What are you, chicken?

Tommy and I just moved into our new apartment in Spain after several stressful weeks of searching across the pond and two days of nearly-incessant What'sApp-ing with potential roomies once we arrived in Almería.

Hard work pays off though, because the apartment rocks. Lots of light, two living rooms, a big bathroom a decent kitchen and (as all real estate agents will say) a great location.

Only thing is, I got spoiled with my kitchen in Alicante. It was the size of our living room here with massive counters, a huge fridge and a pantry to boot. Although our range in this kitchen is significantly improved (much larger and has two settings besides tiny flame and raging inferno) the oven is a real mystery to me. Mostly because it has NO DEGREE MARKINGS ON IT. It just has two gas spouts: one on the top that might function as a broiler and a main one that runs along the bottom of the oven as the main heating element.

No seriously, this is what the controls look like:

As such, I am currently in the market for an oven thermometer. But I digress.

I decided to cook a nice meal for me and Tommy and our new roommate, Ana who seems really cool. I considered my old standby of oven-fried chicken which has yet to fail me but didn't feel like going to the hassle of making the coating after a long day of moving. Thusly, I settled on a marinated chicken with a cucumber-yogurt sauce. It's one of my mom's favorite recipes and although she makes it on a grill, I figured the open flame would be pretty similar. Proviso: I don't know the time/temperature for grilling the chicken. If you would like it, comment below and I will find out from my mom.

It's a ridiculously easy recipe and comes together very quickly. The chicken was just fine in the oven although I did have to microwave it a bit to cook the thickest part for timing's sake. I recommend marinating the chicken for at least an hour to impart the most flavor possible but even 30 minutes will be fine, and in that time you can preheat the oven and make the yogurt sauce.

Leftover alert!

I used the extra chicken in a pasta salad with fresh veggies the next night and stirred in some of the extra cucumber sauce and it was damn good too.

Sorry about the crappy pictures by the way, I'm still getting used to the lighting in the kitchen/dining rooms. Whatever, it still tasted good.

60 cent Don Simon boxed wine -- the finest Spain has to offer!

Marinade:

(for about 2.5 lbs. of chicken breasts)

1 c. white wine

1/4 c. olive oil

1/4 c. lemon juice

1 tsp. dried oregano

Cucumber sauce:

1 to 1.5 c. plain yogurt (depending on how strong you want it to be)

1/4 c. olive oil

1 medium cucumber, peeled, seeded and finely chopped

1 to 2 garlic cloves, finely minced

Salt and pepper to taste

To make the marinade:

Combine all ingredients (except chicken) in large bowl, whisk to combine. 

Add the chicken breasts and cover. Marinate at least 30 minutes and up to two hours.

To make the yogurt sauce:

1. Combine all ingredients except salt and pepper, whisk well to combine. Season to taste.

To cook the chicken:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Place chicken breasts on a lightly oiled baking sheet in the middle of the oven. Bake for about 20 minutes, then turn them over. Bake for another 15 or until juices run clear. Adjust time accordingly for smaller pieces of chicken.

Let's just marinate

Beautiful, beautiful tuna steaks.

I could, and intend to, write an entire post about the glorious building that is Mercado Central: over 100 stalls selling dried fruits and nuts, eggs, bread and pastries, fresh fish and seafood, fruits, vegetables, goat heads, cheese, meats, the list goes on and on. Plus, it's supremely, superbly, gloriously inexpensive. Tommy and I bought about three pounds of produce for under 10 Euros and two hunks of tuna steak (fresh) for another 9.

The best part about the Mercado, besides the selection and the prices, is that it offers up the opportunity to practice your Spanish. This is an extra-special boon to me due to my inability to converse intelligently about anything other than edible products. The man we bought our chorizo and manchego from told me I spoke very well, the fish vendor asked where Tommy and I were from. So hmm.

Anyway, we bought these incredible tuna steaks that were from a fish that was allegedly caught that morning and probably weighed as much as I do. Really, truly, terrifyingly large.

The head was unavailable for me to see but if you are in the market to purchase seafood, check the eyes: if they're cloudy, the product is old and you should skip it. Shrimp, crayfish, prawns should all be firm to the touch and if I were you I'd ask the seller to de-vein them right then and there because it is a tricky, messy, endocrine business I'm sure you want nothing to do with. If they give you attitude, find a different seller. Same goes for buying fish you want filleted. That's typically part of a fishmonger's job so don't be shy about asking.

Anyway, back to the tuna. We cooked it later that night after marinating it at room temperature for just under an hour in an Asian-inspired marinade I made up off the top of my head. If you are in the states and can find Soy Vey Teriyaki sauce this would also work well (for beef and chicken too).

After marinating, we pan-fried the tuna for just a few minutes on each side and served it over fluffy white rice and it was so fucking good. The perfect combination of sweet, savory, tangy, salty deliciousness. If I had crushed red peppers (which I can't seem to find in this country), I would've added them too for a hint of heat and maybe some green onions.

Not to blow my own horn, but this marinade was the stuff of genius. It will certainly be made again very soon. Ditto the mojitos mixologist Tommy cooked up which were unbelievably good as well, perhaps due to the large amounts of sugar he added.

Ingredients:
12 oz. fresh tuna, without skin
2 tbs. olive oil
1 tbs. honey
1 tsp. soy sauce
Juice of 2 limes and 1/2 lemon
1 clove garlic, minced
Cracked black pepper

1. Whisk all the marinade ingredients together in a large bowl and place the tuna steaks in there. Let marinate at room temperature for 45 minutes, turning the steaks once or twice.

2. In a large saucepan over medium heat, cook the tuna steaks for 2-3 minutes each side (depending on thickness). If you like your tuna seared (cooked on the outside and raw in the middle), cook only for a minute or two.

3. When the tuna is cooked through (it should flake into sections with your fork), remove from heat immediately and serve over rice.