Lemon & Black Pepper Chicken - super tasty, with a definite zing!

What a very pleasant surprise this meal turned out to be.  I really wasn't expecting much from it and hence only took a couple of pictures.  You'd have thought I'd know better by now and would take more pictures just in case, but no.

The recipe is incredibly simple - just pan fried chicken breast in a sauce made with slices of lemon, crushed fresh garlic, some chicken stock, lemon juice, runny honey and a whole heap of black pepper. How often it is that the most simple recipes turn out to be the best!

I particularly enjoyed the lemony sauce with the Jersey Royals and the Sweetheart (or Hispi) cabbage. Mmmnnn, but that was sooo good. I'd been craving cabbage, so that might be why, but son & heir agreed the combination was very tasty and a second opinion is always helpful. Feel free to pair the recipe up with whatever accompaniments you fancy - after all, it's your dinner so why not please yourself.

Uncharacteristically, let's head on directly to the recipe and gird your loins for a zingy, fresh tasting chicken sensation.

LEMON & BLACK PEPPER CHICKEN (serves 2)

Ingredients :

1 tbsp olive oil
2 individual skinless, boneless chicken breasts
a pinch of sea salt
half a lemon, sliced thinly
half a lemon, juiced
one clove of garlic, crushed
as much fresh ground black pepper as you want - I used a teaspoonful
1 tbsp runny honey
200ml chicken stock - I used a combination of Knorr stock granules (half tsp) and chicken Bovril (half tsp)
2 tsp approx finely chopped fresh parsley
2 tsp Bisto best chicken gravy granules.

Method :

Heat the olive oil in a good sized frying pan until sizzling hot. Gently add the chicken breasts and sprinkle with a little sea salt. Leave the chicken to brown - you're aiming for it to have an all over golden tan, so don't keep fidgeting it about or it won't sear. Turn the chicken to sear the other side and add the lemon slices to the pan.

In a small bowl, combine the lemon juice, crushed garlic, black pepper, runny honey and chicken stock. When both sides of the chicken are golden, pour the mixture over the chicken into the pan. Allow the sauce to heat through and bubble, reduce slightly and thicken. Turn the chicken from time to time, to keep it basted in the sauce and ensure it is cooked through.

Reduce the heat to medium and include the parsley.  Allow a moment or two for the parsley to heat through and add the gravy granules if necessary, to thicken the sauce to your personal taste.

Serve with the lemon slices on top, with a little chopped parsley as garnish and vegetable accompaniments of your choice.

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Spicy Hot Prawn & Apple Curry - friskier than a spring lamb!

I have had this recipe sitting waiting to be published since for ever, it seems.  The trouble is, you see, Christmas and new year got right in the way and I lost touch with reality.  *chuckle*  No, reality has always been right here - I just got distracted for a while.

So here you are all those people who were so keen to have the recipe.  I do apologise for the time it has taken.

The curry is a touch different from the norm in its use of apple, but it gives such a lovely fruity tang that goes so well with the tomato, tamarind, red onion and coconut. Some of those ingredients also give off a sweetness which somehow boosts the flavour of the prawns. Lots of savoury flavours as well, of course, from garlic, coriander, ginger, turmeric and the curry powder - which included a small amount of Tikka curry powder, prevent it from becoming too sweet and naturally the hot spiciness from the red chillis combined with the ginger and spicy curry to make this lovely light textured prawn curry super frisky! Not so frisky that it melts anything, but enough to clear the sinuses. Can't be bad!

SPICY HOT PRAWN & APPLE CURRY   (serves 3-4)

Ingredients :

1 tbsp coconut oil
1 tbsp plus a half tbsp salted butter 
1-2 red onions, depending on size, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
sea salt
ground black pepper
a quarter tsp of ground cinnamon
4 cherry tomatoes, diced
1 sharp eating apple (I used Braeburn), peeled, cored & diced small
3 tsp medium curry powder
1 tsp tikka curry powder
1 tsp ground turmeric
1 tsp ground ginger
a pinch of dried red chilli flakes (to taste)
500ml hot water plus more as required
1 tbsp tamarind sauce
1 tbsp chopped fresh coriander leaf plus a little for garnish
half tsp honey (to taste)
325g cooked, peeled, cold water large prawns, defrosted and drained if pre-frozen
hot white Basmati rice to serve.

Method :


Melt the coconut oil and butter in a large frying pan and add the onions & garlic.  Fry on a medium heat until the onions are transparent and just beginning to caramelise and the garlic is fragrant.  This shouldn't take too long if the onions have been chopped finely enough.  Part way through the cooking, add the sea salt, black pepper and cinnamon and stir through.

Once the onions and garlic are cooked to your satisfaction, add the cherry tomatoes and apple and cook on until the tomatoes are beginning to soften and break up.

Add the curry powder, turmeric, ginger and red chilli flakes and stir through.  Cook on for about 5 more minutes, to allow the spices to amalgamate and lose their uncooked flavour.  Add the water, tamarind sauce and fresh coriander and stir through.

Cook at a simmer, stirring regularly, until the ingredients have all amalgamated into a sauce and the sauce has reduced to a good thick consistency.  This can take around 20 mins, perhaps a bit longer depending on how much juice the tomatoes had and how much water you added.

Taste the sauce for seasoning and add more salt, or black pepper, or chilli flakes as necessary.  Taste again and add the honey if required.  Stir everything through once more.

When you are happy with the flavour and consistency of the sauce, add the prawns and increase the temperature under the pan, to heat the prawns through.  You aren't looking to cook them as they've already been cooked - just heat them through to piping hot.

Serve the curry with the white basmati rice and sprinkle the remainder of the coriander over the top as garnish.

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Chicken in a Marsala & mustard cream sauce - as easy as winking!

Chicken in a Marsala & mustard cream sauce is quite probably my absolute favourite chicken dish from my repertoire. I've used Marsala wine, our home made Mead and even sherry in it, with excellent results for all three. I've also swapped out the wholegrain mustard for Dijon and loved that version too. So, it's a very flexible and forgiving recipe that provides incredibly yummy results.

Right at this moment, I'm on a white meat only diet following on from a really bad gout attack and I'm so glad that I remembered this one. Eating just chicken, turkey and white fish can get a bit ho hum, even after just a week. So it was nice to have chicken with a lovely unctuous, tasty sauce and I'm only surprised that I haven't got around to blogging it before now!

Another good thing about this recipe is that if you ever find yourself with no onions but a tub of cream in the fridge and chicken in the freezer, you're half way there. It's not often, these days, you find a recipe that doesn't include onion. I've often pondered on including a sauteed onion or maybe some garlic in the sauce but always reject the idea on the basis that the sauce is so good without it, why mess with perfection?

As for Cook's Notes, there's really only one you need to be aware of which is to monitor the temperature of the pan when you're frying the chicken. Of course, you don't want your chicken to burn, but equally you really don't want it to be more than a gentle golden brown or your sauce could end up a little bitter. It all depends on your particular pan. You know it best, so just keep your eye on it during the cooking.

Mmmmnnn, I could eat this all over again today if I had the chicken!

CHICKEN IN A MARSALA & MUSTARD CREAM SAUCE (serves 3)

Ingredients :

3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

a pinch of sea salt
1 tbsp olive or rapeseed oil
120ml Marsala wine (or Mead, or Sherry)
2 tsp wholegrain mustard
100ml water
1 tsp low salt chicken stock granules (or half a low salt stock cube)
a pinch of ground black pepper
1 tsp thyme
150ml double cream
1 tsp cornflour, let down with a small amount of water.

Method :

Trim each chicken breast of any gristle or fat, then slice each breast through horizontally from the thick end to the thin end, creating two thin halves.

Place the olive or rapeseed oil into a frying pan and heat until sizzly. Gently lay each chicken breast down - and leave it alone apart from to sprinkle with a small amount of sea salt. You are aiming to achieve some colour on the chicken breasts, so they will need to stay in one position until they achieve a lovely golden colour.

Flip each breast over onto the other side and again, leave it alone to cook and gain colour for another few minutes.

Remove the chicken to a warmed plate, it doesn't matter if it isn't quite cooked through - it will finish cooking once it is in the sauce.

Pour the wine into the pan and deglaze by stirring and releasing any crispy bits that may be stuck to the pan. All these are flavour!

Once the wine has reduced by half, add the mustard, water, stock granules, black pepper and thyme. Stir thoroughly to combine.

Add the cream and stir through, then return the chicken to the pan, together with any juices that have accumulated under the chicken. Stir gently and allow the sauce to simmer.

When you are satisfied that the chicken is cooked through, if necessary add the cornflour/water mix and stir to combine. Once the sauce has thickened to your preferred consistency, serve with a selection of steamed vegetables and new potatoes.

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Bacon & tomato gnocchi bake

This unctuous, decadent and totally yummy dish is one of those "made it in the past, didn't get around to blogging it" meals that really should have been blogged long before now.

I've only made it twice (so far) and I'm sure it will appear on the menu again before too very long.

The first time, I added some veggies such as green and red pepper to the mix because I had them there and needed to use them up.  This time, I went with just the mushrooms and we all loved it on both occasions.

I would point out that the dish isn't, strictly speaking, a "bake" but more of a "grill" as you simply grill the sliced mozzarella to melt it and give it a little colour.   However, it really is by the by - I just thought I'd clarify in case you were puzzled by it.

I must be getting old, as the guilt over the calories involved (bacon, cream, cheese ... need I say more?) resulted in my serving it with a side salad instead of the garlic bread we had previously.  You know what?  I actually preferred it with the side salad.  At which all the men in the audience may now take a sharp intake of breath - salad being an anathema to the majority of man-kind, as I'm given to understand.  The majority of the laydeez may take this opportunity to nod wisely.

It was the contrast in textures, though.  The richness and softness of the gnocchi beside the freshness and crunch of the salad ingredients, just worked beautifully for me.

Not that it wasn't extremely good the first, garlic bread accompanied, time.  No, it was pretty darned horny (if you'll excuse the expression - borrowed from my husband, you understand) then, too.  In fact, I think it'd be fairly irresistible no matter how or when you served it.  I'd even give it a go for breakfast, it's that good.

Plus - and this is a big plus - it is another from the age-old and much favoured school of "chop and peel, put into a pan in order and serve" cooking.  Perfect for when you've spent all day chauffeuring your progeny around from school to concert hall, or just plain worn yourself out doing some retail therapy.  Assuming, of course, that the gnocchi is either already made and in your freezer, or already made and in a bag in your fridge.  Don't tell anyone, but mine was made by Mr Asda.  Their fresh gnocchi is very acceptable indeed.

If you've got any teenagers in the house, don't expect there to be any leftovers for lunch.  Even after a perfectly adequate serving with salad alongside, they will still find a corner for a little bit more.  I'm not sure, but I think son & heir may even have licked the plate.

As for COOK'S TIPS, it really is so simple that there aren't many.

Firstly, it is as well to use the best ingredients you can afford with this one.  The simplicity of the dish is such that if you use cheap tinned tomatoes (for instance), it's going to show.  For the sake of the few pence that's involved, go for the best you can afford.  It really is worthwhile.

Lastly, don't be tempted to use double cream.  Not even if you've got some left over in your fridge without a home to go to.  Buy some peaches and use it on them, if you must.  Single cream won't leave you with the clagginess that double will, when used in this context.  It really is a very rich tomato sauce - and extra fat is neither required nor welcome.

Either saladed or garlic breaded, this is a great one for a weekday dinner.  Your menfolk will thank you, either way.

BACON & TOMATO GNOCCHI BAKE   (serves 3-4)

Ingredients :

1 tbsp olive oil
340g back bacon, diced
1 large shallot, diced
2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
1 tsp paprika
half a tsp smoked sweet paprika
6 good sized chestnut mushrooms, sliced
1 large tasty tomato, chopped
400g can of chopped tomatoes
1 tbsp tomato puree
1 tbsp tomato ketchup
150ml water
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp sugar
half a tsp finely ground black pepper
2-3 tbsp single cream
1 tbsp finely chopped parsley
500g fresh gnocchi
2 balls of mozzarella cheese, sliced.

Method :

1.  Heat the oil in a large deep sided frying pan and once hot, add the bacon pieces.  Fry until the fat has begun to render and the pieces have begun to caramelise.  Do not allow to burn.

2.  Add the shallot and garlic and continue to fry until the shallot has softened and turned transparent.

3.  Add the two types of paprika and stir to combine.  Fry for another 30 seconds.

4.  Place a large saucepan of slightly salted water on to boil.

5.  Add the mushrooms and the tomatoes in all their guises, the Worcestershire sauce, water, sugar and black pepper.  Stir well, then allow to simmer for 15-20 minutes to allow the flavours to combine and the sauce to thicken and reduce.

6.  Once the sauce has reduced to a thick, chunky texture, remove from the heat and add the cream and parsley.

7.  Put the gnocchi into the boiling water.  Once they float to the surface (3 minutes, no more), they're done.  Remove from the water using a slotted spoon and add them to the tomato sauce.  Stir them in gently, making sure each gnocchi is coated with sauce.

8.  Place the sliced mozzarella over the surface of the gnocchi/sauce mixture and place under a hot grill.  Once the mozzarella has melted and begun to colour, you're ready to serve.

I served mine with garlic bread and on the second occasion, with a side salad.  The choice is yours!

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British Rose Veal & Cauliflower Dhansak

This curry was really never meant to happen.  You see, we were doing a freezer audit yesterday when out came a plastic bag with what appeared to be meat in it.  The appearance looked for all the world like as though it was the other half of a roasted joint of meat, that we'd forgotten about and had been pushed to the back of the freezer.  I decided to defrost it and use it up over successive lunches, whatever it was.

Well, it turned out to be two lovely but raw British rose veal steaks.  Oops!

I was planning a lamb & cauliflower curry this week, so it occurred to me that to make it veal instead of lamb was no bad thing.  I'd never had a veal curry before and the thought appealed to me.

It had been ages since I made a home-spiced curry - that is, one where I choose the type and amounts of spices used, instead of one where we just use a Sharwood's curry paste for speed - and for all that the results can be a bit hit and miss, I thought I'd give it a go.

I had been intending to make the lamb curry one that was finished in the oven, rather than the speedier "on the hob" type of curries that we so often make and continued with that for the veal.  British rose veal is naturally very tender and as such not really suited to the more hurried "on the hob" type of cooking, which can either dry it out or toughen it.  You really need one of two ways with it - either quick cooking in a frying pan which doesn't allow it to toughen or longer, slower cooking that softens the fibres and gently encourages them to become tender, whilst retaining all the natural moisture in the meat.  So the long, slow, oven based cook was perfect.

One aspect of currying British rose veal did concern me, which was that I didn't want to lose the delicate flavour of the meat by bashing it over the head with curry spices.  However, for all that the sauce is right up there in the flavour department, the meat withstands it exceptionally well and if anything the flavour was enhanced rather than overpowered.  To make sure that your veal doesn't become swamped, make sure to cut your pieces into a decent size.  Ours were a decent forkful sort of sized and I'm quite sure that smaller pieces would easily have succumbed to the powerful flavours going on in the sauce.

I know that the spice list seems a bit daunting and over-long, but bear with it.  The riot of all those different flavours - coupled with the onion, garlic, veal and cauliflower - is really lovely and well worth the effort of digging them out of your spice rack and working your way through them.

The other thing that is very well worth doing, is toasting the three types of seed.  I know this seems like a faff and you find yourself thinking "well it can't affect the flavour THAT much, surely!", but it does.  It really does!  As such, you would be well advised to make the curry earlier on in the day, when you have more time to spare and aren't watching the clock so badly as at dinner time.  That way, you can take your time and carry each process out with care and a little bit of extra love, which will all tell when it comes to the eating.  At dinner time, just switch the oven back on, pop the casserole dish back in and give it a half hour to heat up.  In the meantime you can be cooking the rice and everything will happen in a relaxed and easy manner.  Perfect.

The end result is not a saucy, wet curry - but a hearty, filling curry that is best eaten with rice and maybe some poppadoms with chutney.  Definitely not a naan bread, dipping style kind of curry.  It is also quite light on the tummy from a fat point of view, as British rose veal is naturally very lean and no extra yoghurt or cream goes in.  However, it definitely isn't light on the tummy from a spices point of view!  So many of the spices used here are good for you in various ways, however, that instead of leaving you feeling heavy and sluggish, this curry can leave you feeling rather energised and you can almost feel it doing you good.

As the recipe stands, the curry is not a spicy hot one.  There is very little actual chilli goes into it - just a pinch of red chilli flakes and however much there is in the curry powder and Garam Masala.  So, if you like your curries rather more in the nose-meltingly spicy range, you might need to up the quantities of chilli flakes you add.

Also, please don't be tempted to drop the jaggery goor or brown sugar at the end of the curry.  The sugar is quite fundamental to the sweet/bitter flavour balance of the spices and without the added sugar, the curry might taste too bitter to your palate.  You can always add the sugar to taste and if you like it with less, or want to add more, then go ahead!  Everyone's taste buds differ.

I thoroughly enjoyed creating this curry - and I hope you enjoy it too.

I'm really quite proud to announce that this recipe has been awarded eRecipe.com's "Recipe of the Day"!




BRITISH ROSE VEAL & CAULIFLOWER DHANSAK   (serves 3-4)

Ingredients :

1.5 tsp whole cumin seeds
1 tsp mustard seeds
0.5 tsp fennel seeds
1.5 tsp ground coriander
0.5 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground fenugreek
1 tsp turmeric
1 tsp ground ginger
3 tsp mild curry powder
a pinch of red chilli flakes
2 tbsp groundnut oil
500g British rose veal, trimmed and cut into cubes
2 cloves garlic, chopped
5 baby onions, peeled & halved
1 large onion, chopped finely
1 tomato, chopped
1 potato, peeled and cut into cubes (a waxy potato such as Jelly is best)
1 baby cauliflower, divided into eight pieces
500ml veal stock
3 tbsp red lentils
1 heaped tsp Garam Masala
1 tbsp dried fenugreek leaves
1 tsp jaggery goor, or light brown sugar.

Method :

1.  To begin with, make the spice mix by taking a small frying pan and adding the cumin seeds, mustard seeds and fennel seeds.  Dry fry the seeds until they are toasty, slightly coloured and fragrant.  Decant them into a pestle & mortar and grind them into powder.  Add the ground coriander, ground cinnamon, ground fenugreek, ground turmeric, ground ginger, curry powder and chilli flakes and mix to combine.  Set this mixture aside.

2.  Take a large high sided frying pan and add the oil over a high heat.  Once the oil is smoking hot, gently add the veal pieces and fry until caramelised on at least two sides.  Decant, using a slotted spoon, into a casserole dish (with a lid) and add the potato and cauliflower to the dish.

3.  Add the onion, baby onions and garlic to the pan and season with a pinch of sea salt and a good quantity of freshly ground black pepper.  Cook slowly over a moderate heat until the chopped onion is transparent but a light golden colour and just beginning to caramelise on the edges.  Beware of burning the garlic, so don't try to hurry this process by increasing the heat.

4.  Add the tomato and cook for a few moments to soften.

5.  Add the spice mix and stir to combine.  Cook, stirring often, for 3-4 minutes until the raw edge has gone and the spices are smelling fragrant.

6.  Add the veal stock and stir to combine.

7.  Add the lentils, fenugreek leaves, Garam Masala and jaggery (or sugar).  Stir to combine, then once the sauce begins to thicken, taste for seasoning and add more if necessary.

8.  Decant the sauce into the casserole dish and stir gently to make sure everything is coated.

9.  Add the lid and place into a pre-heated oven at 160degC/325degF/Gas 3 for 2 hours.

10.  Once the two hours are up, remove the lid and very gently stir the contents.  If necessary, add a little more boiling water to loosen the sauce - and serve with steamed basmati rice.

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Tonight's dinner : Simon Hopkinson I might love you ...

Why this sudden devotion to Simon Hopkinson (he of "Simon Hopkinson Cooks" on the t.v.)?  Two words : Piedmontese Peppers.  I'd seen him make them on his t.v. programme and saw how much he enjoyed them and was attracted to the idea from way back then.  So when I had tomatoes and peppers in the same space, both looking for a job to do, I remembered the recipe.

This evening's dinner consisted of a gammon joint, pot roasted slowly in apple juice with a bouquet garni and black pepper, along with Piedmontese Peppers (half a capsicum pepper, with slices of garlic, half a tomato, salt & pepper and rapeseed - or olive - oil), almondy green beans, steamed carrots and potatoes, with gravy.

Those Piedmontese Peppers.  Well, I can't remember the last time I ate something that so rattled my cage with delight in the way these did.  The only trouble was - I was the only one!  Hubby wasn't keen on the skins of either the peppers or the tomatoes, although he liked the flavours apart from too much garlic.  He felt the garlic clashed terribly with the gammon.  Son & heir didn't even try his pepper, having had a little taste of the anchovy on top.  I was SO disappointed about that.

So.  The next capsicum pepper I get, is going to be made into Piedmontese Peppers and I'm going to eat them on a socking great chunk of toasted ciabatta for a totally awesome and amazing lunch.  Then I'll blog them - and try not to go on .. and on .. and on .. about how gorgeous they are.

Aside from that, the meat was tender and luscious - just so juicy, from being slow cooked in the apple juice.

It was the first time I'd made the almondy green beans, too.  It's a bit of a shame that I chose the same day to make the peppers, as without them overshadowing the beans, I'd have been waxing lyrical about how gorgeous the beans were!  Cooked normally (in boiling salted water), when you drain them, you melt a big old knob of butter in the hot pan then add the toasted almonds (I toasted them first in the same pan), put the beans back and warm them through over a low heat.  Gosh but they were good!

With the Vegibox's fabulous carrots which are so mild and sweet and their lovely robust potatoes, everything about this evening's meal just hit the spot with me.  It's just as well somebody liked it all!

Tonight's dinner : BBQ Sausages, cornbread and salad

I haven't made cornbread for ages - but suddenly had a mad fancy for it.  Hence when The Vegibox delivered a couple of lovely chunky cobs of corn, it seemed like the perfect time.

Along with the corn, this week, they also delivered a bag of delicious salad leaves and some deep scarlet salad tomatoes.

Well, the menu just wrote itself after that.  Lovely chunky pork sausages coated in our favourite Mic's Chilli El Loco BBQ sauce.  Happy days!

So, the corn went into the cornbread which son & heir loved.  The salad leaves and tomato went into a little side salad (and really were a cut above anything you'll ever get from a supermarket) - and the gorgeous sausages were basted regularly with the BBQ sauce .. a match made in heaven.