Smoked Honey Mustard Chicken & Samp

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Elevating humbleness...

Samp is one of the neglected and underrated ugly ducklings of the culinary world. Yes, it does require a smidgeon of planning and about a day to prepare it, but there’s absolutely a minimum of fuss involved. And trust me, samp is eager to please!

Samp is any adventurous or bored cook’s dream ingredient. It has several good things going for it:

• It’s very bland in taste, so it’s a perfect canvas on which to paint exuberantly with all sorts of flavours and tastes.
• The interesting texture will compliment matching, or contrasting, ingredients and pique the diner’s interest.
• The creamy, uniform colour allows the cook to play with visual compositions and textures.
• It digests easily, is nutritious and is absolutely gluten free.
• It's dirt cheap – which in this economy is ALWAYS a healthy plus point.

OK, so it requires overnight soaking and relatively long cooking? Big deal ... There’s no preparation, chopping, peeling, slicing, dicing or grating involved: just rinse, soak, drain, cook, add exiting things and eat. Viola! We tend to forget that samp can do almost anything pasta can except lasagne and ravioli. Boil it, bake it, puree it, salads, main dishes, creamy sauces, piquant tomato concasse, etc., etc., etc. Imagination is the only limit.

This is my take on a pasta salad recipe that was at one time quite popular at a local fast food emporium. Serve it mildly warm for best effect. Serving it hot will melt the diced cheddar into a gooey, stringy mess, but hey, if it floats your boat...

SMOKED HONEY MUSTARD CHICKEN & SAMP

– PRINT RECIPE –

Recipe yields:	Preparation time:	Cooking time:	Difficulty level:
4 Portions	18 – 24 hours	180 minutes	Easy peasy!

Ingredients:

Samp	300g
Water	1L
Cumin seeds	2.5ml
Allspice berries	5
Bay leaves	5
Smoked chicken breast, sliced or diced to taste	150g
Cheddar cheese, cubed	75g
Cocktail tomatoes, halved	10
Medium carrot, julienned	1
Medium green bell pepper, roughly diced	½
Medium red bell pepper, roughly diced	½
Salt	5ml
Chopped garlic	2.5ml
Robertsons Italian Herbs	2.5ml
Black pepper, freshly ground	1.2ml
Knorr Honey Mustard Salad Dressing	120ml

Method:

1.      Rinse the samp repeatedly in cold water until the wash water is clean. Discard any particles floating on or in the wash water. Discard any pieces that look like dried corn cob. Transfer to a clean bowl, cover with fresh, cold water, cover and set aside for at least 12 hours.

2.      Drain the soak water and transfer the samp to a medium sauce pan. Add the 1L cold water, bay leaves, allspice berries and cumin seeds. Heat over medium heat until boiling and turn it down until the water is simmering. Cover partially and simmer until the water is reduced to the level of the semi cooked samp, ± 60 minutes. Stir now and then to make sure the spices do not float on top.

3.      Turn the heat down to low, cover the pan completely and steam until all the water is absorbed, ± 15 minutes. Check frequently to confirm the samp is not burning.

4.      The samp will become glutinous and sticky when done. Remove from the heat and allow to cool until warm, not hot. Loosen the samp with a fork and remove (and discard) the bay leaves and allspice berries.

5.      Mix all the remaining ingredients, except the salad dressing, in a clean mixing bowl. Add the samp and salad dressing. Mix well with a wooden spoon and taste for seasoning. Adjust with salt and extra black pepper if deemed necessary.

6.      Serve.

Comments:

¨    Sauté the smoked chicken breast slices with a little oil for ± 5 minutes over medium heat if concerned about their doneness.

¨    Allowing the dish to rest for an hour before serving will improve the flavours. Warm slightly in a microwave if desired.

¨    Paradoxically: Buy the most expensive brand of samp on the shop shelf. Maize (corn, for my American readers) is dried on the cob before processing. Removing the dried kernels from the cob is a mechanical process that subsequently damages the cob. In my experience, the quality control on more expensive brands is more rigorous with a smaller chance of pieces of corn cob slipping through. The corn cob is basically pure, dense, indigestible vegetable fiber that is undesirable in the final dish.

© RS Young, 2017

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Note:

Post updated on 2024.02.25 to include:

1. The updated Recipe for downloading as a PDF file, and

2. Recipe Title and Print Recipe, Recipe Index and Facebook & Pinterest follow links.