Chicken Chilindron

From the Spanish Cookbook
Ingredients
Serves 4

675g red bell peppers
4 free range chicken portions
2 tsp paprika
2 tbsp olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
200g Serrano or other ham, in one piece or a gammon chop
200g can chopped tomatoes
1/2 tsp chilli powder
salt and ground black pepper
chopped fresh parsley to garnish

Preheat the grill (broil) to high. Put the peppers on a baking sheet and grill (broil) for 8-12 minutes, turning occasionally until the skins have blistered and blackened. Place the blackened peppers in a bowl, cover with clear film and leave to cool.

Rub salt and paprika into the chicken portions. Heat the oil in a large frying pan and add the chicken portions, skin-side down. Fry over a medium low heat, turning until golden on all sides.

Meanwhile, select a casserole into which the chicken will fit comfortably. Spoon in 3 tbsp fat from the other pan. Fry the onion and garlic until soft. Dice the ham or gammon and add, stirring occasionally, for a few minutes. Add the chopped tomatoes into the casserole, with the chopped dried chilli or chilli powder. Cook for 4-5 minutes, letting the sauce reduce.

Peel the skins off the peppers and discard these and the stalks. Put the peppers into a blender and strain in the juices, discarding the seeds. Process, then add the puree to the casserole and stir in. Heat through.

Add the chicken pieces to the casserole, bedding them down in the sauce. Cook, covered, for 15 minutes and check the seasoning, adding more if necessary. Garnish with a little parsley and serve with small new potatoes.

Ok I can’t go without a chicken casserole for more than a month even though it’s summer. I am covered in sweat now from the cooking and eating. This is a famous chicken dish from Navarre and the word Chilindron refers to a game of cards; I presume people play this game while eating this dish.

As you can see from the photographs above, I have actually grilled the peppers and peeled their skins off (despite my previous stance that it is a waste). I guess I needed to do it at least once to see what the fuss is all about; why so many dishes require peeled peppers. It’s the taste and texture of the sauce; the taste is sweeter and the sauce is smoother. That said, I am not too sure whether I will do it for myself again (i will probably do it if I am cooking for others) as it’s just too much hassle and lots of things to clean after the cooking process.

Tuna, tomato and rocket pasta salad

From Bowl Food

Serves 4
Ingredients
350g dried fettucine
350g tuna steaks
1/2 cup sun-dried tomatoes, drained, roughly chopped, reserving 2 tbsp oil
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1/2 cup sun-dried capsicums, drained and roughly chopped
100g capers, drained
1 cup black olives, pitted and quartered
100g baby rocket leaves

Bring a large saucepan of lightly salted water to the boil. Add the pasta and cook until al dente. Drain. Meanwhile, lightly brush a chargrill plate with oil and cook the tuna for 1-2 minutes each side (it should be rare in the middle) or until cooked to your liking. Cut the tuna into 2.5cm cubes. Keep warm.

Heat the reserved sun-dried tomato oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Add the tomato, garlic, capsicum, capers and olives, and cook, stirring, for 5-6 minutes, or until the mixture is heated through.

Place the pasta, tomato mixture and rocket in a large bowl, season and toss to combine. Divide among four serving plates and top with the tuna. Serve with lemon wedges and shaved parmesan, if desired.

Too warm today to cook anything complex; so it’s a simple and healthy salad for Saturday lunch. I didn’t add the pasta as I prefer to eat the tuna with ciabatta bread.

Five-spice roasted chicken

From Food and Wine

Ingredients

2 tablespoons canola oil
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 1/2 teaspoons five-spice powder
One 4-pound chicken, rinsed and dried
Salt and freshly ground pepper

Preheat the oven to 550° fahrenheit (288 degrees celsius). In a small bowl, combine the oil with the garlic and five-spice powder; rub all over the chicken. Set the bird in a roasting pan and season with salt and pepper.

Bake the chicken for about 15 minutes, or until the skin is browned. Reduce the oven temperature to 325° fahrenheit (160 degrees celsius), cover the chicken loosely with foil and cook until the juices run clear when the thigh is pierced with a fork, about 1 hour. Let the chicken cool slightly, then carve it into 8 pieces and serve.

Last week, Lainey sent me a message on msn messenger to say that she has a craving for the “Chinese” roast chicken we get back in Singapore (not too sure whether it’s Cantonese or just generically Chinese). Anyway, she sent me the above link to this recipe and I decided to try making it (she hasn’t done it yet).

There are dishes that you won’t cook more than once (sometimes twice usually because you have ingredients in the fridge that match the ingredients in the recipe). There are dishes you know you will be cooking on a regular basis because it’s delish and easy. This dish is definitely one of them. While it doesn’t taste at all like the roast chicken back in Singapore; it’s still a good dish in its own right.

I adapted the recipe to the ingredients in my fridge in that I had 4 chicken legs in the freezer. I used the same amount of the five-spice rub for the chicken legs and I adjusted the time and temperature, 260 degrees celsius for 15 minutes initially and 160 degrees celsius for 25 minutes subsequently. The end result is in the pictures.

Grilled red mullet (English trout) with bay leaves

From the Spanish Cookbook
Serves 4

Ingredients
4 red mullet about 225-275g each, cleaned and descaled
olive oil for brushing
fresh herb sprigs, such as fennel, dill, parsley, or thyme
2-3 dozen fresh or dried bay leaves

For the dressing
6 tbsp olive oil
6 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1/2 dried chilli, seeded and chopped
juice of 1/2 lemon
1 tbsp parsley

Preheat the grill with the shelf 15 cm from the heat source.

Brush each fish with oil and stuff the cavities with the herb sprigs. Season with salt and pepper. Brush the grill pan with oil and lay bay leaves across the cooking rack. Place the fish on top and cook for 15-20 minutes until cooked through, turning once.

To make the dressing, heat the olive oil in a small pan and fry the chopped garlic with the dried chilli. Add the lemon juice and strain the dressing into a small jug. Add the chopped parsley and stir to combine. Season with salt and pepper.

Serve the mullet on warmed plates, drizzled with the dressing.

No red mullet at the Waitrose seafood counter and so I settled for an English trout. I love grilling (broiling) food these days, and placing them on a bed of salad leaves. The warmth of the food and the juices, cooking the leaves to some extent. It’s the perfect summer food!

Heston’s Lamb with tapenade

From Waitrose recipes

Ingredients

340g jar Waitrose Whole Black Natural Olives in brine (not pitted), washed
142g jar Cooks’ Ingredients Nonpareille Capers, drained
100g jar Waitrose Anchovy Fillets in Extra Virgin Olive Oil
20g pack mint, leaves only
25g pack basil, leaves only
6 tbsp olive oil, plus 1 tbsp for cooking
Zest and juice of 1 lemon
8 pieces of essential Waitrose British lamb (shoulder, loin or rack chops or leg steaks)

Method

For the tapenade, remove the stones from the black olives by placing them on a baking tray with another baking tray on top. Roll the top tray back and forth until the flesh separates. Place it in a food processor with the rest of the ingredients, except the lamb and the 1 tbsp of oil. Blitz together until a thick paste is formed.
Place the tablespoon of oil in a frying pan over a high heat until it is smoking hot. Add the lamb and flip over every 15–20 seconds until cooked to medium rare (3–5 minutes approximately) or to your liking, before leaving it to rest for 5 minutes. Spread some of the tapenade on top of the lamb pieces and serve. Alternatively, barbecue the lamb and spoon over a dollop of tapenade while it is still warm.

Yums! Making tapenade is so simple. Just dump the ingredients into the blender and blitz it! The tapenade goes really well with the lamb; it’s strong enough to complement the taste of the lamb.

You can watch how Heston Blu does it here

Monkfish (Cod) with cauliflower and spring onions

From The Silver Spoon
Serves 4

Ingredients

1 bunch of spring onions
1 cauliflower, cut into florets
100g butter
Juice of 1/2 lemon, strained
1 kg monkfish fillets, thickly sliced
350ml dry white wine
3 tbsp double cream
1 tbsp fresh-leaf parsley, chopped
salt and pepper

Chop the white and green parts of the spring onions separately. Blanch the cauliflower in salted, boiling water for 5 minutes, then drain and refresh under cold running water. Melt half the butter in a pan, add the white parts of the spring onions and cook over a low heat, stirring occasionally, until softened. Add the cauliflower, lemon juice and the green parts of the spring onions and cook over a low heat for 10 minutes. Melt the remaining butter in another pan, add the fish and cook for 3 minutes on each side. Pour in the wine, cover and cook over a medium heat for about 15 minutes. Gently stir in the cream, season with salt and pepper and cook for a few minutes more until thickened. Transfer the fish to a warm serving dish, surround with the cauliflower and spring onions and sprinkle with the cooking juices and parsley

Being a scrooge, I chose to get cod instead of monkfish from Waitrose, I am kind of regretting that now since I think this dish requires fish of a certain texture i.e. monkfish. If you do decide to be a miser like me, remember to reduce the cooking times accordingly for the cod since cod takes a shorter time to cook. The sauce is nice if you like a rich cauliflowery creamy sauce.

Spiced honey chicken wings

From Chicken-the best ever recipe collection
Ingredients
1 fresh red chilli, finely chopped
1 tsp chilli powder
1 tsp ground ginger
rind of 1 lime, finely grated
12 chicken wings
4 tbsp sunflower oil
1 tbsp chopped fresh coriander
2 tbsp soy sauce
3 1/2 tbsp clear honey

Mix the fresh chilli, chilli powder, ground ginger and lime rind together in a small bowl. Place the chicken wings in a wide shallow dish. Rub the spice mixture into the chicken skins and leave for at least 2 hours to allow the flavours to penetrate.

Heat a wok and add half the oil. When the oil is hot, add half the wings, stir-fry for 10 minutes, turning regularly until crisp and golden. Drain on kitchen paper. Repeat with the remaining oil and wings.

Add the coriander to the hot wok and stir-fry for 30 seconds then return the wings to the wok and stir fry for 1 minute.

Stir in the soy sauce and honey and stir-fry for 1 minute. Serve the chicken wings hot, with the sauce drizzled over them.

I love the combination of flavours in this dish; the hotness from the chilli, the sweetness from the honey and the savoury taste of the soy sauce. I am not too sure which cuisine this is from (the cookbook doesn’t say) but I suspect it’s thai.

Anyway, because chicken wings are too unhealthy, I have opted for chicken thighs instead. And I didn’t stir fry it, I grilled it for 20 minutes before adding it to the stir-fried coriander. All in all, it was a good meal, I had it with tomatoes and brown rice.

Sole (Trout) A La Basquaise

From Ginette Mathiot – I know how to cook
Ingredients

3 Dover or lemon sole, cleaned and skinned (I used a whole rainbow trout instead)
100ml white wine
1 tbsp chopped chives
2 tbsp chopped flat leaf parsley
1 shallow
100g mushrooms, chopped
50g butter
200ml any stock
salt and pepper
juice of 1 lemon

Preheat the oven to 200 degrees. Cut along the centre of the sole to remove and discard the central bones, and put the fish into an ovenproof dish. Pour in the wine and bake for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, mix together the chives, parsley, shallot, mushrooms and butter in a bowl to make the stuffing. Remove the fish from the oven and fill the cavities left by removing the bones with the stuffing, pour in the stock and season with salt and pepper. Reduce the oven temperature to 160 degrees, return the dish to the oven and bake for a further 10 minutes. Serve sprinkled with the lemon juice.

Instead of using 3 whole lemon sole, I swapped it with a whole rainbow trout. The recipe works well for this fish although I think you can reduce the amounts for the stuffing as the cavity for the trout is smaller. Alternatively, you can add the rest of the stuffing to the stock. In a way I prefer using the trout as it doesn’t require the removing of the bones for the sole. The total baking time for trout is 25 minutes at 200 degrees