English Bubble & Squeak with Pan-Roasted Chicken

On Friday Justin and I went to Soulard Market for some cheap and luscious vegetables. One of the veggies we bought was white radishes. The woman selling us the goods told us offhand that some people like to use the greens rather than the actual radish root itself, and the hubby and I were both intrigued.

Never one to waste, I decided the greens might be good in a hash. With … potatoes. And spices. And maybe some cheese to top it off. This is my actual thought process.

What does that sound like? Bubble and squeak of course — a classic English dish that is homey and yummy and really fun to say, especially in an English accent. Bubble and squeak. Bubble and squeak!

Ok, I'll stop.

Basically, bubble and squeak is a hash with leftover vegetables and potato. For such a simple idea, whoever thought of the name was a genius.

So to go along with our pan roasted chicken, this is how we made the side:

Ingredients
{Printable Recipe}
1 lb Yukon Gold potatoes, chopped
2 cups radish greens (or any green you like really — turnip, kale, mustard, etc.)
2 cups arugula
1 tsp olive oil
1 egg
1/2 tablespoon salt
pepper
pinch cayenne (optional)

Procedure

Chop the potatoes roughly, throw into a pot with some water, boil until soft.

Drain. Mash them up with a fork.

Wash off the greens really well. We got ours at the farmer's market so they were a bit sandy. Chop them up until they're relatively small and manageable.

Blanch the greens, drain, and dry off really well.

Mix the greens in with the potatoes. Let this cool for a few minutes before adding the egg. 

Add egg. Mix it up, add the spices.

Heat up a pan with a healthy dose of olive oil on medium heat. Add all the mixture in at once.



Cook this on medium-high heat to get it crunchy on the edges. Flip occasionally.

It won't be a big cake, but more like a hash. Darla nibbled on a bit of bubble and squeak that fell between the stove and cabinets.

By the way, with the rest of our vegetables, Justin made a huge pot of stock {click here for the recipe}.
Look at this thing:

We used it in the gravy we made for the pan roasted chicken, and in some risotto with braised rabbit. 

Pan roasting a chicken is pretty simple. Brown the chicken on one side in a heavy-bottomed pan, flip, and then stick it in a 375 degree oven for 10 minutes for the breasts and 20-25 for the legs and thighs.

This is what I saw while trying to roast the chicken. Darla is a chicken fan.

By the way, if you ever wanted to know how to make chicken "cracklin' s," you peel the skin off the chicken breasts and fry them in some oil. This is NOT for the faint-hearted or for those of you who might be halfway concerned about your health. But they are delicious. Just sayin'.

To make a gravy to go with the chicken and bubble and squeak, melt a tablespoon of butter with the chicken drippings. Add a tablespoon of flour and 2-3 cups of chicken stock. Squeeze half a lemon in there as well. Salt and pepper if necessary.

To serve, pile the bubble and squeak on a plate. Top with the chicken and gravy.

This was incredible. The radish greens had a little bite, and the arugula complemented it splendidly.

Of course, anything with gravy on it has to be a winner.

-Katie