The Recipe Room

I absolutely adore this harissa chicken and rice salad. For me, it’s pure summer on a plate; bursting with vibrant sun-ripened colours and flavours. Think of combining refreshing cucumber, mint and lime, with the mild spice of red chilli, ginger and harissa. Afterwards, you can cool and complement all this with thick and creamy Greek yoghurt and fresh herbs.

I’m giving you the recipe for 4 people, but we sometimes double up the quantities if friends are coming round for a barbecue. It’s a complete meal in itself if you want it to be, but it also makes a great accompaniment to other marinated chargrilled meats or fish.  You could also just make the salad without the chicken, and serve it with these these ginger and coriander crab cakes.  I like to enjoy my harissa chicken and rice salad with a freezer cooled beer topped with a slice of lime.

A Chinese-style lemon chicken dish that you can make at home.  Serve it with plain boiled rice or a medley of yummy veggies. For more Chinese chicken recipes, why not try this hot and spicy chicken with almonds?

Ingredients:

• 475g chicken breasts, boneless
• 2 tsp dry cornflour, and 1 tsp cornflour mixed with water
• 1 egg white
• A generous pinch of salt
• 245ml groundnut oil
• The juice and zest of 4 lemons
• 90ml chicken stock
• A generous dash of dry sherry
• 1-2 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 tbsp sugar
• A slug of sesame oil
• 1 clove garlic, skin removed and finely sliced
• 1 bunch spring onions, very finely sliced
• 1 fresh red chilli pepper, finely sliced
• 1cm piece of fresh ginger, peeled and shredded
• Salt and pepper to season

Steps:

1. Make the chicken coating by mixing the egg white, dry cornflour, and salt together in a bowl.
2. Cut the chicken breasts into strips and stir them into the mixture, coating them well all over, and leave to one side for 25 minutes.
3. Whilst the chicken is resting, juice and zest the lemons and prepare the remaining ingredients.
4. Put a large wok on a high heat, and once very hot, add the groundnut oil and heat until it begins to smoke.  Take it off the heat and add the chicken, moving it about to prevent it from sticking, and stir-frying until it becomes white all over.  Remove the chicken, and drain off the oil – be careful as the oil may be extremely hot, so drain it over a heat-proof bowl.  Leave the chicken to one side.  Let the cooking oil cool, discard it, and then clean out the wok with kitchen paper.
5. To make the lemony sauce, add the following to the wok: lemon juice and zest, chicken stock, soy, dry sherry, sugar, garlic, ginger and chilli.  Bring the mixture up to the boil and then stir in the cornflour and water mix.  Turn the heat down to a simmer for 20 seconds, adding the chicken pieces and half of the spring onions.  Move the chicken pieces about to coat them all over and ensure that they are thoroughly heated.

Duration: 25 to prepare, 15 to 30 minutes to cook

Recipe for: 4 servings

I’ll confess that being a food lover and staying consistently slim have occasionally been a hard combination for me to successfully achieve. I’m always looking for ways to enjoy a rich and varied diet whilst trying to keep to, or get back to, my ideal weight. There have been some seasons where I’ve relied quite heavily on the delights of chicken caesar salad as a stock lunch because it’s lightish, healthyish and very, very tasty.

It makes a good staple during these times with plenty of crunchy romaine lettuce, which I sometimes mix with spinach leaves for extra iron. And when I need to, I just go easy on the dressing, or swap it for a lower calorie version, and choose a leaner bacon. You can also try this lamb’s lettuce salad with serrano ham and apricots for a light and healthy lunch.

Chicken Caesar salad was said to have been invented in a moment of kitchen sparseness, on a very busy day in his restaurant when lack of supplies got Caesar Cardini’s creativity flowing – making the best of what was left in the cupboards. Something I love to do myself.

Here is a simple recipe bursting with flavour.  Chicken marinated in herbs and garlic with roasted red peppers is quick and easy to prepare, so don’t let the long name fool you! You can be getting on with other jobs whilst the peppers are roasting in the oven – and before you fry the chicken.

If you are quite hungry, you can accompany the chicken with oven-roasted peppers and pine nut couscous.

Ingredients:

To marinate the chicken:

• 4 thin chicken fillets
• 3 cloves of garlic, pressed or finely chopped
• 4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• Fresh parsley, finely chopped

For the roasted red peppers:

• 4-6 small to medium red bell peppers, whole
• 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• A couple of pinches of dried parsley
• 1 tsp whole cumin seeds
• Fresh ground black pepper
• Pinch of salt
• Garlic powder to taste

Steps:

1. Preheat the oven to 200ºC.
2. Place the peppers drizzled with oil onto a roasting tray, sprinkle over with the herbs, and season with salt and black pepper.
3. Roast the peppers in the oven for 45 minutes to 1 hour depending on their size.
4. Whilst the peppers are roasting, place the chicken fillets into a bowl, cover with the oil, stir in the garlic and the fresh parsley.  Cover the bowl and place it in the fridge for 20-25 minutes.  For extra flavour and softness, marinate the night before.
5. About 15 minutes before serving, take the chicken out of the fridge, and in a large frying pan, spoon in the oil from the marinade.  Heat the oil on high, testing that the oil is ready for the chicken by dropping a bread crumb in.  If the crumb sizzles, the oil is ready!  Fry the chicken with the rest of the marinade, making sure that each piece of chicken fully touches the bottom of the pan.  First seal the chicken on a high heat for a few minutes on each side, then turn the heat down to medium and continue to fry until the chicken is cooked throughout, about 10 minutes depending on the size and thickness of the fillets.
6. Present the whole peppers with the chicken on a plate.  Serve with fresh granary bread or rocket leaves drizzled with balsamic vinegar.

Recipe for: 4 main courses

Duration:15 minutes to prepare (some of this is done during the peppers’ roasting time) and 45 minutes to 1 hour cooking time.

Paprika garlic chicken with beans and potatoes is a meal I cook at least once a month.  It’s a modern twist on a classic meat and two veg dish: simple, wholesome and healthy.  Something for the weekend.

Ingredients:

• 4 chicken breast fillets, about 1cm in thickness
• 4 garlic cloves, peeled and pushed through a garlic press
• 1-2 tsp smoked ground paprika
• A couple of pinches of salt
• 6 tbsp extra virgin olive oil for marinating and 2 tbsp for sautéing the vegetables
• 2 medium to large potatoes, skins on, chopped into 1.5cm rounds
• Pack of fresh runner beans, topped & tailed, then sliced into halves lengthwise before cutting at a shear angle into 4-5 cm lengths
• Juice of ½ lemon
• Fresh ground black pepper

Steps:

1. Put the chicken in a bowl, pour over the olive oil, and stir in the garlic and a pinch of salt.  Cover and leave in the fridge to marinate for a minimum of 20 minutes.  You can do this some hours, or even the night before, if you like.
2. When you are ready to prepare the meal, steam the potatoes for 5 minutes before adding the beans and steaming both together for about another 10 minutes, or until the vegetables are cooked and tender.  Try to retain a slightly firm consistency in the potatoes so that they don’t fall apart at the next stage.
3. Whilst the vegetables are steaming, pour a little of the marinade oil along with the garlic into a frying pan over a fairly hot heat.  Seal one side of each of the chicken fillets in the frying pan.  During the sealing, sprinkle a pinch of paprika over each chicken breast fillet, and when you turn the chicken to seal the other side, sprinkle paprika across the other side of the breast too.  Continue to fry the chicken until cooked throughout.  Remove from the heat.
4. Heat olive oil in a clean frying pan and sauté the potatoes and the beans for a few minutes.  Sprinkle the vegetables with a pinch of salt and squeeze over the lemon juice.
5. Serve the chicken and vegetables together on a plate, finishing with a drizzle of cold olive oil and a twist of black pepper across the vegetables.

Duration: 20 minutes preparation time plus a minimum of 20 minutes marinating time.  Cooking time less than 30 minutes.

Recipe for: 2 people

Here’s a one pot Chinese chicken dish that’s fast to prepare and is full of wonderful oriental flavours. It’s a great mid-week meal which is simply yet beautifully presented; with finely sliced spring onion and plenty of coriander sprinkled over hot and zingy chicken and rice. Sometimes I substitute the ginger for fresh, finely sliced lemongrass to give this dish more of a Thai twist. It is one of our staple recipes that comes out every couple of months.

We had the family over to stay this weekend, and we cooked this dish because it is so tasty, and you can prepare it quickly in the kitchen; leaving more time to catch up with loved ones that you haven’t seen for a while. It was the first time my husband’s parents made the 4 hour drive to come and stay under our roof, and a special time was had by all.  For another spicy chicken dish, try this chicken tikka masala.

Fresh ribbons of pasta topped off with soft livers, and plenty of crunch; chestnut spaghetti with chicken livers is an unusually satisfying dish.

Let’s face it; chicken livers are not everybody’s favourite; perhaps they’re one of those things, like Marmite, that you either love or hate! If you’re one of the lovers, you’ll enjoy the combination of the soft livers with the crunch of the chestnuts in this dish. If you’re still not convinced, well, what’s the harm in giving it a try? You might just enjoy it, and livers are packed with nutrients, you know.

If livers really don’t float your boat, you could make this prawn and courgette tagliatelle instead. I recommend fresh pasta for this meal; or for the deeply committed pasta lover, you may want to make it yourself for the most delicate of textures and the best of tastes.

Ah, good old chicken liver paté, a taste from childhood that I’ve only recently rediscovered.  It was only yesterday, in fact, when my daughter and I went over to a friend’s house to play after school.  She and her buddy drank juice, drew great big pictures on a large sheet of paper in green and yellow, and then watched a movie.  And us two mums spread brandied chicken liver paté onto warm slices of wholemeal pitta bread and sipped on a small glass of good red wine in the kitchen, all the while chatting over life, the universe and everything.  An evening very well spent in good company.

You can do a lot with paté. Try this recipe for a multicultural sarnie called a banh mi, using paté as its main ingredient.

There are plenty of great shop-bought patés, but it’s very rewarding making it at home too, so here’s the recipe of the one my friend and I enjoyed yesterday, for you to try.

Ingredients:

• 2 onions, peeled and chopped
• 4 cloves of garlic, roughly chopped
• 250g butter + 60g melted
• 500g chicken livers
• 4 slices of bacon, rind removed and chopped
• A couple of pinches of dried thyme
• 1 tbsp fresh parsley, roughly chopped
• 30ml brandy
• 60ml cream
• Fresh ground black pepper to season

For the topping:

• 120g melted butter
• A handful of scissor-cut chives

Steps:

1. Using a large heavy-based saucepan, first melt the butter.  Then add the onion, bacon and garlic; coating everything in the butter and sautéing until the bacon is golden and the onion is softened.
2. Toss in the chicken livers and fry them, moving them about occasionally, for 5-10 minutes.
3. Add the herbs, grind over with plenty of pepper, then stir in the brandy, cream and melted butter.
4. Put the mixture into a blender or food processor and whizz until you obtain a smooth consistency.
5. Turn the mixture out into a serving dish, or dishes.
6. To create the topping, simply pour the melted butter over the surface of the paté and then sprinkle over with the snipped chives.
7. Put the paté in the fridge to cool overnight, removing it from the fridge about half an hour before you are ready to serve it, so that it comes up to room temperature.
8. Wonderful served with hot, toasted and sliced wholemeal pitta bread.
   

Duration: 30 minutes to prepare, 30 minutes to cook

Recipe for: 8 servings

Risottos are a filling and healthy food to prepare on a budget.  Chicken risotto with green peas is a refreshing blend of spring vegetables, chicken and lemon. (I also recommend this mushroom risotto.)

Ingredients:

• 600g risotto rice
• 2 large onions, peeled and finely sliced
• 3 garlic cloves, peeled and minced
• 2-4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• A generous splash or two of Martini, or white wine
• 6 chicken breasts sliced into diagonal strips about 1.5cm wide, skin removed
• 1.5L prepared, hot chicken stock
• 300g peas
• 300g courgettes, halved then sliced into long, thin strands – or however you prefer them
• 2-3 tbsp crème fraiche or double cream
• 2 tbsp fresh coriander, roughly chopped
• 1 tbsp fresh parsley, roughly chopped
• A generous twist or two of freshly squeezed lemon juice
• Salt and fresh ground black pepper to season

Steps:

1. Heat the olive oil in a large heavy-bottomed pan.  Sauté the onions and courgettes until soft.  Add the minced garlic and the chicken pieces; fry until the chicken is well-browned on all sides and about 2/3 cooked throughout.
2. Add the rice to the pan, coat it all over with the oil and juices and fry for a couple of minutes.  Splash in the Martini, turn the pan down to a simmer and reduce away all of the Martini.
3. Spoon in a ladle or two of the hot chicken stock.  Stir it in and with the pan uncovered, simmer the rice until the stock is absorbed.  Continue to add ladlefuls of stock in this way until the rice is fully cooked.  Stir the contents of the pan regularly.  Some of the chicken will fall apart in the cooking process, but this is normal and just contributes to the texture of the dish.
4. Use your judgement to gauge when the rice is around 10 minutes from being cooked, adding in the peas at this point, and stirring everything together.
5. Once the rice is cooked, remove it from the heat, season the pan well with salt and pepper, spoon in and combine the crème fraiche, twist over the lemon, and sprinkle over with half of the coriander and all of the parsley.
6. Serve into pretty bowls and garnish with the remaining coriander.
   

Duration: 30 minutes to prepare, 40-60 minutes to cook

Recipe for: 6 servings

 

Chicken fricassee is a bright and colourful dish which combines the meat with a mix of vegetables which are roasted together in a stock.

You can thicken the sauce into a white gravy at the end of the roasting time with cream if you wish, but here is the light version for you.  It’s a great meal for a Sunday to share with family or friends.  Enjoy it with a light and fruity red wine, or a crisp dry, herby white. (For a vegetarian version, try this lentil fricassee.)

Ingredients:

• 4kg chicken pieces; breasts and legs, skins on, boned
• 6 cloves garlic whole and with skins left on
• 90ml extra virgin olive oil
• 225g shallots, with skins left on and cut into halves
• 300g courgettes, cut in half lengthwise and then into chunky strips
• 200g cauliflower, cubed
• 3 large carrots, peeled and sliced into medium-size rounds
• 900ml chicken stock
• 10 whole mixed colour peppercorns
• 2 bay leaves
• A couple of sprigs of fresh rosemary
• Salt flakes and fresh ground pepper to season

Steps:

1. Preheat the oven to 190ºC.
2. In a large heavy-based frying pan, heat half of the oil on a medium to high heat, and brown the chicken pieces all over as you seal in the juices.  This only takes a few minutes on each side, until the chicken is golden brown.
3. Take the pan off the heat and put the chicken in a large roasting tray, along with the rosemary, garlic, peppercorns and bay leaves.
4. Now return the frying pan to the heat, add the remaining oil and sauté the chopped vegetables until golden brown on all sides.  Mix them in with the chicken on the roasting tray.
5. Back to the frying pan now!  Give it a little wipe with a piece of kitchen paper to remove any browned pieces of meat and vegetables, and then pour in the chicken stock.  Bring the liquid up to the boil, season it with salt and pepper and pour it over the chicken and vegetables in the roasting tray.
6. Roast the fricassee in the oven for between 40 minutes and an hour, or until all of the chicken pieces are cooked throughout.

Duration: 25 minutes to prepare, 40 – 60 minutes to cook

Recipe for: 6 people