two. Add remaining vegetables and garlic and another small pinch of salt and sweat out the Vegetables till they are soft but still have some bite to them. About 3-5 minutes. Add the tomato paste, rosemary, sage, and thyme and cook for a few more minutes. Add the sherry vinegar and the red wine and reduce by half. Once reduced add the chicken stock, pancetta, and olives and cook low and slow till the sauce is reduced and the ragu is nice and thick. At the very end add the Smoked Chicken and Mix it all together. Make sure to taste this process often and adjust seasoning to taste. Keep in mind as you reduce the liquid the salt content will rise so go easy on the salt at first and add more to it later if needed. Once reduced and tasty, transfer to a container and cool down.
Pickled Red Onion
1c julianne red onion
1c sugar
1c white wine vinegar
Pinch of salt
Add vinegar, salt, sugar and a few Tsp of water to a pot and bring up to a boil.
Pour over onions and let cool down to room temperature. Then reserve.
Assembly
-Frying pot filled with oil
-Chopped Chives and parsley
-Parmesan cheese, grated
-Ragu -Butter
-Dredged Eggs
-Pickled onion
-Chicken jus
Bring Oil up to 350f
While heating up the oil, warm the ragu up and add a little butter to make it nice and rich. Adjust seasoning with salt and pepper and maybe a little lemon juice to brighten it up. Finish with the chopped herbs.
Warm the Jus and add a little lemon juice and butter.
Once the fryer is at the appropriate temperature, fry the eggs 2 at a time for about 1-2 minutes. Basically you want a good golden crust on the panko and a warm yolk center.
Transfer to a plate with some towels on it to drain off excess oil Place a big spoonful of the ragu in the center of the place and place egg on top of the ragu. Finish with a little drizzle of the Jus around the ragu, a few pickled onions and grate some Parmesan Cheese on top of the egg and enjoy!!!!
