We were about halfway through this meal when the OH turned to me and said, “This is the best dinner we’ve ever cooked”. High praise indeed. Although I once baked a whole cabbage and anything would be an improvement on that. Chicken enchiladas always remind me of my University days. My friend Kathryn and I would convince ourselves we could definitely eat four people’s worth of enchiladas. We’d cook it all up and be full after just half of the available enchiladas, look at each other and say, “Next time, we’ll just cook half ok?”. We never learnt. I haven’t made enchiladas since then and I thought it was high time I made some proper ones.
Harissa Chicken with Quinoa, Avocado and Mango Salad
How many times do you think about what to make for dinner and end up with a seemingly impossible list of requirements for that one meal? It needs to be filling, but without being too full of fat, tasty without being too salty or sugary, balanced and preferably something interesting. Welcome to every weekend of my life! Planning meals is something I can’t live without (see post here if you want some top tips) and I usually do it on a leisurely Sunday morning when I have time to look through my blog, magazines and books for inspiration. More often than not I end up fulfilling all the requirements that I want my dinner to be, but it takes time to work it out. So give my Harissa Chicken with Quinoa, Avocado and Mango Salad a go; I’ve done all the hard work for you.
Creamy Chicken, Leek and Mushroom Pasta Bake
This is the first of a series of recipes aimed at giving you a few new ideas for the next time you’re after pasta for dinner. I’m sure I am in the majority of people who eat pasta at least once a week. And why not? It’s a carbohydrate that goes with everything and sometimes is at its best simply served with butter and cheese; because you chose to not because the fridge is empty. Of course. The first of these new pasta recipes is for Creamy Chicken, Leek and Mushroom Pasta Bake.
You will need (for four):
Chicken Tikka Wraps with Cucumber and Onion Salsa
Ingredients
You will need (for four):|
2 free range chicken breasts
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£3.42
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2 tbsp tikka paste
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£0.20
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150g organic natural yoghurt
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£0.49
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1/2 large lettuce
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£0.25
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1/2 cucumber
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£0.33
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1 small red onion
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£0.10
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Small handful fresh coriander
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£0.15
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8 wraps
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£1.00
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Salt and pepper
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£0.02
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Oil (for frying)
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£0.02
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Total
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£5.98
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Method
Start by slicing the chicken breasts into thin, inch sized pieces. Put these into a bowl with the tikka paste and 1 tbsp of yoghurt. Mix together and then cover and leave in the fridge to marinate for at least 30 minutes.While the chicken marinates prepare the rest of the meal.
Wash the lettuce and drain well before shredding it.
To make the salsa finely chop the cucumber and the onion. Put half of the onion and all of the cucumber into a bowl. Tear in the coriander and then mix it all together with some salt and pepper. Put this to one side.
When you are ready to cook the chicken get a large frying pan on a medium heat. Add a little oil and the other half of the chopped onion. Fry the onion for around five minutes to get a little colour then add the chicken and all the marinade.
Continue to fry it all together for around ten minutes or until the chicken is cooked and some of the edges of the chicken have started to catch. Leaving the chicken to catch really adds to the flavour.
Chicken and Chorizo Tartlets
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.
Coronation Chicken: using up leftover chicken
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 bitsMy 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.
Lemon and Thyme Roast Chicken and 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.
Chicken and Vegetable Pie
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
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.
Chicken Liver Pâté
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.