Marta Azzollini, owner of Marta’s Kitchen M.V,, has been in the food business since 2015. One might say the love for food runs in her blood. “Before my time, my grandfather owned Blue Point in Hoboken, and my parents met and worked at the River Café in New York, and then opened their own place called the American Diner in Princeton, N.J.,” she noted. “As I learn more and more about my family history, I feel like I’m doing what I should be doing.”
Azzollini specializes in cooking for intimate gatherings: “I focus on dinner parties for eight to 10 people, cocktail parties, and I have a graduation party coming up.” In keeping with family tradition, her business is a family affair. Azzollini’s sister, Teo, works with her. “Teo is my server for all my events. I could not do what I do without her. She is so amazing,” Marta says.
Off-season, Azzollini cooks and drops off meals for Island families. “On Mondays and Wednesdays I cook. I send out emails to the families about a week before with the menu and they say yes or no — no obligation — then I package it all up and deliver it.”
When Azzollini and I were planning this month’s “In the Kitchen with …” I let her know that I have food sensitivity to both dairy or gluten. “I’m gluten-free too,” she told me. I wasn’t happy to hear that she can’t tolerate gluten either, but admittedly, it was nice to find a cohort — someone to talk to about the challenges that come with eating gluten-free.
“I grew up eating bread and pasta all the time,” she said. “I was diagnosed with celiac disease in 2015. I was having strange chest pains. I’d go into the hospital, and since it was chest pain, the doctor would give me an EKG. Then they’d tell me it was acid reflux, so I was told to eat bread, pasta, and rice. Finally they ran a blood test, and told me I had celiac disease. I cut gluten out entirely, and I felt so much better.”
Luckily there are more gluten-free options available these days. “I feel like there are so many more alternatives than there used to be,” she continued. “In the beginning it wasn’t that easy. It was a bummer going out and just getting salad or chicken, and I’d get so excited when I found gluten-free options on the menu.”
Which leads us to our recipe today: Gluten-Free Crispy Chicken Bites with Dijonnaise. One of my favorite meals is breaded chicken, but in most restaurants you can’t get a gluten-free version, so I was really looking forward to this meal. Azzollini started by breading the chicken bites. She had three bowls: one held flour, the second contained whisked eggs, and the last bowl was filled with gluten-free bread crumbs. I told Azzollini that when I’m breading food, I’ve never been clear about which bowl to dip in first. Azzollini suggested remembering the word “February.” “FEB: Flour, egg, breadcrumbs, in that order,” she said. So simple. Even I can remember FEB.
“Set your heat to medium,” she said. “Pour enough oil in so that the chicken will be close to covered.” As the pan heated, she made the Dijonnaise dipping sauce. A large dollop of mayonnaise, a smaller dollop of Dijon mustard, some whole grain mustard, honey, chives, granulated garlic, and salt and pepper.
When the oil was hot, she put the breaded chicken bites in one at a time, giving them enough space so they weren’t crowded together. She had a tray with a wire rack ready to put the browned chicken pieces on. After frying the chicken bites, Azzollini popped them in the oven for an additional 5 minutes or so. We let them cool, and then we dove in. Delicious. My mouth was so happy. And so was I. The Dijonnaise had a tiny hit of heat from the dijon and sweetness from the honey, and the chicken bites were crispy, tender inside, and a nice golden brown color. I was eating breaded chicken! And I wasn’t going to pay for it later.
Gluten-Free Crispy Chicken Bites with Dijonnaise
2 boneless chicken breasts, cut into bite-size pieces
1 cup gluten-free flour (I use Bob’s Red Mill 1-to-1.)
3 eggs, whisked with a Tbsp. of water
3 cups gluten-free breadcrumbs (I use Aleia’s gluten-free panko.)
vegetable oil to almost cover chicken
Preheat the oven to 350°. Place the flour, egg, and breadcrumbs in three separate bowls. First put the chicken pieces in the flour, and toss to coat. Shake off the excess flour and transfer to the bowl with the egg. Toss to coat, and shake off the excess and transfer to the breadcrumbs, toss to coat, and transfer to a parchment-lined baking sheet.
Set up a wire rack over a baking sheet, and a shallow pan to fry your chicken in. Heat the pan over medium heat, and add about ¼ inch of vegetable oil. Once the oil is hot, fry the chicken a few pieces at a time, careful not to crowd the pan. Brown evenly on all sides, and transfer to the wire rack. Bake for 4 to 8 minutes, just to ensure that they are fully cooked. Remove from the oven, season with salt, and serve alongside the Dijonnaise sauce.
Dijonnaise Sauce
½ cup mayonnaise (I use Duke’s.)
¼ cup Dijon mustard
3 Tbsp. whole grain mustard
3 Tbsp. honey
1 tsp. granulated garlic
salt and pepper to taste
1 Tbsp. fresh chives, finely chopped, for garnish
Combine all ingredients in a bowl, taste, and adjust to your liking. Place in a small bowl and top with fresh chives for serving.
To learn more about Marta’s Kitchen M.V., visit martaskitchenmv.com. For questions, contact Marta at martaskitchenmv@gmail.com or 774-563-8586.
