Let's Talk about Country Captain

I've sort of meandered about with my recent bout of food writing, covering things that were in season or were from my childhood, or related to a holiday.  I love food and come from a long line of ridiculously obsessed foodies on both sides of my family.  My father always used to say that we were either eating or talking about what we were going to eat next.  That pretty much describes all of us.  Many of us are amazing cooks in various ways.  We've got some great bakers, too.  Still, the primary focus of chaotic compendiums is books and reading.  So I thought I'd start the new year with connecting food posts to what I'm reading now (much in the same way that I hunt for a mailbox from the place I'm reading about each week for In My Mailbox Monday.

Mumbai

 I'm reading A Walk Across the Sun by Corban Addison.  Some of the book is set in various parts of India, particularly Mumbai.  Other parts are set in the US in the DC area and its environs.  This combination made me think of an old Southern dish called Country Captain.  Its origins are a bit uncertain, but I suspect that it was an adaption of Indian food that British sea captains trading in spice brought to America via their trading.  The first known recorded recipe came from Philadelphia, but Low Country cooks made it their own.  As much as anywhere, traditional Southern food comes from and is influenced by a lot of different cuisines and this is just one example.

Charleston, SC (image source)

 This isn't a traditional curry, but its flavors and ingredients are skewed towards Indian spice.  It has been a staple of Junior League lunches and on country club menus all over the South, particularly in Charleston.  The Joy of Cooking has a good version, but my favorite comes from Scott Peacock, who wrote an amazing book on Southern cooking along with Edna Lewis, The Gift of Southern Cooking:  Recipes and Revelations from Two Great American Cooks.  This is an excellent read as well as being a great gateway into the complexities of Southern cooking.

Mr. Peacock cooked for years at Watershed Restaurant when it was located in Decataur, GA and I had the pleasure of eating there a number of times.  The food was always delicious.  I read that he had left the restaurant which seems to be reopening in a different location in Atlanta itself.  I'm glad I got the chance to eat his food.  It created amazing memories.

Without further blathering, here is Mr. Peacock's recipe for Country Captain.  If you cook this, you won't be disaapointed.

Country Captain

Ingredients

4 chicken thighs or legs, skin removed
2 teaspoons dried thyme
Kosher salt
freshly ground pepper
2 tablespoons canola oil
4 to 5 slices of thick bacon
4 to 6 cloves garlic, chopped
3 ribs celery, chopped
1 large yellow onion, chopped
1 14-ounce can chopped tomatoes
2 tablespoons curry powder
1 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/3 cup dried currants or raisins
2 bay leaves
2 cups steamed basmati rice

Instructions

Dry chicken well, then season liberally with thyme, salt, and freshly ground pepper. Pat spices firmly into the chicken so they will stay during cooking. Heat a large Dutch oven until very hot, then add oil. When the oil is barely smoking, add chicken and brown well on both sides, about 12 minutes. Remove chicken and set aside.

Add bacon to Dutch oven, cook until crispy, then remove. Drain bacon on paper towels. Chop bacon into 1/2-inch pieces and set aside.

Remove excess bacon oil from Dutch oven, leaving just enough to saute vegetables. Add garlic, celery, and onion to Dutch oven and cook until tender, about 10 minutes. Add tomatoes along with their juice, and stir frequently until the mixture thickens. Stir in curry powder, butter, currants, and bay leaves. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the mixture thickens into a chunky ragu, about 30 minutes.

Heat oven to 325°F. In the Dutch oven, bury the chicken and bacon pieces in the sauce. Cover, and cook in the oven until the chicken is falling off the bone, about 1 hour 15 minutes.
Remove from oven, plate the chicken alongside the rice, and spoon all remaining sauce over the chicken.

Enjoy this!  You can use any kind of curry powder that you like from the spice rack or one that you develop on your own.  If you do the latter, don't forget to toast the spices before grinding - that's what really brings out their flavor.
  

Happy New Year to all you foodies and readers out there.  Don't forget to visit Beth Fish Reads for more posts about food.  You won't be sorry.

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