Happy Turkey Day, Travelers! Let’s Celebrate with Some Chicken!

Thanksgiving is right around the corner and the only thought on all our minds: what’s for dinner?  Talented Chef Ruffo Ibarra of Oryx Restaurant shares an exclusive recipe for our travelers, putting his spin on a perfect holiday meal – chicken thigh with Brussels sprouts, leeks and a sweet potato and beet puree.

Whether you’re celebrating with friends and family, working across the country or close to home, we hope you enjoy this dish.

Chicken Thigh with Brussels Sprouts, Leeks and a Sweet Potato and Beet Puree

Ingredients (amounts will vary based on number of servings)

• Chicken thigh(s)
• Sweet potato(s)
• Vegetable oil
• Leeks
• Brussels sprouts
• Beets
• Garlic
• Rosemary
• Oregano
• Blue cheese spread

Directions

Meal Prep

1. Peel your sweet potatoes and beets. As many as you’d like with your meal.

2. Grab your Brussels sprouts and cut them in half.

3. Using the flat side of your knife, smash your garlic cloves slightly to open them up.

Cooking

1. Place your peeled beets and sweet potatoes in a pot and fill with just enough water to cover them.

2. Heat this mixture to a low boil.

3. Pour some vegetable oil into a frying pan and add your leek, followed by your chicken breast.

4. Make sure to grill both sides of your chicken until cooked through.

5. Add rosemary, oregano and a few cloves of garlic to the pan while the chicken cooks.

6. Baste your dish by spooning the liquid in the pan over the chicken as it finishes cooking. Once your leek is completely charred and the chicken is cooked to an internal temperature of 160 degrees Fahrenheit, remove them from the pan.

7. Using the same pan, add your Brussels sprouts and braise them with a little water.

8. While the Brussels sprouts cook, take your mixture of sweet potatoes and beets. Add them to a blender and blend until pureed.

9. Take your charred leek and cut it in half. Remove the center of both halves of the leek.

10. Take your blue cheese and spread it on your leek.

11. Finally, plate your dish and dig in!

Audio Transcript:

As we approach the holidays, I wanted to share this quick and easy meal you can prep at home. I’m thrilled to share this exclusive recipe with Aya travelers, especially those that might be away from home, so we can bring a little Thanksgiving to you.

So, we’re thinking holidays, we’re thinking Thanksgiving. Normally it’s turkey, but honestly, I love chicken. That’s going to go with some sweet potato puree and you’re going to use some leeks and some Brussels sprouts to get some greens in there so it’s nice and healthy. It’s balanced but super tasty.

We’re going to peel some sweet potatoes. We’re going to peel our beets as well. We don’t need a lot. We might need just a quarter of this.

And now Brussels sprouts. These are tiny. You can get bigger Brussels sprouts, larger ones… We’re just going to cut them in half. I’m adding one of my favorite ingredients, ajo garlic, in here for the puree and for the pan. We’ll just smash them a little bit, so we can open them.

So, these are our ingredients. Let’s get to the good part. Let’s go cook!

We need to cook our vegetables for the puree. Beets and sweet potatoes go in the pot. We need water just to cover. We’re going to put it over here on the side.

See it’s already smoking. We’re going to add our leek to the cast iron. Now we’re going to baste it with a little bit of rosemary, oregano and a couple of cloves of garlic.

Ok the chicken is at 160 degrees, so we’re going to take it out. It’s going to keep cooking. It’ll get to 165. It’ll be perfect. So will our leeks. This is nice and beautiful. We’re going to cut into it.

Final step: This time it’s Brussels sprouts. They go straight in. And we’re going to braise them with a little water.

Time to make our puree! We have our vegetables and we’re ready to blend.

Ok, we have our leek which is nice and charred all over. We’re going to cut it in half. We’re going to use just the center of the heart of it. Now to this, we’re going to spread some blue cheese on it.

Alright we’re ready to plate!

Let’s get our chicken. Our leek. Little sprouts. Now we’re done.

Thank you all for tuning in and whether you’re across the country, working or close to home with friends and family, we really appreciate everything you do! Happy holidays!