The Recipe Room

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.

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.

Lemon and sesame chicken breasts – a lovely recipe for the height of spring; with plenty of refreshing lemon juice in the sauce.

Lemons are very rich in vitamin C, but did you know that they also contain potassium, iron and vitamin B6, amongst other nutrients? Lemons store for longer in the fridge, but if you take them out and allow them to come up to room temperature before extracting the juice, they are much easier to squeeze, and so the juice comes out more easily.

Lemon has antibacterial properties because of its high acid content. The origin of this wonderful fruit is not entirely certain, but its cultivation can be traced far back to Burma, China and India; spreading from there around the warmer climes of the world. Christopher Columbus brought lemon seeds to Hispaniola during his voyages in the mid 15th century. Did you know that lemon trees produce fruit all year round? And I’ve heard it said that the fashionable ladies of the European Renaissance used to put lemon juice on their lips to redden them! The humble lemon as a beauty accessory – who would have thought it?

Serve lemon and sesame chicken breasts with these minty jersey royals and a glass of home-made lemonade for an all-round lemony meal. I also like to serve it alongside a fresh spinach and tomato salad, drizzled with just a bit of oil and vinegar.

 

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

A favourite for the whole family, Chicken Kievs made at home taste great!

Ingredients:

For the Herb butter

• 75g butter, softened
• 5 garlic cloves, peeled and minced
• Large handful of fresh parsley, finely chopped
• 3 sprigs of fresh tarragon, finely chopped
• A couple of twists of freshly squeezed lemon juice
• Salt and pepper to season
  

To make the Kievs

• 6 chicken breasts, skin removed
• 150g plain flour
• 300g breadcrumbs, fine and dry
• 5 eggs, beaten
• Olive oil for frying
• Fresh lemon, cut into wedges to serve

Steps:

1. Make the sauce.  Mix the butter, garlic, lemon, parsley and tarragon in a bowl.   Season well with salt and pepper.  Lay a length of clingfilm on a clean work surface and spread the softened butter mixture thickly over it in a fat log shape.  Roll the film up to create a more defined log shape and cool in the fridge until the butter hardens.
2. Next prepare the chicken.  Lay the breasts smooth-side down and cut off the mini fillet.  Create a pocket for the sauce:  Slit into the middle of each fillet with a sharp knife.  Take the incision to half-way deep into the breast and to within 4 cm of each side – go carefully here.  On a board, lay a small piece of clingfilm over each breast, and flatten them out a little by batting with a rolling pin.  Do the same with the mini fillets.  Put in the fridge until ready to use.
3. Remove the hardened butter from the fridge, and cut it into 6 round discs.  Place a disc inside each chicken pocket.  Seal the pocket by tucking the mini fillet just inside the slit and pulling the tops of the fillet just over it.
4. Preheat the oven to 200ºC.
5. Lay 3 shallow bowls out on your work surface.  Put the flour in one, the eggs in another and the breadcrumbs in the third. Roll and coat each breast in the contents of each bowl, in this order: flour, egg, breadcrumbs, egg again, breadcrumbs again.
6. Heat a good amount of oil on high in a large frying pan.  Once hot, reduce the heat to medium, cooking the kievs for a few minutes until golden on both sides.  Remove from the pan and drain on kitchen paper before placing in a roasting tray and cooking in the oven for around 20 minutes, or until the chicken is firm to the touch at its widest part.  When cooked throughout, serve the kievs hot with mashed potatoes or these Minty Jersey Royals with Chives and Lemon Butter.

Duration: 25 minutes to prepare, 25 minutes to cook

Recipe for: 8 servings

Maybe you roasted a chicken the day before and now you fancy a hearty soup?  This recipe makes perfect use of those roast chicken left-overs.  It’s simple to make and is a true winter warmer.  Winter celery adds a distinctive flavour to the dish.  Once you’ve cooked it a couple of times, you could create a variation if you fancy it by swapping the carrot for parsnip or butternut squash, or by swapping the fresh parsley for fresh coriander.  A chicken and corn chowder is also a tasty option. You don’t need to use a blender for this recipe either, just remember to chop the vegetables nice and fine and enjoy the texture of the torn chicken pieces. I often enjoy a glass of Guinness with my Hearty chicken soup for richness of flavour and relaxation.  Chicken is packed full of protein, and did you know that it’s also a good source of selenium?  Ladies and Gents, this is a simple chicken soup for the soul!

Ingredients:

• 2 medium onions, peeled and finely sliced
• 2 carrots, washed and chopped into little cubes
• 3 medium celery sticks, washed and finely sliced
• 60g butter
• 30g plain flour
• 1.2 litres chicken stock
• 500g cooked, skinless chicken, hand torn into fairly fine shreds
• 1 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped
• Salt and freshly ground black peppercorns to taste

Steps:

1. Take a large heavy-based saucepan and place on medium heat, adding the butter, onions, carrots and celery and cook until the vegetables begin to soften.
2. Add the flour to the pan, stir it in, and cook for 2-3 minutes.
3. Pour in the chicken stock and stirring the contents constantly, bring the liquid to the boil.  Reduce the heat, season with salt and black pepper and simmer the soup mixture for 10-12 minutes, until the vegetables are tender.
4. Place the cooked chicken into the soup and continue to cook until the chicken is piping hot throughout.
5. Sprinkle and stir in the parsley, and serve in bowls with baguette or hunks of granary bread on the side.

Recipe for: 4 people

Duration: 1 hour

Chicken and Pear Burgers are succulent and flavoursome with a hint of sweetness that really works.  In fact, this is a great recipe for the whole family – you can make nice big chunky burgers for the grown-ups and mini ones for the kids; even toddlers seem to love them as a tasty finger food.  If you buy chicken that has not been pre-frozen, you can make these in batches and freeze some for those nights when you’re too tired to cook up a meal from scratch.  They are yummy served with a carrot, chickpea and orange salad or in burger buns with lettuce and mayonnaise.  This recipe gives you a healthy, low-fat, traditional burger alternative.  If you don’t have any pears in the house, or if you fancy a change, use a Granny Smith apple to give the burgers their sweetness.

Ingredients:

• 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1 medium sized onion, finely chopped
• 1 large Conference pear, peeled and grated
• 2 chicken breasts, minced
• 1 tbsp fresh parsley, finely chopped
• 2 tbsp fresh white breadcrumbs, dried will also work well
• 1 chicken stock cube
• Salt
• Pepper
• Flour
• Vegetable oil for frying

Steps:

1. Heat the oil in a pan and gently fry the onion until soft.
2. Put the chicken, onion, fresh parsley and breadcrumbs in a mixing bowl, crumble in the stock cube, squeeze the grated pear over the sink to remove excess moisture and add to the mixing bowl.  Stir well.  Note: If you can’t find chicken mince, you will need to whizz the ingredients in a food processor for a few seconds.
3. Add salt and pepper.
4. Form the burgers with your hands and coat them in flour on both sides.
5. Shallow fry in oil for 8-10 minutes or until they are cooked throughout, turning the burgers halfway through cooking.  If you decide to make some mini finger-food burgers for your toddlers, reduce the cooking time to 4-5 minutes, but always ensure that the chicken is thoroughly cooked before serving.

Serve alongside a large mixed salad, or pop the burgers in buns with lettuce and mayonnaise.

Duration: 45 minutes

Recipe for: 6 people