Recipe: Lemon & Thyme Roast Chicken, Soya Beans and Cherry Tomato Stuffed Pittas

A sudden flash of inspiration lead me to this whilst I was cooking a completely different dish. I had a more chicken breasts than I needed and came up with this idea to make sure they didn't go to waste

Ingredients
3 Chicken Breasts (Or how ever many you want)
2 Slices of Lemon per Chicken Breast
1 Sprig of Thyme per breast
2 Spring Onions chopped
6 Cherry Tomatoes Sliced
Good Handfull of Frozen soya beans defrosted

Pre-Heat the oven to 180 degrees
Take Each breast and slice open with a sharp knife
Season the cavity with salt and pepper
Inside each breast put two lemon slices and a sprig of thyme
Close up the breast and put onto a piece of foil
Drizzle with olive oil and season a little more
Close the foil around the breast to make an air tight parcel, but with room inside, sort of like a Cornish pasty shape
Put the foil parcels on a baking tray and bake in the center of the oven for 30 mins

Eat Now ?
At this point you can serve them up with some lovely new potatoes or some salad

For the Pitta
Leave the parcels as they are, out of the oven, to cool inside their foil bags
Once cool remove each breast and put to one side careful not to spill the gorgeous juices
Tip all of the juices into a small jar (one with a lid you'll need it later)
Remove the lemon and thyme sprigs from your breast and then break up the meat into pieces.
Put the Chicken pieces, Tomatoes, Soya beans and spring onion in a bowl

Mix the juices with about 2 tablespoons of Rapeseed oil (Good olive oil will do ) add a little salt and pepper , put the lid on the jar and shake well. If you dont have a jar you can whisk up the juices and oil in bowl.
Taste your dressing now and add more oil and seasoning if you want to.

Pour the dressing over your chicken mix , get your hands in and mix everything up so that all the ingredients have a decent covering of the dressing

Open up your Pittas (Perhaps toast them lightly first) and cram full of the good stuff, then you're good to go.


This may work well with wraps instead of Pittas but not tried that, yet!

Recipe: Winter Warmer with Beery Goodness



What with the current cold snap taking forecasters into unparalleled levels of excitement and idiots panic buying bread, I thought it opportune to share with you this cockle warming (No cockles were harmed in the making of this dish), comforting and downright tasty dish with you



Lamb Stew With Dumplings

Ingredients


Stew
500g of Lamb cubed (Neck or Shoulder should do)
1 Onion finely chopped
2 Cloves of Garlic Finely chopped
3 Large Carrots cut into big slices
1 Bag of new potatoes halved
500ml Can of your beer of choice (please note beer not lager, I used London Pride this time but I find the creamier beers are better)
300ml Lamb Stock
80g Flour
2 Bay leaves
Sprig of Thyme
Sprig of Rosemary
Large Pinch of Chili flakes









Dumplings (From Leiths Cookery Bible)
200g Plain Flour
3 Tsp Baking Powder
1/2 Tsp Dry English Mustard (powder)
1/4 Tsp Cayenne Pepper
1/2 Tsp Salt
55g Suet
150ml Iced Water

To Make the stew ....
Pre-Heat the oven to 160 degrees
Put the flour in a bowl and season well with salt and pepper
Dredge the lamb pieces through the flour so all bits are nicely coated

In a flame proof casserole dish add a little olive oil and heat
Shake of excess flour and fry the lamb until nice and brown all over then remove from the pan
Turn down the heat slightly and add the onions and sweat for a couple of mins

Turn the heat back up, add the Garlic and fry for one min.
Chuck in the potatoes and carrots, fry for another min
Put the Lamb back into the pot together with the remaining flour from the bowl
Pour in the lovely beer bring to the boil using a spatual to remove the tasty bits at the bottom
Now add your stock, herbs and chili flakes, season well and place in the oven with the lid on

Cook for around 2-2.5 hours , check every now and then to makes sure it hasn't dried out, if it has add a little water or stock , stir well and put back in the oven oh and don't forget, keep tasting


Dumplings
Sift the flour, baking powder, mustard, cayenne and salt into a large bowl and add the suet
Pour in the water and use a knife to mix together
Once it starts to form a single mass e.g now powder left get your hands in and start to form into a dough.
Divide into 8 even sized pieces and shape each one into a ball
Take your stew out of the oven , gently place the dumplings onto the stew put the lid back on and cook for another 15 mins. The dumplings should be firm to the touch. Put back in the oven uncovered for a further 5 mins to get a nice crust on the dumplings
 

You can serve with Mash or thick crusty bread, I occasionally use Parmesan mash with this and the flavours matched perfectly

Two Kids, 3 Pizza's and a bottle of wine later ....



You know being a self confessed foodie you tend to take for granted the pleasures that creating you're own grub can bring. It wasn't till the kids and I made pizza that I realised how much fun you can have all mucking in and its a great way to spend time together, whilst each being able to create something simple and to your own liking

I have tried to make pizzas before with a modicum of success but that was back when I had yet to fully explore cooking as a hobby. Ready made pizza bases and jar of sauce really only scratches the surface of what you can achieve with a little investment in time and a few ingredients

If you're feeling brave and want to get the kids involved then be prepared it gets messy, very messy or maybe that's just my kids

The Dough

300g Strong Bread Flour
1 tsp Instant Yeast
1 tsp Salt
1 tbsp Olive oil


Put the flour into a large bowl, then stir in the yeast and salt. Make a well, pour in 200ml warm water and the olive oil and bring together with a wooden spoon until you have a soft, fairly wet dough. 
Turn onto a floured surface and knead for 5 mins until smooth, the kids loved this bit although it took a bit longer to get the desired smoothness, the important thing is not to over work the dough. Cover with cling film and leave to rise slightly. I don't have tried an tested airing cupboard so placed it on a box next to the radiator and that seemed to do the trick

The Sauce
500g Passata
1 Shallot Finely Chopped
3 Cloves of Garlic finely chopped (Really this is up to you add more or less, it's your pizza)
Handful of basil leaves chopped
Splash of red wine

Gently fry the shallot and garlic with some salt and pepper until nice and soft, add the passata and wine then bring to a boil and the basil leaves stir and then leave to simmer for around 10 mins until the sauce thickens, then season again to taste

Rolling and Saucing
So time to start assembly. Take your dough and knock it back slightly (Gently knock out the air ) then divide into however many pizzas you want to make. Take each piece and roll out to your desired thickness. If you've got a pizza stone , then oooh get you, if you haven't then do what I did and use baking trays, you get some odd shapes and some interesting crusts but then hey it makes yours individual doesn't it?
Place the dough on your tray or stone.
If you're not sure how to shape the dough this guy here shows you how Shaping Pizza Dough
You can get all artisan and try twirling it around above your head, however bits of dough can get stuck to the floor, ceiling, door, dog etc ... so be careful


Top it all off
Here's where you get creative , you know what you like so go with that. This bit really is simple, if you want some inspiration here's what we did.

Heat the oven to about 180 degrees

First of all smear a decent layer of the sauce over your base and then sprinkle with grated Cheddar then let your taste buds guide you

Lisa's Pizza - Chicken, Sweetcorn and Mushroom

1 Chicken breast , chopped into bite size chunks, marinated in olive oil, thyme and seasoning for 30 mins.
2 Mushrooms sliced finely
1 Tin of sweetcorn
Torn Mozzarella 
Grated Cheddar

Quickly fry the chunks of chicken in  pan until golden all over, then liberally distribute across the pizza with mushrooms, sweetcorn and Mozzarella 

Charlotte's Pizza - Fishy Feast

Cooked Prawns
Tinned Tuna
Sweetcorn
Mozzarella

As before just distribute all over the pizza

Mine and Liam's - Man pizza , lots of meat

Salami - I had some wild boar Salami in the fridge but up to you really
Pepperoni
Chorizo
Mozzarella 
Jalapenos
Dont think you need me to tell you what to do, do you ?

Cook
When you're finished being all creative and stuff simply pop into the oven for 10-20 mins , keep an eye on this as you don't want to overcook your masterpiece.

When done leave to cool slightly , cut into pieces and your ready to go

I can thoroughly recommend  this to anyone who wants to entertain the kids whilst teaching them a useful skill.

Recipe: Moroccan Chicken with Lemon Couscous

Moroccan Chicken with Lemon Couscous

First time for me on this one as I’ve never really tried couscous, I followed the couscous part of the recipe to the letter and had to add extra seasoning to get it to my tastes.
Overall, mixed verdicts Lisa said it was ok but a bit acidic for her tastes, where as I liked it and would happily make it again. My mate Chris was equally impressed and so much so he had a fair helping despite having eaten at home before he came round.
I think what sold me on the dish was the aromatic cumin and cinnamon with the underlying background freshness of the lemon. If I did it again I may add a little heat just to raise it up a level

This takes about 30 mins to prep and cook and apparently it’s fairly healthy as well


Adapted from Good Food Magazine

250g Couscous
Zest and Juice of 1 lemon
Splash of Olive Oil
1 Tbsp Clear Honey
4 Chicken Breasts cut into large strips
1 tsp Ground Cinnamon
2 tsp Ground Cumin ( I like cumin so 1tsp might do you)
400g Can of chopped tomatoes
200 ml Chicken Stock
Splash of dry white wine
200g Fine green beans, trimmed

Put the couscous, half the lemon zest and half the lemon juice in a bowl and pour over 400ml of boiling water, cover with cling film and leave to soak whilst cooking the rest of the dish

Heat the oil in a pan drizzle the honey over the chicken breasts and season them then add to the pan, fry all over for 5-6 mins until golden all over.

Mix in the spices, then deglaze with the wine. Add the tomatoes and stock with the remaining juice and zest of the lemon. Bring to the boil and simmer uncovered for 8-10 mins or until the beans are tender.

Fork through the couscous to fluff it up, taste the couscous and season if you think it needs it then serve with the chicken

Man Cannot Live By Bread Alone But Toast Is a Different Matter


Toast. Its a ruddy marvel. It transforms the humble slice into a crunchy, warming, comforting and downright tasty snack.



Toasting your bread is only just beginning of what can be the most complex or the simplest of culinary adventures. Once your slice of golden magic emerges from under the grill (or toaster if you prefer carbon dark one side and hardly warmed the other) a world of choices await you.

Eat it there and then just as dry toast (hangover anyone) or top with, well, just about anything. Lovely melting butter is of course the true staple of any toast devotee but it doesn’t stop there. Jam, Marmalade, Marmite (one of my favourites especially post pub), baked beans, eggs in all guises, chocolate spread, dripping, mushrooms, kidneys, toast toppers (remember them), of course cheese, pilchards, sardines …. I could go on
Rub it with garlic and drizzle with olive oil and you have the base for any number of bruschetta connotations.
Cut it into soldiers for egg dipping is there anything you can’t do with toast? Some people and really I’ve seen this, dip it into their mug of tea.
Kids love it, grannies love it even the dog is partial to morsel.
You can have it for breakfast, lunch, dinner, supper as a snack whenever you want.

Why am I enthusing so much about toast, it’s because I’m sat here with a cup of tea and a couple of rounds of the good stuff what more could you ask for.

So to whoever discovered that waving a piece of bread in front of a flame made the ideal snack, hats off to you sir (or madam)

  

Recipe : Paella




It seems that like Bolognese, everyone has their own Paella recipe, so not being one to shirk convention here’s mine

OK, so I developed this one by looking at various recipes for paella, taking those basic principles and then adding ingredients that I liked.

As you’ll notice from the picture attached I have a paella pan, woo get me.
Anyway this caused me much consternation as my first attempt to cook with it brought about the realisation that a massive pan requires a burner of equal capacity.
Not being blessed with a burner the size of a tractor wheel I have to frequently move the pan around my wok hob. This approach works well if you’re standing in the kitchen whiling away the worries of the world with a mate and a glass of wine. Of course you can cook this in a normal frying pan equally well but having “proper” pan induces suitable ooh’s and ahh’s from your guests when you plonk it on the table and they can all dig in.




Ingredients – please excuse approximations as I have yet to weigh and measure the precise amounts.

Serves 6

2 Shallots chopped finely
2 Garlic cloves chopped finely
2 Tomatoes de-seeded and diced
80g Chorizo sliced
2 Chicken breasts cubed (bite size)
100g Green Beans cut to desired size
200g King Prawns – Cooked or Raw, have to be peeled
6 Handfuls of paella rice, I cup my hand and then fill the palm, although I do have big hands
1 Glass of dry white wine
1 Teaspoon of Paprika
Pinch of Saffron
Pinch of Chilli flakes
600 ml of Chicken stock
Water for topping up

Brown the chicken on all sides then remove from the pan.
Gently fry the shallots and garlic until soft in a little olive oil and season with salt and pepper
Add the tomatoes and continue to gently fry for a minute
Add the Chorizo turn up the heat and fry until the oils are released
Now add the rice, cooking for a couple of Mins stirring all the time
Add the wine and reduce till hardly any liquid is left
Add the paprika and stir so that everything is coated
Add the stock, bring to the boil and reduce to simmer.
Add Chilli flakes and saffron and stir to distribute
TASTE – add more seasoning and or spice if required
Now reduce the heat so that it’s barely simmering.

So now you leave it to simmer and please don’t stir, this causes the rice to release its starch and that’s now what you want, unless you want a plate of mush.
This should take now around 15 Mins, you’ll know when it’s cooked because the rice is still firm but not crunchy or chalky tasting.
Important: keep an eye on the pan if it looks too dry then top up with water, you may have to do this several times.
Once you’re happy that the rice is cooked place your prawns on top on the rice, dotted about the pan.

Finally when the prawns are cooked, top off with a good dash of chopped parsley.
Serve with lemon slices for those who want the extra zing




Apart from a bit of prep this is quite simple, you can add what you like really, some fish for example or as they do in some regions of Spain, snails!

Whatever it is you put in, so long as you follow the basics and season properly, you’ll have a guaranteed crowd pleaser








Man Flu Remedy in a Tin

I make no apologies for this one, when I'm suffering (which I have been since Sunday) and really don't want to cook anything this old favorite perks me up no end



and some hot buttered toast of course to dunk into it

Recipe: Chicken and Chorizo Stew





Pleased to say I created this myself just using what I thought went well, actually feeling quite proud of myself with this one as it tastes great and you cant beat one pot cooking, This is a slow cook so you can make well in advance and the chicken falls apart, lovely

Serves 6
Prep time 30-45 mins
Cooking time 2-3 hours

Ingredients

8 Chicken Thighs
150g Chorizo sliced
1 really big or 3 medium sized carrots diced
1 Onion chopped finely
2 Cloves of garlic chopped finely
2 Celery stalks finely chopped
4 medium sized waxy potatoes peeled and cubed
2 tins of plum tomatoes
1 heaped teaspoon of paprika
½ teaspoon of cayenne pepper
1 glass of dry white wine
600 ml of chicken stock
80g plain flour well seasoned
1 pot of pitted black olives halved lengthways

Big faggot of herbs, I used parsley, thyme and bay, you could use rosemary but I find it perfumes the dish too much
2 Tablespoons of olive oil

For this you’ll need a large flame proof (will go onto the hob) casserole dish

Pre-heat the oven to 160 degrees
Put the flour in a large bowl and dredge the chicken through the flour to coat them evenly.
On the hob heat the oil in the casserole dish, then shake off excess flour and brown the chicken on both sides, once brown remove from the pan and put to one side, you may need to do this in two or three batches
Lower the heat and add the Onion, Garlic and celery, sweat gently until soft and add seasoning
Turn up the heat and add the chorizo, fry until the oils are released from the chorizo
Add the paprika and cayenne stirring until the contents of the pan are coated.
Now add all of the flour from the bowl and continue to cook , stirring constantly until for about a minute
Now add the wine, bring to the boil and use a spatula to remove all the tasty bits stuck to the bottom of the pan.
Reduce the liquid slightly and add in the tomatoes
Pour the chicken stock into the pan and bring back to the boil
Add the potatoes, carrots, herbs and chicken to the stew.
Give the whole thing a good stir ,cover and place in the middle of the oven
Cook for 2 – 2.5 hours until the chicken is falling apart and the sauce is lovely and thick. I find it best to stir it every 30 mins and have a taste so you can adjust seasoning and or spices to your taste.
About 30 mins before you are ready to serve add the olives and return to the oven covered

Serve in big bowls stirred through with some freshly chopped parsley and served with fresh crusty bread

Left Overs will keep in the fridge for a few days, may freeze well without the olives


Scallops and me Don't get on

As a food fan I'm supposed to be sent into a dreamy eyelid fluttering state at the mere mention of these seabound shell dwellers. Well frankly I've tried them twice now and to be honest I don't much care for them

The first time was when Lisa took me to a Michelin starred restaurant for my 40th. After sampling the holy grail of seafood I felt a little queasy but put that down to the celebratory bottle of wine I'd had before hand. The taste left me a little disappointed and with the thought of what's all the fuss about. But being a proper restaurant the stuff that came with it tasted divine so all was not lost  

So last night I ate in Cote - Horsham and again tried some seared scallops and again after about an hour I felt weird and woke up at 3:30 am with indigestion. Ok I had had a drink or two but surely this can't be coincidence

Apart from my stomach rebelling I've actually come to the conclusion that I don't like them much
After watching countless masterchefs and listened to Greg enthuse about sweet tasty scallops I was always of the opinion they must be great. Greg you're wrong they're not nice at all.
The texture is wrong, it's somewhere between what you'd imagine a snail to be like and a jelly. In fact its like a badly made fish flavoured pana cotta . Yuk

So you can keep your odd tasting wobbly little buggers and leave me with the black pudding and pea puree please

Obviously this is just my view and really I'm miffed I don't like something other people rave about. So if you do like them fair play to you they're just not for me 

My first post and a tasty treat

Ok first post done.
Typical the day I start this and it's one of the few days I'm not cooking as I'm working away.
So this blog is all about food, the pleasure of cooking and of course eating. Obviously I shall be eating later on but that will be limited to what Horsham (which is where I'm working at the moment, I haven't made a special trip or anything like that) has to offer within my meager expenses budget.

Anyway being all keen and stuff to get blogging I thought I'd start with my current favourite midweek recipe.
Now one thing to point out is I'm no expert and something vital thing to remember is that tasting is of the utmost importance. Please don't blindly follow this or any other recipe for that matter, you must, must, must taste at every opportunity.
The amounts here are what I like and what cooks well on my stove you might be completely different.
So don't be afraid to follow with what your mouth tells you, if you don't like too much garlic add less , if you love spice add more chili it's totally up to you.

Oh and some of the recipes don't have exact amounts either some of it is about what feels right.

So, my first recipe, I love because it's very tasty, cheap and easy to make. The olives add an extra flavour dimension and the only place I can find them is Sainsburys everywhere else selling olives adds herbs or other stuff.which I don't want in this dish. As said I'm no expert but what I can tell you is it contains no additives , I think it's fairly healthy (Consult your nutritionist of choice) and even the kids love it


Penne With Spicy Tomato and Black Olive Sauce

Serves 4 to 6 depending on portion sizes

Ingredients
Penne Pasta , the amount depends on how many people you’re cooking for
1 Tin of chopped tomatoes
5 cloves of Garlic finely chopped
1 Shallot finely chopped
1 Birds eye chili chopped and keep the seeds (remove the seeds if you want it less spicy)
Pancetta cubes 1 box
Mushrooms about a handful
Handful of Basil Leaves
Good glug of red wine
1 Small pot of pitted black olives , halved length ways
Good quality extra virgin olive oil


In a Saucepan heat a little olive oil (not the good stuff, normal cooking olive oil) and gently fry, with a little salt and pepper, the shallot and garlic until soft .

Add the tinned tomatoes and continue to cook until bubbling
Fill about a third of the empty tomato can with red wine and tip into the pan
Bring back to the boil and then simmer.
Add the olives
Tear the basil leaves into small pieces and add to the pan
Add the chopped chillies
Taste and season as you go (very important, just in case you didn't read the bit above, how rude!)

Put a big pan of water on to boil

Whilst the tomatoes are simmering thinly slice the mushrooms
Put a non stick frying pan on the heat , when it is hot add the pancetta cubes
Fry them until oil is released and add the mushrooms
When both are cooked add a little water to bind them all together and tip into the pan with the tomatoes, mushroom ketchup instead of water or a little Worcestershire sauce also work well

Simmer the tomato mix for another 10 mins or until the mixture thickens

When the big pan is boiling add lots of salt
Then add your penne and give it a good stir with a pasta spoon thing (You can probably guess I don’t know the proper name for this) and stir every few mins to keep the penne separated
Once the water is boiling again take a two or three large spoons of the pasta water and add to your tomato sauce until it has the consistency you want. It should be nice a glossy in appearance.
We're near the end now so remember taste it and if required add more seasoning
Cook the penne to packet instruction or test if yourself as you go, by tasting bits. Ideally you want it soft but with a bit of resistance when you bite into it. Again though the consistency of the pasta should be how you like it. If you like it soft and mushy then go ahead and boil the hell out of it , just don't ask me to eat it

When the pasta is cooked use the saucepan lid to drain off the pasta
Add lots of pepper to the drained pasta and then drizzle on some of the extra virgin olive oil and stir with your pasta spoon fork thing


Dish up the pasta onto the plates, then add enough sauce for each persons liking
Finally add more torn basil if you want and drizzle with some more of the good olive oil
This goes well with Garlic toast

So as an added bonus …

Garlic Toast

Ingredients
Two thick slices of country bread per person will do
One or two cloves of Garlic peeled
Good Olive oil

Toast the bread on both sides and whilst still very hot rub the garlic onto the toast covering every inch of one side.
Finally drizzle with the olive oil and you’re done


Got Some Left?
Great, scrape out all of the remaining sauce into an air tight container , leave out to cool until room temperature then pop it in the fridge where it will sit for about 3 days. Just reheat when you need it

To be honest it doesn't taste as good reheated but its still good and a very cheap meal