Category: peppers

Categories
chicken chorizo food paprika peppers red onion

chicken and chorizo kebabs

chicken and chorizo kebabs with red onion and red pepper salad

As England melted under the usual immediate and surprising burst of sun + heat, I retreated to the paddling pool. Lovely it was too. Dinner has to feature a BBQ though. What’s in the fridge?

This is the result. A smoky and meaty BBQ skewered treat accompanied by a tangy and sweet pepper and onion salad. Marvellous. Make sure you really scorch the chorizo – the burn really accentuates the smoky flavour and encourages it to give up it’s powerful juices.

And a piece of advice when using chicken breast on the BBQ: it’s extremely likely all the juice will disappear from the breast meat before it’s cooked all the way through due to the not-so-controllable heat of the grill. Always brine poultry before barbecuing to ensure tender, juicy meat, powerful flavours and consistent cooking.

Chicken and chorizo kebabs with red pepper and red onion salad:

For the kebabs:

2 chicken breasts, sliced into strips

10cm chorizo, coarsely diced

For the salad:

1 red onion, sliced

1 red pepper

5 tablespoons red wine vinegar

1/2 teaspoon paprika

1 tablespoon chopped mint

  1. Make a 8% brine solution for the chicken. Add whatever aromatics you like to this, I used black peppercorns, a tablespoon of honey and a star anise. Leave the chicken to soak in this for at least a couple of hours and preferably more than 6.
  2. Just before you make the kebabs, get the salad started. Mix the red wine vinegar with paprika and a pinch each of sugar and salt. Leave the onion in this to tenderize and mellow.
  3. Leave the red pepper directly on the flames of the barbecue until charred all over. Seal in a freezer bag for ten minutes to steam and soften.
  4. Skewer the chorizo and chicken on to sticks and barbecue over a medium-high-heat, turning occasionally.
  5. Remove the pepper from the bag and scrape down with a spoon to remove the skin. Dice and add to the red onion and add a splash of extra virgin olive oil, and adjust the seasoning.
  6. When the chicken is cooked all the way through, serve with the salad and drizzle over the rest of the dressing left in the bowl.
Categories
egg food peppers tomato

shakshuka

An intriguing, spicy, fruity and hearty brunch-style dish from Ottolenghi’s Plenty. Pretty quick to do, and really no effort at all… no excuse not to try it!

I made it based on the Plenty recipe which is reprinted here:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2007/apr/07/foodanddrink.shopping5

Categories
food peppers

sweet and sour peppers

Peppers (bell peppers to our American cousins, and capsicums to many areas of the world) are one of my absolute favourite things in food. Left beside the salad cart with a tray of sliced peppers and a creamy mayonnaise or ranch dressing I will soon be left holding an empty bowl. It’s the freshness, the sweetness and crunchy texture I love. Yet they are still delcious when cooked, juicy and vibrant, often adding the fleck of colour that the plate of brown mince needs.

Sometimes I want the flavours of the peppers to be really enhanced, I’ve adapted this recipe of Gordon Ramsay’s to pack a real flavour punch. Tangy vinegar gives you that beautiful sour edge, and the stock provides a luscious glaze that makes them irresistible. In this recipe I don’t bother picking the thyme leaves, but rather leave a healthy bundle strapped together and tossed with the frying peppers. This way some little bits fall off and the quick frying imparts their woody aroma and you can discard the garni afterwards. If you’re ambivalent about peppers, give this one a whirl alongside some grilled meat – they really sing.

Sweet and sour peppers:

2 peppers, sliced

Bunch of thyme, bound together with string

A few tablespoons of white wine vinegar

A few tablespoons of chicken stock

  1. Get a pan really hot and add a splash of olive oil. Chuck the peppers and thyme in and get stir-frying. I prefer the peppers to be unscorched for this one, but you can let them blacken if you like.
  2. Continue frying for a couple of minutes until they start to become tender. Drizzle over some white wine vinegar and toss thoroughly.
  3. Once the vinegar has started to disappear, chuck over some chicken stock (barely enough to cover them all) and toss to coat the peppers well. Keep everything moving until everything is covered in a sticky glaze.
  4. Taste a small chunk of pepper, checking for acidity (lots of this is good) and season as necessary.
Categories
chicken food noodles peppers

chicken on crispy noodles

chicken on crispy noodles

The irrepressible Ken Hom popped up on Saturday Kitchen this week to show off a dish for Chinese New Year. He made a platter of crispy noodles topped with velveteen chicken in a savoury sauce. Three of us saw it being made and we immediately decided that it was what we were having for Sunday lunch.

My only change was to add some red pepper; it seemed odd that it would be lacking a vegetable element (ignoring the spring onions). With that, it was a very satisfying dinner and went down extremely well. Beautifully soft chicken, fresh fruity peppers, a tangy and glutinous coating sauce, but the real revelation were the crispy noodles. After a quick parboiling I laid them flat in the frying pan and allowed them to crisp. A risky toss later and the other side was also browned. This gave a delicious contrast of crispy and chewy, and hoovered up the sauce perfectly.

The only slight downer was Ken served his perfect circle of noodles on one platter, allowing people to share. That wasn’t going to work for me so I had to carve them up in a hacking fashion! Tasted just as good though.

Gung hee fatt choi!

Chicken on crispy noodles:

300g chicken breast diced very small

1 egg white

2 teaspoons cornflour

Pinch of salt

½ teaspoon white pepper

1 red pepper, diced

4 egg noodle nests

2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar

1½ tablespoons oyster sauce

1 tablespoon light soy sauce

300ml chicken stock

1 tablespoon cornflour, mixed with 1½ tablespoon water

Spring onions, chopped

  1. Mix the egg white, cornflour, salt and pepper and toss in the chicken breast, coating thoroughly.
  2. Boil the noodles briefly, drain and add to a hot pan spreading them out evenly. After 5 minutes a crust should have formed; turn the noodles over.
  3. While the noodles cook, mix the stock, vinegar, and oyster sauce together.
  4. After another 5 minutes put the noodles on kitchen paper to drain off the excess oil.
  5. Over a high heat in a little oil fry the chicken and peppers, stirring quickly, until the chicken is white on all sides. Remove from the pan and leave to one side.
  6. Add the wet ingredients and bubble for a minute, add the cornflour and allow to thicken. Put the chicken and peppers back in the pan with the spring onion and stir fry to allow the sauce to coat the meat and veg. After a minute or two turn out on to the noodles and serve.

The original recipe can be seen here.

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