Category: Poultry

Easy grilled chicken

.Reading time 2 minutes.

Serves: 4

This is a pretty awesome marinade.

Though it needs context.

With so much going on, planning more elaborate meals has escaped us of late. Indeed, we’ve been eating out with friends and family, doing work functions, finding little time to plan and shop ahead.

Which brings us to Friday night where, having spent the week up and down calorie and meal-wise and rarely in the kitchen, a grilled piece of chicken and a salad is almost all we want. You know, wanting to gain a small footing on the healthy boat before the inevitable weekend of cheese and wine and goodness.

Grilled chicken seems the option

But grilled chicken? It’s Friday after all, right?!

So introducing this marinade.

The pretense that marinade means nothing on chicken when it comes to the searing BBQ is completely lost on this marinade. A piece of bland chicken breast you are most definitely not left with.

Closer to a pork rib.

It ain’t subtle yet underneath it’s (healthy) chicken. And underneath that it’s Friday night, so you sort of need better than a bland chicken breast. Life is just too short.

Baste the chicken breast on the BBQ as you go, do some potatoes and a salad and nobody would know this was a last minute hack. Plus it’s healthy and it tastes pretty amazing and… it’s Friday!

Ingredients

¼ cup balsamic vinegar
Juice of 1 lemon
2 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp Dijon mustard
2 tbsp brown sugar, packed
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
2 cloves garlic, minced
½ tsp dried thyme
½ tsp dried oregano
¼ tsp dried rosemary
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Chicken

4 chicken breasts
2 tbsp chopped fresh parsley leaves to serve

Method

  1. Slice the chicken breasts in half length-ways.
  2. Combine the marinade ingredients in a bowl and marinade the chicken; we used a large ziplock back. Refrigerate for at least an hour or overnight, mixing the chicken about every so often.
  3. Over a hot grill, cook the chicken, marinating with the remaining sauce.
  4. Set aside the chicken for a few minutes once cooked, slice and serve, sprinkled with the parsley.
  5. It’s Friday!

Chicken with harissa and tomatoes

.Reading time 2 minutes.

Serves: 4

We are backwards when it comes to cooking effort throughout the week.

My understanding is that Monday is that day when you should keep it super simple; first day back at work and last thing you want to do it spend two hours in the kitchen.

Whereas for us – well me at least – nothing could be better than spending time in the kitchen on a Monday night, free from the shackles of ‘the man’. Easy dishes are instead left for later in the week when you’re priorities are changing; it’s almost Thursday, you’re organising the weekend, the latest Batchelor has been uploaded to TenPlay for streaming.

No time to cook.

Which is where this sweet little number comes in.

I know it looks simple and it is. I know it looks a bit too simple, though it’s not.

Served with some steamed green beans and some baby potatoes, wow. Indeed, anything you served this with – from couscous to a green salad to polenta – would only make it more amazing; once the tomatoes break down and combine with the oregano and harissa, you have one tasty – and healthy – meal on your hands.

Whether you do it Monday or Wednesday, this is a tick.

Ingredients

4 skinless chicken breasts
2 tsp harissa
1 tsp olive oil
1 tsp dried oregano
250g pack cherry tomatoes
Handful olives (kalamatas or similar)

Method

  1. Heat the oven to 200c. Put the chicken in a medium roasting tray, then rub with harissa, oil and oregano.
  2. Cover with foil and roast for 5 minutes then remove the foil and add the cherry tomatoes and olives to the tray. Roast for 10 minutes or more until the tomato skins start to split and the chicken is cooked through.

Healthy Quinoa Chicken Curry Bowls

.Reading time 1 minute.

Serves: 6

This is a great recipe.

Apart from the obvious – being healthy (315 calories a serve!) – they’re a complete finger to winter. With the accouterments, you’re serving a rich, spicy, fun, colourful bowl of goodness.

You just want to keep eating and eating.

We served with toasted slivered almonds, sliced spring onions and coriander and the recipe made plenty to be served the next night.

Easy to prep, awesome to eat, do it!

Ingredients

1 tbsp olive oil
1 cup diced onions
500gm boneless skinless chicken thighs (we used breasts which were just fine)
2 tbsp curry paste (we used rogan josh)
2 tsp garam masala
1 tbsp freshly grated ginger
3 cloves garlic
2 cups tomato puree
2 cups chicken broth
3 cups diced eggplant (peel removed)
3 cups diced fresh tomatoes
1 cup uncooked quinoa
Toasted almonds, coriander and spring onions

Method

  1. Heat the olive oil in a deep pan over medium high heat. Add the onions and saute for 2-3 minutes until soft and fragrant. Add the chicken, curry paste, garam masala, ginger, and garlic. Stir fry for another 3-5 minutes to get the chicken pieces browned.
  2. Add the tomato puree, broth, eggplant, tomatoes, and quinoa. Cover and simmer for 15-20 minutes or until the quinoa is cooked; we continued to reduce to give it a thicker, saucy texture.
  3. Serve in big bowls topped with the toasted almonds, coriander and spring onions.

Spinach (Palak) Chicken Curry

.Reading time 3 minutes.

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Nat is a genius! 
Serves: 4

Yes, yes, yes!

Another curry win. Not just an incremental win as if you’ve found a bit more fire in a Rogan Josh, but a win like we’ve found a whole new door.

Great yet subtle heat, the spinach, the whole thing.

Cooked by Nat, if you love your Indian, this authentic curry is a no-brainer.

It is like unlocking some whole new level on a game.

And as if you needed anything more to compel you… it’s healthy!

Move! (And double it like we did, though this recipe is for one serve.)

So, this traditional recipe asks for Ginger Garlic Paste. I have kept this true in the recipe, though it is half minced garlic, half grated ginger and some seasoning. Don’t get too excited.

And we have adjusted the ingredients and method to make sense!

Ingredients

200gm spinach
1kg chicken thigh (we used breast which was just fine: healthy), cut into 3cm pieces
¼ cup fat free yogurt
1 ½ tbsp ground coriander
1 tsp garam masala
¼ turmeric
1 ½ tsp salt
1 ½ tbsp cayenne
3 tbsp ginger garlic paste (half for the marinade, half for the cooking)
2  tbsp canola oil
1 onion, diced
1 tsp cumin seed
2 roma tomatoes, diced
1 cinnamon stick
2 cloves
1 cardamom pod, bruised
1 bay leaf (or 2 dry)

Method

  1. Marinate the chicken with the yogurt, salt, turmeric, cayenne, 1 ½ ginger garlic paste, garam masala and coriander for 30 minutes.
  2. In a pan, heat the oil over a medium heat and add the cumin seeds, cinnamon stick, cloves, cardamom and bay leaf and saute until aromatic; we used a muslin cloth to tie the cinnamon stick, cloves and cardamom and would suggest you do the same.
  3. Add the onions and cook until soft.
  4. Add the remaining (1 ½) ginger garlic paste and cook for a further minute.
  5. Add tomatoes and cooked until it soft and mushy.
  6. Add marinated chicken, half a cup of water and cook, covered, until cooked. Stir frequently.
  7. Remove the cover and reduce to a gravy.
  8. Meanwhile, blanch the spinach and chop finely.
  9. When when the chicken is ready, add the spinach for a minute or two.
  10. Serve with basmati rice.
  11. Genius!

Vietnamese Chicken Salad

.Reading time 1 minute.

 

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Fresh, tasty, easy, healthy… 

Serves: 4

This Vietnamese Chicken Salad from Jill Dupleix really does have the essential flavours and kicks and yet takes less than half an hour to prep.

It tastes sensational, what with its simple nuoc cham relish undertone.

It has bite, it presents beautifully and it is crazy healthy.

Do a batch for your weekday lunches and live the good life!

Ingredients

2 chicken breasts
1 carrot, peeled
3 tbsp rice vinegar or lime juice
1 tsp sugar
1 garlic clove, crushed
Sea salt and pepper
3 shallots, finely sliced
Half a cucumber, peeled
Dash of sesame or vegetable oil
1 tbsp Thai fish sauce
3 tbsp mint or coriander leaves
½ mild red chilli, finely sliced
2 tbsp roasted peanuts
1 lime, quartered

Method

  1. Poach the chicken in simmering salted water for 20 minutes, then drain and leave to cool (or use left-over cooked chicken). Cut the carrot into 10cm sections, finely slice lengthwise then cut into matchsticks. Mix the vinegar or lime juice with the sugar, garlic, salt and pepper, toss with the sliced shallots and carrot and set aside for 10 mins.
  2. Roughly shred the chicken. Cut the cucumber in half lengthwise and finely slice. Combine the chicken, cucumber, sesame oil, fish sauce, mint and chilli with the shallots, carrots and their dressing, and toss lightly.
  3. Roughly crush the peanuts and scatter over the top. Serve with lime wedges.

Chicken Balti Pies

.Reading time 2 minutes.

Serves: 4

An interesting story behind these pies.

They were invented by an English food company, Shire Foods in 1997. Sold at football games, sales of the pies exploded; according to Wikipedia, the pies have a cult status and clubs including Manchester have Shire Foods as their exclusive pie supplier.

Any why not?!

Anyone who brings together a spicy chicken curry and puff pastry is a genius. Genius, just like these pies.

Which of course begs the question, why aren’t all curries covered in pastry?

Start with this pie and you’ll ask the same question.

(The original recipe asked to make individual pies. We made one large pie. Obviously, up to you so have kept the pastry/pie step pretty loose…)

Ingredients

4 tbsp vegetable oil
1 onion, thinly sliced
2 tsp finely grated ginger
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground coriander
½ tsp chilli powder
½ tsp ground turmeric
3 tsp garam masala
4 cardamom pods
1kg chicken thigh cut into 3 cm pieces
2 tbsp tomato paste
1 long green chilli, deseeded, finely chopped
10 curry leaves
375ml (1 ½ cups) chicken stock
1 tbsp plain flour
6 sheets puff pastry
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 tsp nigella seeds
Buttered peas and ketchup to serve

Method

  1. Heat oil in a pan over medium heat. Add onion and cook, stirring, for 5 minutes or until softened. Stir in the ginger and garlic and cook for another 2 minutes. Add spices and stir for 1 minute, then add the chicken, tomato paste and chilli and cook, stirring to coat in spices for 6 minutes or until the chicken is browned all over.
  2. Add curry leaves and stock and bring to a simmer. Cook until the stock has almost completely reduced; you are ultimately after a thick pie gravy. Add flour and stir for 1 minute until thickened. Remove from the heat and allow to cool.
  3. Preheat the oven to 180c. Line your pie trays or casserole dish with puff pastry; fill with the pie mixture. Complete your pie by covering and sealing with the remaining puff pastry. Brush with the egg wash and scatter with nigella seeds.
  4. Bake for 20 minutes or until golden.
  5. BOOM!

Jamie Oliver’s Couscous Stuffed Roast Chicken

.Reading time 2 minutes.

 

Serves: 4

This roast chicken is on a whole other level and a quick read through the ingredients will tell you why.

It looks and tastes dramatic. Real Jamie sort of stuff. The filling forms such a fabulous base for the chicken – so much so that you almost don’t need a side.

Though an orange, olive and onion salad couldn’t hurt!

Enjoy as much as I did.

Ingredients

1 whole chicken
1 cup couscous
Zest and juice of an orange
Zest and juice of a lemon, reserving the lemon halves
2 handfuls of pistachios, or any nut,  roughly chopped
2 handfuls of dried blueberries, or any dried fruit
1 large handful of fresh mint and parsley, plus a little extra to throw on top, roughly chopped
2 tbsp olive oil, plus more to coat chicken
1 tsp fennel seeds
1 tsp coriander seeds
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
2 cardamon seeds
1 tsp black peppercorns
1 tsp salt

Method

  1. Preheat the oven to 180c.
  2. Put the couscous, orange and lemon zest and juice, dried fruit, nuts and fresh herbs in a bowl. Add 2 tablespoons olive oil and half a cup of warm water and mix everything together.
  3. With a mortar and pestle or spice blender, pound all the spices with the salt until you have a powder.
  4. Stuff the bird with the couscous mixture. Block the cavity with lemon halves that you have squeezed the juice from. This will keep the couscous from falling out of the chicken.
  5. Rub the chicken with a little olive oil and all of the spice mixture. Throw on the rest of the fresh herb mixture.
  6. Roast the chicken for an hour or so until a thermometer reads 70c. Let it rest for 10-15 minutes before carving.

Stuffed Turkey Breast (and Turkey Subs)

.Reading time 6 minutes.

Serves: 4 -8 per breast, depending on breast size

Christmas was always a pretty big deal in my family, something consistent with most families I guess.

My mother being an excellent – and calm – cook, would prepare the same amazing turkey lunch each year, remit with the world’s best stuffing, smooth, buttery mash, peas, gravy, ham and plenty of cranberry sauce. You left the table stuffed and poorly on your feet.

But the best part of this lunch wasn’t the lunch.

It was dinner.

Because after a few hours of playing with your toys and snoozing, it was time for turkey subs, an American invention my father would take control off.

Whoever invented turkey subs was a genius, because it is Christmas lunch all over again, except this time, served in a pile on a piece of bread. Think of it like Christmas Lunch Express™ but at dinner time.

And so with all this background, we arrive at this recipe.

For the past 10 years, I have done this Martha Stewart stuffed turkey breast rather than a whole turkey. A variety of reasons for this including that the breast is easier to cook and the breast really is what everyone wants right?

It also travels better than a whole cooked bird, is easier to slice the next day into sandwiches or a salad and well… it’s just easier and nobody complains or that I am aware of.

You could well add some chilli flakes to this dish, maybe some fennel seeds. The flavour by no means overwhelms and is just a subtle background flavour.

Turkey subs

Turkey subs simply make Christmas for me. They are your pat on the back that all your preparation and cooking and effort has been worth it and you can sit back with a vino and toast the end of the year.

To make the sub, start with a slice of bread for each person and then layer:

Ingredients

1kg turkey breast
Coarse Salt and Pepper
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature

Sausage and Sour Cherry Stuffing

2 cups bread cubes from load of rustic
2 tbs olive oil
1 small red onion, peeled and very thinly sliced (about ¾ cup)
2 small garlic cloves, finely chopped
Coarse salt and pepper
200g sweet Italian sausage, casings removed
1/3 cup coarsely chopped dried sour cherries
1 tsp finely chopped fresh rosemary
1/3 cup chicken stock
3 tbsp coarsely chopped fresh flat leaf parsley

For the Sausage and Sour Cherry Stuffing

  1. Toast the bread in a toaster or grill until golden. Allow to cool.
  2. Make the stuffing: Set a large frypan over medium-high heat until hot, then heat the oil.
  3. Add onion and garlic, and season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until onion is translucent, about 3 minutes. Add sausage and cook, breaking it up with the back of a spoon, until cooked through, about 3 minutes. Stir in cherries and rosemary, and cook 1 minute more.
  4. Pour in stock and stir to combine, then stir in bread, making sure all parts are moistened with liquid. Remove from heat and stir in parsley. Adjust seasoning as desired.

For the stuffed turkey breast

  1. Heat oven to 200c.
  2. To butterfly the turkey, use a slicing knife and your fingers to remove skin from breast, reserving skin. Turn the breast over (so the side that had the skin is facing down), and lay it flat on the cutting board. Holding the blade of the knife parallel to the board, about halfway down, slice into the thickest portion of the breast. Cut along the length of the breast, but not all the way through. Unfold so the turkey opens like a book. Remove the tough piece of cartilage. Cover with a piece of plastic wrap and pound with a meat mallet until the turkey is of uniform thickness (about 1/2 inch). Season with salt and pepper.
  3. Spread stuffing evenly (about 2cm thick) over turkey, leaving a 3cm border. Starting with one short end, roll into a log, completely enclosing the stuffing, and wrap the reserved skin around the breast, over the seam. Season all over with salt and pepper. Roll in a piece of cheesecloth, and secure both ends with kitchen twine; if you don’t have a cheesecloth, use twine all over as I do. Rub butter evenly all over cloth.
  4. Roast on a rimmed baking sheet until an instant-read thermometer inserted in the middle registers 70 degrees, 40 to 50 minutes. Let rest for 10 minutes (the internal temperature should rise to 75 degrees).
  5. Remove cheesecloth and twine, then place turkey on a cutting board and slice crosswise about 2cm thick.

Dry Sri Lankan Chicken Curry

.Reading time 3 minutes.
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One of the best curries we have cooked.

Serves: 6 – 8

When you stumble onto a curry as good as this, it is like hitting a home run.

Because whilst I type of plenty of really good and often fantastic recipes, outstanding recipes are much rarer. And this is one of them.

It didn’t start life as a dry curry – and of course by dry, it simply means without lots of gravy – though that is pretty much the genius of the whole thing.

Whereas the original recipe asked for 40 minutes of slow simmering, we had it on for at least three hours.  Closer to four I think.

And whereas the original asked for coconut cream and two slices of lemon rind right at the end, we skipped this. And thank god we did.

After such a long cooking time, the chicken is literally falling apart. The texture, the flavor is so warm and deep, it is impossible not to grin. You realise you have struck gold.

But the next morning on some soy-linseed toast?

You really will thank me later on this one.

Ingredients

1.5kg skinless chicken thighs, cut into 2cm pieces
10 curry leaves
2 onions
2 tsp garlic, crushed
2 tsp fresh ginger, grated
2 tbsp canola oil
1 tsp chilli powder
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground turmeric
1 tbsp ground coriander
2 tsp paprika
½ tsp salt
2 tbsp white vinegar
2 tomatoes, diced
6 cardamom pods, bruised and cracked open
1 cinnamon stick
2 slices lemon rind
½ c coconut milk

Method

  1. Make a sachet d’épices (a cheesecloth tied with cooking string) holding the cardamom pods and cinnamon stick; you don’t have to do this step of course, though the joy of this dish is only enhanced by the smooth sailing eating it without removing cardamom pieces as you go.
  2. Heat the oil in a large saucepan, medium heat and fry the curry leaves until they start to turn colour. Add onions, ginger and garlic and cook until soft. Add all the spices (though not the sachet d’épices (whole spices), salt, and vinegar and stir well.
  3. Add the chicken and stir to coat meat. Add the sachet d’épices (whole spices) and the tomatoes, stir and cover.
  4. Simmer on a low heat, stirring occasionally. Do not be tempted to add any water as the juices will make more than enough. Cook for two to four hours or under the sauce has really reduced and the chicken is falling apart, ensuring that the curry does not become too dry and burn.
  5. Serve with rice and then toast the next morning.

Asian Chicken & Mushroom Croquettes with Baby Cos

.Reading time 2 minutes.

Serves: 4

Wow, this is an absolute weekday cracker.

And it is Bill Granger. A man I have doubted but am now totally buying into!

I suspect that our addition of the chilli flakes was a necessary addition – and don’t hold back on the hot sauce if you like it hot – though the rest could not be doubted. Great flavor, moist and so easy to prepare.

And healthy. Seriously healthy.

Wow.

Bill, you won me over with this one. The doubt is gone – your simple cooking is a real winner!

(Double this recipe as we did; you will have the best lunch at work the next day! He claims it served 4 though it is so good and so healthy, just keep going.)

Ingredients

4 tbsp canola oil
250gm button mushrooms, stalks removed, finely chopped (or food processed as we did)
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
500gm chicken mince
1 tsp finely chopped fresh ginger (do 1 tbsp and you won’t look back)
1 tbsp light soy sauce
1 tsp sesame oil
1 tbsp chilli flakes
½ tsp freshly ground black pepper
1 or 2 heads of cos lettuce, leaves separated
1 small red onion, sliced into thin rings
Small handful of coriander leaves
Hot sauce

Method

  1. Heat a large frypan over a medium-low heat, add 1 tbsp of the oil and cook the mushrooms and garlic until nearly all the moisture has evaporated; remove the mushroom mixture from the pan and cool.
  2. Combine the mince, ginger, soy sauce, sesame oil, pepper, chilli flakes and mushroom mixture and mix well. Use 2 tbsp of the mixture at a time to role the small, football-shaped croquettes.
  3. Heat the remaining oil in the frying pan over a medium-high heat. Add the croquettes, turning occasionally for 5 – 7 minutes or until golden all over and cooked through.
  4. Serve the chicken in the lettuce leaves with a few onion rings, a small handful of coriander and a good squeeze of hot sauce.
  5. Thank me later!