French style chicken

After the whole cake craziness it's time to go back to savoury dishes I think. Today's recipe uses my two trusty ingredients: chicken and bacon, but it's fresh and surprisingly light, thanks to the addition of gem lettuce, peas and creme fraiche. I found it on BBC Good Food (doesn't take a genius to figure out it's one of my favourite websites!) and it quickly became one of my to go to ways of eating chicken. I don't think I can vouch for this recipe's authenticity. The last time I was in France my experience of French cuisine came down to devouring baguettes all day long. Granted, they were super tasty and I sometimes dream about them.

All I know is, this French style chicken is tres tres bon mon cheries. So give it a try!

To make enough for two you'll need:

4-5 skinless, boneless chicken thighs, fat trimmed off
2-3 rashers of streaky unsmoked bacon, chopped into small pieces
4-5 spring onions
2 gem lettuces
2-3 tablespoons creme fraiche
500 ml chicken or vegetable stock
2 cloves of garlic, minced or finely chopped
2-3 handfuls of frozen peas
potatoes, to serve
olive oil
salt and pepper

Start off by frying bacon in the pan until crispy. Remove and set aside.

Use bacon fat and a tsp or so of olive oil to fry the chicken thighs. Place them in the pan on quite a high heat and step away. You'll be tempted to keep turning them (I always am), but remember, we want flavour so they need to brown nicely. Turn them after 4-5 minutes and brown the other side.

While the chicken is frying, chop spring onions and wash and halve the potatoes.

Add spring onions, garlic and bacon to the pan with the chicken and fry for 2-3 minutes.

Add enough stock to cover the chicken. Add pepper and salt to taste (I tend to skip the salt because bacon and stock are usually salty enough, so remember to taste as you go!)

At this stage, the longer you simmer the chicken the more tender it will be, I generally cook it until half the liquid evaporates. Turn the chicken every now and then so it cooks evenly. After about 15-20 minutes add peas and cook for a further 3-5 minutes.

Finally, add 2-3 tablespoons creme fraiche and roughly chopped gem lettuce.

Serve with boiled potatoes.

Bon appétit!

Mexican chicken stew with beans and lime quinoa

Frikkin' delicious. Those two words best describe this amazing stew.

Shame on me for discovering quinoa so late. I know how this happened. I just thought it will taste too healthy (come on, you know what I mean?). I thought it's difficult to get it right. Trust me, there's something about me cooking grains... Bulghar wheat, rice - massive fail, tears and frustration. After reading about the health benefits of quinoa (tonnes of protein, calcium and fiber) I had to try it. And, what do ya know. I'm a quinoa convert. Fanatic. I found a recipe for warm and nutty cinnamon quinoa. Quinoa salads. Quinoa brownies (whaaaaat?!). You get the picture. Quinoa = awesomeness.

My mum sent me this funny email called 'Women - that's what we're like'. The first line describes me perfectly: I don't read any manuals or instructions. I keep pushing the buttons until it works. Yup. But you know what I discovered? The cooking instructions you see on the back of food packets? Well, turns out they are there for a reason. And cooking quinoa was easy once I actually read and applied them. Ha.

This recipe was my inspiration. I modified it ever so slightly, reducing the amount of chipotle paste (this stuff is hot!) and replacing pinto beans with aduki beans.

 

To make this frikkin' delicious and healthy mexican chicken stew for two hungry quinoa lovers you'll need:

2 chicken breasts (250-300 g)

1 tsp chipotle paste (if you cannot find chipotle paste, you can use a mix of hot and smoked paprika)

1 tin of chopped tomatoes

1 onion

2 garlic cloves

1 pepper

2 carrots

small bunch of coriander

1 tbsp sugar

olive oil

1 stock cube

120 g quinoa

1 can of pinto or aduki beans, drained and rinsed

creme fraiche or natural yoghurt, to serve

Start by prepping the veggies. Grate carrots, finely chop onions and garlic and slice peppers into quite big chunks. 

Heat a bit of oil in a frying pan, add carrots, onion and garlic and fry until they soften (about 5 minutes). Add peppers and chipotle paste, a bit of salt and pepper and fry some more.

After about 3 minutes add tomatoes plus a tinful of water and a tablespoon of sugar and a bit of chopped coriander. Leave half of the coriander for garnish.

Slice chicken breasts into long strips and pop into the pan. They should be covered with the sauce. Don't worry about the sauce being watery, it will reduce as the chicken cooks.

Now measure 120 g of quinoa and rinse it with cold water. Add it to the pot and cover with 360 ml of cold water. Crumble a stock cube, pop the lid on, turn the gas on (medium) and cook for 20 minutes. You don't need to stir it, add more water or anything like that - it will be perfectly cooked. Just make sure the gas is medium/low so the quinoa is simmering gently.

Now get yourself a chopping board and two forks. Fish out the chicken strips and shred them, then put back into the pan with the sauce. If the sauce is still watery, turn the heat up a bit to help it evaporate quicker.

Once the quinoa is ready mix it with beans and add zest from a whole lime plus a generous squeeze of lime juice. 

Pop onto a plate, add chicken stew and sprinkle fresh coriander on top. Serve with a dollop of natural yoghurt or creme fraiche.

Finger lickin' good. Yup.

Mum's Best Fried Chicken

 

You know these dishes that warm your heart and bring you comfort? Take you back to your childhood? This is the one I make when I'm bit homesick and need a quick pick me up. Even the smell of this dish brings back memories of home. My mum recently reminded me about this simple chicken dish when she made it for me and my husband last time we visited my home town and we devoured it like there was no tomorrow.We were so quick in clearing our plates that we were given a new moniker. Call me locust from now on.

Funnily enough, my mum doesn't really like cooking and keeps saying that her food is blah - I think it's brilliant. I always come home with a long wishlist that involves pierogi, golabki and babka ziemniaczana (similar to a hashbrown, it's made with finely grated potatoes, onion, bacon and dried herbs). Right. I need to proceed to the recipe before I drool all over the keyboard.

To make enough for two you'll need:

2 small chicken breasts, cut in half lengthwise (you should end up with flat pieces)

1 egg

breadcrumbs (enough to coat the chicken, I'd say about 3/4 of a cup)

a knob of butter plus a tbsp of butter for frying

olive oil

1/2 kg new potatoes

long cucumber, peeled

1-2 tbsp creme fraiche

salt and pepper

Place your chicken pieces on a chopping board and cover with baking parchment. Now use a rolling pin and bash the chicken to tenderize the meat. A meat mallet does a much better job, but sadly I don't have one (yet!) Oh, and who else thinks tenderising meat is a brilliant stress reliever?

Once the chicken breast is tenderized season it with salt and pepper, then put a small knob of butter in the middle.

Roll the chicken around the butter and get the egg wash ready. Crack an egg into a small bowl and break up with a fork. Put some breadcrumbs on a shallow plate. And get the potatoes boiling in a small pot. Now dip your chicken rolls into the egg wash and then breadcrumbs until evenly coated.

In a small pan, melt a tablespoon of butter with a glug of olive oil, put the chicken rolls in. Fry on a small heat turning them gently every now and then until the breadcrumbs are golden brown and the chicken is cooked.

While the chicken is frying, thinly slice the cucumber and prepare the dressing by mixing a tablespoon of creme fraiche with salt and pepper. Add cucumber slices, mix with the dressing and set aside. 

Drain potatoes and check the chicken. And you're done! Moist and buttery inside, the chicken has a nice crispy skin while the cucumber salad adds some extra crunch and freshness. Thank you Mum!!!