Recipe: Chicken on the bone - Pomodoro

Nearly forgot this, Made a pot of leek and potato soup at the weekend that went down well with Charlie and Holly who made home made cheese croutons to go with it.

Also made a quick Chicken Pomodoro with thigh and leg pieces, using chicken with the bone still in really does intensify the flavour, so this is what you'll need, and this was for three adults and two ravenous kids who really like their chicken.

3 or 4 (each) thigh and leg pieces
1 large or two small onions
Mushrooms optional
2 or 3 mixed peppers
handful of cherry or other small tomatoes
Lemon zest
Dried Bay leave
Salt
Thyme
Olive oil
Ready pack of Pomodoro
1/4 to 1/2 cup of chicken stock

I started off adding a tablespoon or two to the pan and browning in batches and all over, the chicken pieces .











While cooking the chicken I add the lemon zest, thyme and bay leaves along with some Maldon salt to a grinder or you can cheat and buy Jamie Olivers' all in one grinder  and grind this in while browning the chicken.  Once browned, remove the chicken from the pan an set aside.





Peel and roughly chop your onions add to the pan and start to sweat down for about 5 minutes, adding a touch more olive oil if required.

Roughly deseed your peppers and slice longways and then in half, chunky but manageable. Add to pan once onions have started to turn soft. After about two minutes frying the peppers with the onions










and if  using mushrooms, again roughly chop and again keeping thick as you don't want these or the peppers to turn to mush, add to the pan and stir for a couple of minutes browning the mushrooms.

Now, it's time to return the chicken to the pan along with a carton of Pomodoro, and the handful of cherry tomatoes and if necessary a 1/4 to 1/2 a cup of chicken stock, (you won't always need the stock, so you need to decide for yourself).








Cover with lid and place in a pr-heated oven, about 160- 170 degrees and cook for thirty minutes to finish of the chicken.  After thirty minutes remove the lid and let the skin roast on top of the chicken.  Serve the dish up on the table with chunky bread and let folks dip in for meat, veg and ju... enjoy

Seared Plaice with Spicy Butter Beans

Saw this on the telly, so thought I would give it a try,

You'll need a couple of good size plaice fillets, I asked the chap on the fish counter just to de-skin them for me to save time, they are always happy to accommodate.

Also to save time I used tin butter beans too, cuts down on the cooking time (and the scum - never like scum when cooking)

So;

1/2 a red onion sliced and diced
1 red chilli almost de-seeded (the recipe on the telly called for de-seeded- but this is my version)
Rind of half a lemon
1 garlic glove crushed
4 teaspons of grated ginger
Sprig of Thyme
3  Table spoons of chopped Dill
2 tins of butter beans
1 or two tablespoons of creme fraiche
400 ml of chicken stock


Prepare your herbs 

Cook your butter beans with a sprig or two of Thyme and I drain and wash the tinned butter beans and  cook them in the chicken stock 

Just before the butter beans are cooked, add the onion, chilli, ginger and garlic to a good sized pan with a couple of table spoons of vegetable oil and cook gently for a couple of minutes.  Don't let the onions garlic brown. 

Add the butter beans and the stock to the pan and stir to combine the beans with the herbs. Add two table spoons of the chopped dill to the pan and stir.

Add the creme fraiche and stir and allow to gently cook through 

 Add a couple of tablespoons of vegetable oil to a non stick pan and add the plaice fillets.  As yo can see I cut the fillets down to more manageable sizes, and sear on one side for two minutes.  Use a pallet knife to turn over and squeeze the juice from a half a lemon on top, remove from heat after 1 minute







Spoon the butter beans and sauce onto a plate and serve the plaice fillets on top sprinkle with more chopped dill

Enjoy

Don't forget to clean the hob afterwards 

original recipe; BBC Saturday kitchen 

Roast Lamb with a little kick

I have to say that I am not the greatest fan of lamb but I do cook it regularly as Ishbel and the kids and grand kids love it, so this is just one recipe for you to try, simple and easy.

This is only for Ishbel and myself today (Sunday 12th November)  so it's a half leg of lamb.

Things you will need:

half leg of fresh lamb

Half a leg of lamb or bigger if there are more of you, just the cooking time that you need to increase,
Couple of cloves of garlic could go up to 4 for a bigger leg
Salt and Pepper
Extra Virgin Olive oil

Assorted herbs  (if available) I went to the shops this morning and forgot to get fresh coriander and thyme which is what I would usually use but dried herbs are fine and if you have some mixed herbs a teaspoon of them will do

and for the little kick

* Coriander seeds about half to one full teaspoon (half a teaspoon for a half a leg) and a dash of pepper

Crush down the coriander seeds with mortar and pestle leave a little bit grainy
Add the garlic cloves and a pinch of salt and mix into the coriander seeds while dribbling in olive oil

Crushed coriander seed, garlic Extra Virgin oil,
and herbs

Add in fresh or dry herbs and give a good mix.

While I have been doing that the leg of lamb has been resting in the kitchen, out of the fridge.

Take the concoction and rub all over the joint, really working it in.  Cover with foil and allow to marinade for a couple of hours.

Herb and Garlic Marinade 

If you have bought your lamb fresh from the butcher ask him how long and for what temperature you should cook it but I would normally do it in my fan oven for about 55 mins per kilo at 180 degrees C (350 degrees F). As with all roasts if you check about 45 mins in with a skewer to see how the juices are; red, pink, clear, this gives you an idea on the cooking time and of course some of you may like it pink some may like it

well done like Ishbel the philistine!

Today, this one is just under a Kilo so, 50 - 55 minutes this should be ample time to prepare and cook your potatoes and veg.

Cooked Leg 

Once you have cooked it for the time you want take out and rest for 10 to 15 minutes this does work and makes for easier carving.

For the gravy: Pour a large glass of red wine into the pan and place on the hob . Bring to the boil burning off the alcohol and deglaze the pan,


reduce the heat as soon as it starts to bubble.  Best way to tell this, is once the wine starts to heat, have a sniff you will smell the alcohol and it will also be slightly vinegary to the scent, once this has gone , probably just after being brought to the boil you will have lost the nose wrinkling smell of the wine, you can add a good lamb stock to give  a great tasting gravy.

* If you don't want the kick use everything above except the crushed coriander seeds, still just as good!

On the plate with mash, Roast Parsnips and baby
roast swede

On-line conversion Chart  for oven temperatures



Total Prep time:

Marinade 15 mins

Veg Prep including peeling spuds: 15 Mins

Cooking time (for this size joint) 55 mins

Gravy deglaze and prep (while joint resting) 10 - 12 mins