Category: chicken

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chicken cumin fennel food tomato

whole barbecue chicken

whole barbecue chicken

I love being invited to barbecues, especially for the social aspect. But I do experience a twinge of disappointment when it’s just sausages and burgers from Iceland on offer. All food does taste better outside it’s true, but it’s nice to have something a bit different. How about a whole lamb? How about a whole chicken?

I’ve used Jamie Oliver’s recipe for barbecue sauce from Jamie at Home here, and it’s an absolute cracker. The kicker is the orange juice, it really makes it. Do give it a whirl, it’s amazing. I decided to brine the chicken as I’m bit obssessed with it lately, but you can skip this if you want. You get the tenderest meat from it though.

Whole barbecued chicken (serves 8):

2kg chicken, the best you can afford

1 heaped tablespoon cumin seeds

1 heaped tablespoon fennel seeds

5 cloves

A bunch of thyme, leaves picked

A bunch of rosemary, leaves picked (keep a sprig back for later)

Zest and juice of 1 orange

1 bulb of garlic, broken into cloves and peeled

4 heaped teaspoons paprika

6 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

150ml tomato ketchup

8 tablespoons olive oil

10 bay leaves

  • Prepare an 8% brine solution. Dunk the chicken in it and soak for at least 6 hours.
  • After this time, remove the chicken from the water and spatchcock it. To do this, cut down the backbone with kitchen scissors and wipe the innards down. Place it right way up and apply a little pressure to the breast, cracking it slightly. It should open like a book. Spear it in place with two skewers crossing over. The spatchcocking will cook it quicker and the skewers keep its shape while it cooks. If you have time dry the chicken out uncovered in the fridge overnight.
  • Preheat the oven to 180°C. To make the marinade grind together all the spices with some salt and pepper. Chop the herbs and orange finely and mix that in. Add the rest of the ingredients and mix thoroughly. Smother the chicken all over with the marinade and bung on a baking tray in the oven. After it’s been in the oven for 30 minutes, light the barbecue.
  • Cook the chicken for an hour or until the internal temperature reaches 74°C. (For best results, use a meat thermometer).
  • Transfer the whole chicken to the barbecue and sear it well one side. As it cooks use a rosemary sprig to baste it with leftover sauce from your tray. Flip it over and when done, leave to rest on a plate. While it rests, pop the baking tray on the barbecue and let the heat sizzle the leftover marinade and get stickier. Pour this into a jug and serve with the chicken. I recommend plonking on the table and letting everyone have at it like vultures!
Categories
bacon bread chicken food lettuce onion

chicken and bacon salad

It’s a real mothership this one, a monster among salads. I’ve piled it here on to a huge plate so everyone can help themselves. The name undersells it somewhat. The brining of the chicken is not vital, but will give lots of moisture to the final dish.

Chicken and bacon salad (serves 4 – 6 with no other accompaniments):

4 chicken breasts, sliced into fingery pieces

2 tablespoons golden syrup

1 star anise

3 cloves

1 red onion, diced

2 tablespoons white wine vinegar

4 rashers of bacon, sliced into strips

Half a french stick

2 tablespoons pumpkin seeds

2 little gems lettuces, broken up

Handful of other interesting leaves, something bitter is good

4 tablespoons mayonnaise

Splash of milk

Heavy-handed dash of Worcestershire sauce

Couple of tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil

  1. Prepare a brine of 8% salt solution, adding the syrup, star anise and cloves. Plop the chicken in and soak for at least 4 hours. Drain well and rinse under cold water.
  2. Cover the onion in vinegar and a sprinkle of salt and leave to marinate while you get on with the rest. Get the oven on 180°C.
  3. Begin to fry the bacon in batches so the pan isn’t crowding until browned and crisp, draining on kitchen roll as you go. Once this lot’s done make a start on frying the chicken until cooked through.
  4. Tear up the bread, and toss in a baking tray with salt, pepper, oil and the pumpkin seeds. Roast in the oven for 10 minutes.
  5. Mix the mayonnaise, Worcestershire sauce and oil together, adding milk if necessary to make a gloopy dressing. Check for seasoning too.
  6. Scrunch up the onions to drain the liquid off, then combine the chicken, bacon, bread and seeds with the lettuce. Drizzle over the sauce and toss well to combine.
Categories
balsamic vinegar chicken food paprika potatoes

balsamic chicken with roasted new potatoes

I was keen to try out some Merchant Gourmet balsamic syrup I’d got hold of and chicken skewers seemed like just the thing. I marinated them for an hour and grilled them on each side. Unfortunately they were a little overdone and tough. It didn’t lend a lot of taste to the meat either – perhaps I should’ve basted again while cooking. A bit disappointing.

One the potatoes however it was smash – sweet and sharp, just the job.

(Served here with sweet and sour peppers)

Balsamic chicken with roasted new potatoes:

For the chicken:

2 chicken breasts, sliced

2 tablespoons Merchant Gourmet balsamic syrup

For the potatoes:

500g new potatoes

1 garlic clove, bashed

Couple of tablespoons olive oil

2 tablespoons Merchant Gourmet balsamic syrup

  1. Marinate the chicken breasts in the syrup for at least an hour.
  2. Parboil the potatoes for ten minutes until knife tender. Preheat the oven to 200°C.
  3. Squish the potatoes slightly with the end of a rolling pin to open them up. Drizzle the potatoes in oil, season well with sea salt and coat with balsamic syrup. Place into the oven for 15 – 20 minutes until crisp.
  4. Season the chicken and place under a hot grill. Cook on both sides until done. Serve with potatoes and sweet and sour peppers.
Categories
carrots chicken courgettes food rice stock

thai rice soup with chicken

It was one of ‘those’ Mondays; very little in the cupboard and mouths to feed. What I did have however, was some Tilda Stir Fry Thai Green rice and one of Jo Pratt’s recipe cards from a recent cookalong. Using that as a starting point I knocked up a ten min din which was slurpy, filling and had that tickle of heat rolling through your mouth and leaving you with a warm feeling in your belly.

The Tilda rice helpfully skips all the pastes and mounds of herbs and spices, which gives it a real authentic taste. It may sound like a complete shill but I believe in the product – we’re all busy people and these kinds of ethical prepared foods give us handy shortcuts. Sometimes you have the time, and you can bash down a Thai paste and simmer the ingredients gently. Sometimes you don’t and that’s where these come in.

I decided to use a yaki soba style sauce to enrich the broth, and yanked courgettes and carrots from the garden for veg. However my coriander was looking decidedly ropey and attempting to go to seed, so rather than use the leaves I went for a coriander “bouquet garni”, tying some stalks together and leaving it in the soup to give out flavour as it cooks. I’d prefer to use the greenery but it’ll do in a pinch.

(PS. Note the oversize teacup serving dish. I really must get around to buying Chinese style soup bowls – I have the spoons but no bowls!)

Thai rice soup with chicken:

2 chicken breasts, diced

2 cloves garlic, finely sliced

1 litre chicken stock

1 tablespoon chilli dipping sauce

1 pack Tilda Thai Green Rice

1 medium carrot, cut into matchsticks

1 medium courgette, cut into matchsticks

Bunch of coriander stalks, tied into a bundle

1 small red onion, cut into rings

Sesame oil

For the yaki soba sauce:

100ml light soy sauce

1 tablespoon dark soy sauce

1 teaspoon sugar

1 teaspoon salt

  1. Get the yaki soba sauce on: put all the ingredients in a saucepan and bring to the boil. Whack down to low and allow to reduce gently until syrupy. Put to one side.
  2. Heat a little oil in a wok until smoking and add the chicken. Stir fry quickly until the chicken is white all over, then add the garlic. Fry for another 30 seconds and add the stock and chilli sauce.
  3. After bringing the stock to the boil add the carrot and rice. Continue to cook for another minute and then add the courgette, ½ the yaki soba sauce, coriander bunch and rice. Bring back to the boil and simmer for another few minutes until the chicken is cooked through. Taste to see if it needs more yaki soba sauce (if not this can be kept refrigerated for another day).
  4. Remove the coriander and serve in bowls, garnished with onion and a few drops of sesame oil.
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