Saturday, March 13, 2010

Tasty chicken

I like trying out new dishes that use a lot of ingredients and can get done in under 30 minutes. This morning I came up with this rather delicious chicken bake, I used a few pieces of chicken as the dish was small -- to serve one adult and a kid -- so I didn't need to add a whole lot of meat in, but like all my recipes the quantities are hugely adjustable.

The Recipe:
1 large tomato chopped
2-3 garlic cloves smashed + another 2-3 cloves whole
handful baby portobello mushrooms sliced fine
2 potatoes boiled and mashed
1/2 cup steamed spinach
1/2 cup grated good quality cheddar
organic chicken drumettes and wings
pinch tumeric
1 tablespoon good quality tomato paste

Boil the chicken in water with a pinch of tumeric; salt and two to three cloves of garlic for about 15 minutes. Add some olive oil to a heavy bottomed pan, saute the smashed garlic for a few minutes, add the tomatoes, spinach, mushroom, tomato paste and saute till nice and mushy. Add seasoning and cheese and keep mixing till the tomatoes have broken down well. Add boiled chicken to this mixture and finally the mashed potato. Take off from heat and spoon mixture into a baking dish. Cover with foil and bake about 25-30 mins at 150.

Serve warm with steamed white rice or flake the chicken, mix into baked tomato mixture and use this as a pasta sauce. Delicious either way.

Friday, March 12, 2010

Chicken soup for the soul

I believe in chicken soup. A clear rich delicious chicken soup can do something wonderful for you especially if you have a stuffy nose, heavy head and aching body. I like making a clean tasting soup, almost broth-like using fresh root vegetables, a few spices and organic chicken. Here is the recipe:

chicken wings and drumettes (8-10 pieces)
leek
carrot
potato
onion (about one each, washed peeled and roughly chopped)
2 bay leaves
handful of pepper corns
1 large tomato chopped
fennel cut into quarters
garlic (2-3 large flakes)
a 2" stick of ginger
salt and pepper to taste

Wash the chicken; put into a large stockpot with the vegetables (except fennel) and whole spices. Bring to the boil, then lower heat and simmer about 90 minutes. Add fennel just before the last 20 minutes or so. Check seasoning. Remove from heat. Remove chicken pieces and flake with a fork; discard vegetable pieces. You can serve this in a couple of ways:

*Add flaked chicken back to pot and serve just as a clear soup

*Put bits of flaked chicken in deep soup dishes, pour in some broth and top with freshly boiled udon or egg noodles and a teaspoon of soy sauce. Add a few pieces of thinly sliced red or green bird's eye chilli for extra zest

*Use broth in risotto or noodle dishes use chicken in salad/ sandwiches or as pizza toppings