Familiar ingredients - easy food: Chicken, Chorizo and Rice Bake

Regular visitors to this blog may have gathered amongst other things that I love Spanish food and that I like food that is not faffy. Here, these two aspects meet, within this lovely recipe which I found in 'Food from the Sun' by Irish chef Neven Maguire. I happened upon him when I was watching the Good Food Channel here in the UK at a time when they use to air programmes that were interesting, rather than re runs of Man v. Food (my personal pet hate). I loved his all round cheeriness (and whilst I would not want to pigeonhole the Irish, not least because I am partly one of them, but the fact remains that I have never yet gone to Ireland and not felt cheered), his studio kitchen and his simple and gorgeous looking recipes. I bought the book and enjoyed it in much the same way that I enjoyed watching his programmes. Simple food with a smile.

We are never far from chicken and chorizo in this house, mainly because they are enjoyed by everyone here. I wasn't sure how Lola and Finn would take to the artichokes that this recipe called for but Lola was quite receptive, eating a few of the petals as they came away from the core. I told her they were flowers, and Lola being a girly girl was happy with that. Finn ate around them. I do think that you could get away without the artichokes though if you don't happen to have a tin of them around (and to be honest I don't really know why I had a tin of them). Red peppers, the ones you can get in a jar, would be an apt substitute I think.

This recipe is very easy to do; I cooked it after coming in from work one night, and it is the type of meal that you can cook whilst doing that list of mundane tasks that seem to materialise when you fall through the door of a weeknight, mostly involving lunch boxes, demands from the school for yet more money and putting the second school uniform this week into the wash because of some unidentified 'stain'.

A note (or two) on how I interpreted the recipe below. My artichokes were not in oil and so I just drained mine and added olive oil where necessary. A chicken dish is as good as the chicken you put in it so try to use good chicken (I might use chicken thighs next time; cheaper with more interesting meat) and the chorizo I used wasn't raw; it was some that I had left from my raiding of Carrefour on the way back from France recently. It was significantly cheaper than the chorizo that I buy in the UK and it also is 'piccante', which gave this finished dish a mellow warmth. I also upped the chorizo quantity by 25g as I was using the chorizo that I had left.

A good meal was had by all.

Chicken and Chorizo Rice Bake, adapted from 'Food from the Sun' by Neven Maguire


Ingredients

olive oil

400g tin of artichokes

25 g butter

4 chicken breast fillets, skin on if you like

1 large onion finely chopped

2 garlic cloves, chopped

125 g raw chorizo sausage (sliced)

350 g long grain rice

150 ml dry white wine

600 ml chicken stock

2 tblsp roughly chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

salt and freshly ground black pepper

Method

Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F/Gas 4).Add half of the butter and some olive oil to a suitable casserole then place on the hob to heat.

Season the chicken breasts, add to the dish, skin-side down, then cook for 2-3 minutes until lightly browned.

Turn over and cook for another minute or so until sealed. Transfer to a plate and set aside.

Add another tablespoon of oil with the remaining butter to the pan and then tip in onion and garlic. Sauté for 2-3 minutes until softened but not coloured.

Add the chorizo and rice and cook for another 2 minutes, stirring until the chorizo has begun to release its oil and all the rice grains are well coated.

Pour the wine into the pan, stirring to combine and then add the stock and fold in the artichokes. Arrange the chicken on top, pushing the breasts down into the rice.

Cover and bake for 35-40 minutes until all the liquid has been absorbed and the chicken and rice are cooked through and tender.

Scatter over the parsley and place directly on the table to serve.

Disguising Broccoli so that Lola and Finn will eat it: Chicken and Broccoli Gratin

Yes, how do you get kids to eat greens? The fact is, I am mostly a failure at this, and Finn, fussy eater in particular, refuses to eat anything green with the exception of cucumber, which he eats quite happily. However he does like chicken, a lot, and I wondered whether this recipe would work. Tra la! It did. He ate quite a lot of this, and that in itself is a real vote of confidence for my cooking at least. Lola also gave the thumbs up.

This recipe is a bit faffy, and it's the kind of meal that you make when you are in for the day and can decamp to the kitchen every so often to complete the process. But you could make this the day before, ready to lash into the oven as and when. And, it is great, homely food.

The recipe is from the Irish foodie institution, Avoca Cafe cookbook. A gem of a cookbook which is full of fabulous recipes. if you happen across a copy, snap it up!

Oh, and the better the chicken, the better the dish. Whilst this recipe does suggest breasts as a possibility, I think a whole chicken is a better choice. You can buy a good quality chicken for cheaper than you can buy good chicken breasts, plus you get dark meat and white meat. Lovely!

Chicken and Broccoli Gratin, from the Avoca Cafe Cookbook

Serves Lola, Finn, Mum and Dad, twice

6 chicken breasts or 1 whole chicken (I used a chicken) 1 Spanish onion, peeled and chopped 2 carrots, peeled and chopped 2 celery sticks, chopped A few sprigs of parsley 1 bay leaf A few black peppercorns 300ml/½ pint double cream 110g/4oz roux 1 large head of broccoli, divided into florets 15g/½ oz butter 110g/4oz breadcrumbs Grated strong cheddar cheese Prepare a roux by melting 50 grams of butter, then adding 50 grams of plain flour. Cook them over a low heat for 3 minutes. Remove from the heat and allow to cool. preferably store the roux in a fridge for a few hours before use. Place the chicken in a large saucepan with the onion, carrots, celery, parsley, bay leaf, peppercorns and enough water to cover. Bring slowly to the boil, then reduce the heat and simmer until the chicken is cooked - about an hour for a whole chicken; 20 minutes for chicken breasts . Remove the chicken from the pan and leave to cool. Strip the meat off the bones, dice and set aside . Strain the cooking liquid into a saucepan and boil until reduced to 600ml/1 pint. Add the cream, return to the boil and then whisk in the roux, a little at a time, to form a thick sauce. Blanch the broccoli in boiling salted water until just tender, then drain and refresh under cold water. Stir the diced chicken and broccoli into the sauce and season to taste with salt and pepper. Pour this mixture into an ovenproof dish. Melt the butter and mix in the breadcrumbs and grated cheese. Spread over the chicken mixture and bake in an oven preheated to 180ºC/350ºF/gas mark 4 for 20 minutes or until brown and bubbling

Ultimate Meatballs? A bold claim, but they are quite good!

(With apologies for a distinct lack of step by step photos; I was busy being birthday mum and host whilst all this was going on!)

So, recently for Lola's birthday tea we had meatballs and tagliatelle, along with the aforementioned angel cake, and regular readers of this blog will know that my children have never met a meatball they didn't like. I was looking for something completely different when I happened across this recipe, but I was, like, goaded into cooking these because of the extraordinary claim: Ultimate meatballs? Seriously? Will I ever want another meatball recipe after this one? Well, actually they really are rather nice and whilst I will seek out other meatball recipes, it does not mean that I don't rate these. It just means that I am a curiously annoying and inquisitive cook.

This is a recipe adapted from the one by Tyler Florence who I know little about, save for him being an American chef. The success of this dish has encouraged me to seek out some of his others. My tweak was to put a little mozzarella into the centre of the meatball.

Ultimate Meatballs with Pomodoro Sauce and Tagliatelle, adapted from Ultimate Spaghetti and Meatballs by Tyler Florence

Serves Mum, Dad, Lola and Finn and four others.

Ingredients
(Measured in cups, as it is an American recipe)

For the Pomodoro Sauce:

1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil

1 medium onion, chopped

3 garlic cloves, chopped

4 tins chopped tomatoes

1/4 cup fresh basil leaves, torn into pieces

salt and freshly ground black pepper

For the meatballs:

Extra-virgin olive oil

1 onion, chopped

2 garlic cloves, smashed

2 tablespoons roughly chopped fresh parsley leaves

1 cup milk

4 thick slices firm white bread, crust removed

1 1/2 pounds ground beef (mince)

1 1/2 pounds ground pork (mince)

1 large egg (I used two medium ones)

1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan, plus more for serving

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

A ball of mozzarella cheese, cut into chunks

Leaves from 3 sprigs fresh basil or parsley

To serve:

1 pound spaghetti, or pasta of your choice.

Method:

Make your Pomodoro (tomato) sauce. Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan over medium-low heat. Add the onion and garlic and cook until the vegetables are soft, 4 to 5 minutes.

Carefully add the tomatoes and season with salt and pepper. Cook until the sauce is thick, about 15 minutes. Taste and adjust seasoning with salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, stirring for a few minutes with a wooden spoon to further break up any tomatoes. Reduce the heat and let simmer for 20 to 25 minutes. Stir in the fresh basil and season again. Set aside until required.

Bring a big pot of salted water to a boil for the spaghetti.

Heat 3 tablespoons oil in a frying pan over a medium heat.

Add the onion, and cook until it is soft but still translucent, about 10 minutes. Take the pan off the heat and let cool.

Pour enough milk over the bread in a bowl to moisten and let it soak while the onions are cooling. 

Combine the meats in a large bowl. Add the egg and Parmesan and season generously with salt and pepper. Use your hands to squeeze the excess milk out of the bread and add that to the bowl along with the cooled onion mixture. 

Gently combine all the ingredients with your hands or with a spoon until just mixed together. Don't overwork or the meatballs will be tough. Test for seasoning. I fry off a little of the mixture to check for seasoning before I begin to roll the meat into balls.

When you're happy with the seasoning, roll the meat into balls, placing a little piece of mozzarella into the centre of each ball.

Heat some olive oil in the frying pan over medium heat and brown the meatballs on all sides, until cooked through. This will depend on the size of your balls, as it were, but my walnut sized ones took about 10 - 15 mninutes.

When the meatballs are cooked, combine the meatballs and the sauce together. Keep warm.

Meanwhile, cook the spaghetti or whatever pasta you are using in the boiling water until al dente, about 8 minutes. Drain and put it onto a large serving platter. Spoon the meatballs on top of the spaghetti and garnish with basil leaves if you like, or parsley. 

Serve immediately along with extra cheese and any sauce you have left over.

A little bit of France and using up stuff from cupboards - Chicken and Puy Lentils

I bought lentils ages ago for a soup that I didn't make, and they have been there, making me feel guilty every time I open the cupboard. I had to use them up really, but soup wasn't what I was thinking of, although I tell you if you look outside here today you would think that is was Autumn. Dreadfully windy, cold and British summer like. Typical soup weather. No wonder I spend from May to September in a bad mood.

Anyway, I had passed over the chicken and lentil idea forever for some misguided reason that I wouldn't be too keen on it. Wrong. I never really understood how lentils are able to hoover up the delicious flavours of whatever you put with them. Puy lentils pleasingly keep their shape and provide texture as well as great flavour, and they accompany chicken so well. And, it filled me up, and the kids, who after major reservations about the what the dish looked like (let's face it, lentils are never going to win the beauty contest for pulses; the black eyed pea is a shoe in for that particular title if you ask me) made good attempts with Lola, not unsurprisingly, making the best attempt and Finn, giving it his best shot, which involves a few minutes pushing it around the plate before eating some of it. I would make it for them again, because really there is nothing not to like.

Anyway, Puy lentils, I salute you all, every last one of you. 

Chicken with Puy Lentils

Serves Lola, Finn, Mum and Dad

Ingredients

225g/8oz Puy Lentils

3 tbsp olive oil

6 boneless chicken thighs

125g/4½oz pancetta or bacon lardons, cubed

300ml/1/2 pint chicken stock

1 leek, trimmed, finely diced

2 carrots peeled, finely diced

sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

chopped parsley

Method:

Cook the Puy lentils according to packet instructions, then drain.

Season the chicken. Then, using about half of the oil in a frying pan over a low heat, cook the chicken thighs, turning them over from time to time to ensure even cooking. Mine were boneless and took about 15 minutes or so, but pierce the meat to check for clear juices to ensure that the chicken is cooked through.

Remove the chicken thighs from the pan and set aside to rest for 5 minutes. Keep them warm.

Meanwhile, heat the remaining oil in the same frying pan and fry the pancetta for 5 minutes, or until browned.

Add the leek and carrot for 8-10 minutes, or until softened.

Stir in the cooked lentils and the chicken stock. Simmer the mixture for 2-3 minutes, or until the vegetables are completely tender.

To serve, spoon the lentils into wide bowls and top with the chicken thighs whole or sliced.

Enjoy!

Recipes on the road - Motor home chicken with lemon, thyme and garlic

Phill has acquired a motor home and whilst the appeal of the road opening up in front of us and travelling into the sunset has a romantic appeal, and stirs a little something in this particular trucker's daughter, the slumming it of some aspects of 'camping' does not. Confined spaces, temperamental showers and traffic queues are some of the things that irritate me, but the things I can affect, I will, and that is the food.

Early camping adventures and a lack of interest in cooking meant that the one ring I had to make good with led to an amazing level of consumption of hot dogs, but armed with a little more culinary skill and not one, but three rings and an oven means that dinner out of tins will be seldom this time around.

Our first adventure with the motor home was to France, Belgium and Luxembourg, and whilst there are many reasons to love, and then be irritated with, France, one of the things I adore is after landing in Calais is making my way to the Carrefour or the Auchan and stocking up on French food, and whilst I know that the food they sell is not really a patch on the fresh produce you can acquire at the market in France, it is still superior to a lot of the stuff you can buy on our side of the channel, so with that in mind I stocked up on chicken, veal (hard to get in the UK really) and other niceties to lengthy to mention here.

Chicken. I bought chicken legs, which were reasonably priced and reassuringly tinged with yellow and had a notion that I would marinate them in thyme, garlic and lemon then roast them off. The oven, not being furnace like and therefore giving a longer cooking time, would result in the meat coming away easily from the bones. The quality of the chicken meant the end result was tasty, succulent and gorgeous. I made the marinade in the morning and coated the chicken legs with it, rubbing it into the skin and then covering and putting in the fridge, taking it out and turning the meat over when I remembered. Then it was just a case of placing on an oven tray and letting the oven do it's thing. Marginally more effort than opening a tin of hot dogs, but not much.

I served this with potatoes and salad. Lola, Finn and Phill served me clean plates. First motor home meal = success!

Chicken Legs with Lemon, Thyme and Garlic

Served Lola, Finn, Mum and Dad

Ingredients:

3 - 4 chicken legs, depending on size.

50ml olive oil

2 fat cloves of garlic

1 large lemon, some of the pith removed with a peeler, plus the juice

2 tsp dried thyme

plenty of salt and pepper (I used a tsp of salt and half a tsp of black pepper)

Method

Mix all the ingredients for the marinade in a suitable bowl or container.

Place the chicken into the marinade. You might like to slash the flesh of the chicken to allow the flavours to penetrate further. Rub the marinade over the chicken.

Cover the chicken and marinade, either with a lid or with cling film. Place in the fridge. Leave for at least a couple of hours but if you can leave it for about 8 hours, then all's well and good.

Remove the chicken from the marinade and place onto an oven tray. Any remaining marinade (and there should be very little) should be rubbed over the chicken.

Place in the oven and cook until the chicken, when pierced with a knife at the thickest part, reveals a volcano of clear juices. In a normal oven at 180c, about 40 - 45 minutes probably. For us, with this oven, it took about an hour and 10 minutes.

Serve with whatever accompaniment you like to happy children and partner. Enjoy!