Chicken Archives - Page 3 of 3 - All That I'm Eating

Chicken and Chorizo Tartlets

May 21, 2012 By All That I'm Eating 28 Comments

I’m not very good at anything that requires precision; cutting, gluing, drawing, sewing and the like just aren’t made for me no matter how much I might like them to be. I thought it was time I challenged this, determined to be as perfect as possible I set about making some mini chicken and chorizo tartlets. This of course was not only an excuse to try and achieve the impossible; namely a pastry tart case that didn’t shrink, but also to use up some more of my leftover chicken. To make four mini tarts you will need: 4oz flour, 2oz butter and cold water for the pastry 125g cooked chicken 125g cooking chorizo 1 small onion Small handful parsley 25g butter 1 tbsp flour 1/2 pint milk

First and foremost make the pastry. Rub the butter into the flour until you have breadcrumbs and then add drops of water until it comes together. Chill in the fridge for 30 minutes or so. Roll the pastry out and divide into four pieces. Line each tart tin with the pastry and prick the base with a fork. I thought I’d make a right mess of lining the tins but it was really quick and simple; no holes and no patching up required.

I tried that trick of pushing the rolling pin over the pastry when it’s in the case to remove the excess pastry from the edges and it worked brilliantly. Line the tarts with some baking paper and fill the tart cases with baking beans. Bake in a preheated oven at 200C for 15 minutes then remove the baking beans. I don’t think I was quite firm enough pushing my beans down as I did get a few air bubbles so I’ll be sure to be more forceful next time.

The fiddliest part was the unfortunate but necessary step of removing the skins from the chorizo. They may be natural skins and fine to eat but I’d had them before and ended up having to pull the skins off after cooking and out of my teeth. I wasn’t prepared to spend the evening flossing so skin removal was essential. Once the skins are removed, chop the chorizo and fry on a medium heat so the oil runs out of the chorizo and it gets nice and crispy. Remove the chorizo from the pan leaving some of the oil and put the onion in. Fry the onion until soft and going brown at the edges; the smell was divine. read more

Coronation Chicken: using up leftover chicken

May 17, 2012 By All That I'm Eating 14 Comments

Removing all the meat from a cooked chicken has to be one of the most rewarding things to do; ending up with a plate full of bones and a bowl full of meat opens up a world of possibilities. As I mentioned in the previous post the bones were used to make stock; half of this was used in a bright broccoli, celery and stilton soup. I think the other half will end up in a risotto in the near future.

First and most importantly it was essential to make some form of chicken sandwich from the leftovers. As Jubilee fever is gripping the nation at the moment I thought the most appropriate sandwich would be Coronation chicken. Possibly my favourite sandwich filler but one I’ve never made myself and I wanted to do it properly, do it justice and so I set about making some mayonnaise.

You will need: 2 egg yolks 250ml oil (I used half groundnut, half rapeseed) Cooked chicken Curry Powder Mango Chutney Bread, salad, other sandwich bits

My mixer would be the perfect thing to make glorious, fresh, silky mayonnaise, at least that’s what I thought. As far as I was aware 1 egg yolk can emulsify 100ml of oil but none of the recipes I found followed this rule so I trusted both my instincts (which are apparently useless) and a few recipes and went for 2 egg yolks and 250ml oil. read more

Lemon and Thyme Roast Chicken and the leftovers

May 15, 2012 By All That I'm Eating 19 Comments

chicken with lemon, thyme, onions and garlic

A beautifully roasted chicken is hard to beat; with crispy skin and succulent meat there’s nothing quite like it. Having a whole roast chicken is a rare thing for me, indeed this is the first chicken I have roasted in a very long time and I wasn’t about to waste a scrap of it. The chicken that was to fulfil my roast chicken dreams was a local, free range, corn fed bird. This post is about my perfect Sunday lunch and making the most of the leftovers.

Lemon and thyme roasted chicken is a classic, simple recipe. Shove it all together, chuck it in the oven and reap the rewards later.
You will need:
A chicken (I used a 1.4kg bird for two)
1 lemon
Fresh thyme
1 onion
Butter
Salt and pepper

Start by cutting the string off the legs and stuffing the cavity with a few sprigs of thyme and half a lemon. Cut the onion up into chunks and put them into a roasting tin with the other half of the lemon and a few more sprigs of thyme. Put the butter into a bowl and mix in some salt and pepper. Now comes the slightly tricky and disgustingly satisfying part; separate the breast meat from the skin. I use a spoon to do this to minimise ripping the skin. When skin and meat are sufficiently separated, stuff some of the butter under the skin. Rub the rest of the butter onto the outside, put in to the roasting tray and roast in the oven at 160C for an hour or so or until cooked through. read more

Chicken and Vegetable Pie

April 19, 2011 By All That I'm Eating 10 Comments

This is a perfect recipe for the long Easter weekend break. It’s a celebration of Spring vegetables in the best wrapping of all…pastry. This chicken and vegetable pie is extremely versatile as you can change the vegetables depending on what is in season. It is also great for using up leftovers.

Ingredients

You will need (for one large pie to serve 4-6):

1 whole chicken
1 large onion, chopped
1 leek, sliced
Knob of butter
3 carrots, peeled and sliced
Handful kale, stalks removed and leaves sliced
1 small glass white wine
300ml double cream
1/2 chicken stock cube
2 bay leaves
Salt and pepper
Readymade shortcrust pastry
1 egg, for brushing

First of all, roast the chicken at 180C for an hour and a half or until cooked through. If you like, you can stuff half a lemon and half an onion inside the chicken before you cook it to give it extra flavour. When the chicken is done and cooled down a little remove all the meat and set aside. I had never de-boned a chicken before and I can tell you that once you’ve done it, you’ll never look back. From now on I will always buy a whole chicken and divide it up – it’s so much cheaper. The meat just fell off and I was left with a clean pile of bones and a huge pile of chicken. Chop up the vegetables as the chicken is cooling.

Start by frying the onion and leek in some butter until softened in a large pan. Add the chicken and fry for a few more minutes. Add the glass of wine and cook until almost completely gone and then add the cream and the chicken stock cube. Add the carrots, kale and bay leaves and season. If it is looking a little dry add some water. Leave the mixture simmering for 10 minutes or until it is as thin or thick as you like it. read more

Chicken Liver Pâté

February 16, 2011 By All That I'm Eating 9 Comments

Pesto, hummus and bread are just a few examples of things that if you make yourself, couldn’t be further from the shop bought version. Chicken liver pâté is another. I have long had an affection for this most accepted of offal and I felt it was about time I got myself some to see how a homemade one compares. I couldn’t have asked for better livers. They were free range, organic and fresh as you could ask for. I never eat supermarket chicken and so the money I would have spent on that I spend on farmers’ market chicken and just eat it less often.
This recipe took me about 10 minutes to make so if you find yourself with the opportunity to buy livers, do so. read more