Spanish chicken

Chicken – the best ever recipe collection
Serves 8

Ingredients

2 tbsp plain flour
2 tsp ground paprika
1/2 tsp salt
16 chicken drumsticks
4 tbsp olive oil
1.2 litres chicken stock
1 onion, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, crushed
2 1/4 cups long-grain rice
2 bay leaves
225g diced cooked ham
1 cup pimento-stuffed tree olives
1 green pepper, seeded and diced
2 x 400g cans chopped tomatoes with juice
Fresh flat leaf parsley

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees. Shake together the flour, paprika and salt in a plastic bag, add the chicken drumsticks and toss to coat

Heat the oil in a large frying pan and, working in batches, brown the chicken slowly on both sides. Remove from the pan, drain on kitchen paper and keep warm.

Meanwhile, in a large saucepan, bring the stock to the boil and add the onion, garlic., rice and bay leaves. Lower the heat and simmer for 10 minutes.

Remove the pan from the heat and add the ham, olives, green pepper and canned tomatoes with their juice. Transfer to a shallow, ovenproof dish.

Arrange the chicken on top, cover and bake for 30-40 minutes or until the chicken and rice are tender. Add a little more stock during the cooking time if necessary to prevent the fish from drying out.

Remove and discard the bay leaves. Taste and adjust the seasoning as necessary. Serve the drumsticks on top of the rice, garnished with flat leaf parsley.

Sicilian fish bake aubergine, tomatoes, pine nuts and raisins

From Super Food Family Classics by Jamie Oliver
Serves 4

Ingredients

2 large aubergines
1 kg mixed-colour tomatoes
1 red onion
4 cloves of garlic
1 celery heart
1 tbsp dried oregano
1 pinch of dried red chilli flakes
1 heaped tsp baby capers
40g raisins
40g pine nuts
4 black olives (stone in)
olive oil
4 x 120g white fish fillets
1 orange
250g wholewheat couscous
40g rocket
4 tbsp natural yoghurt

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees. Very finely slice the aubergines and tomatoes into rounds. Peel and very finely slice the red onion and garlic. Trim the celery, halve and finely slice lengthways. Throw it all into a large roasting tray with the oregano, chilli flakes, capers, raisins and pine nuts.  Crush the olives with the heel of your hand, tear out the stones, then tear the flesh into the tray. Add 2 tbsp of oil and a good pinch of sea salt and black pepper, then toss well. Arrange evenly, pulling a layer of tomatoes to the top, and bake on the bottom shelf of the oven for 40 minutes.

Meanwhile, place the fish fillets in a sandwich bag, squeeze in the orange juice (reserving the halves), add a pinch of salt and leave aside.

When the time’s up on the veg, remove from the oven and place the fish fillets on top, skin side up. Drizzle over the orange juice, then return to the bottom shelf of the oven for 15 more minutes, or until the fish is cooked through.

Put the squeezed orange halves and couscous into a bowl, just cover the couscous with boiling kettle water, then pop a plate on top and leave to fluff up.

Sprinkle the rocket over the gorgeous traybake, fluff up the couscous, season to perfection, divide it all up, and serve each portion with a dollop of yoghurt

Chicken with harissa and tomatoes

From Good Food 101 More One-Pot Dishes
Serves 4

Ingredients

4 skinless chicken breasts (I used chicken thighs)
2 tsp harissa
1 tsp olive oil
1 tsp dried oregano
250g pack cherry tomatoes
handful olives

Heat oven to 200C/fan 180C/gas 6. Put the chicken into a medium roasting tray, then rub with the harissa, oil and oregano.

Cover with foil and roast for 5 mins, then remove the foil and add the cherry tomatoes and olives to the tray. Roast for 10 mins more until the tomato skins start to split and the chicken is cooked through. Serve with boiled new potatoes

I served it with cous cous instead and I think that’s a lot better than new potatoes!

Roast leg of lamb with shrewsbury sauce

Delia’s Complete How to Cook
Serves 6 – 8

Ingredients

1 leg of lamb, weighing 5 lb (2.25 kg)
1 small onion, peeled and sliced
a few sprigs fresh rosemary, to garnish
salt and freshly milled black pepper
For the Shrewsbury sauce:
2 level tablespoons plain flour
1 heaped teaspoon mustard powder
1 pint (570 ml) Beaujolais or other light red wine
5 rounded tablespoons good-quality redcurrant jelly, such as Tiptree
3 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
juice 1 lemon
salt and freshly milled black pepper

Pre-heat the oven to gas mark 5, 375°F (190°C).

First of all, place the meat in the roasting tin, tucking the slices of onion beneath it.

Season the surface with salt and freshly milled black pepper, then place it, uncovered, in the pre-heated oven on the middle shelf. Roast for 30 minutes per lb (450 g) – for a 5lb (2.25 kg) leg this will be 2½ hours. Make sure that you baste the lamb at least 3 times while it is cooking, as this will help keep it juicy and succulent.

If you like to serve your lamb quite pink, give it 30 minutes less cooking time. To tell if the lamb is cooked to your liking, insert a skewer into the centre, remove it, then press the flat of the skewer against the meat: as the juice runs out, you will see to what degree the meat is cooked – the pinker the juice, the rarer the meat.

When it is cooked as you like it, remove it to a carving board and keep it in a warm place to rest for 30 minutes. Now, to make the sauce, spoon off any surplus fat from the roasting tin, tipping it to one side and allowing the fat to separate from the juices; you need to leave about 2 tablespoons of fat behind.

Now place the tin over a direct heat turned to low and stir in the flour and mustard powder until you have a smooth paste that has soaked up all the fat and juices. Next, add the wine, a little at a time, mixing with a wooden spoon after each addition. Halfway through, switch from the spoon to a whisk and continue to whisk until all the wine has been incorporated.

Now simply add the redcurrant jelly, Worcestershire sauce, lemon juice and seasoning, then whisk again until the jelly has dissolved. Now turn the heat to its lowest setting and let the sauce gently bubble and reduce for about 15 minutes, then pour it into a warm serving jug. Carve the lamb, garnish with the rosemary, pour a little of the sauce over and hand the rest round separately.

Asparagus and halloumi salad

From Jamie Magazine
Serves 4

Ingredients

450 g asparagus
250 g halloumi
1 bulb of fennel
1 red onion
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
½ an orange

In a large pan of boiling salted water, boil the asparagus until tender, then refresh in cold water.

Preheat a griddle pan over a high heat. Slice and add the halloumi, then cook until charred, turning occasionally.

Trim and finely slice the fennel, then peel and finely slice the onion.

Place into a bowl with the asparagus and halloumi.

Combine the oil with the orange zest and juice, then season well with sea salt and black pepper.

Pour the dressing over the other ingredients, toss well and serve on a platter while the halloumi is still warm.

Thai Roast Chicken

From Nigel Slater
Serves 4

Ingredients

2 sticks lemongrass
50g/1¾oz ginger, peeled
3 spring onions
2 medium red chillies
2 medium yellow chillies
1 medium green chilli
1 tbsp ground turmeric
200ml/7oz groundnut oil
1 whole chicken

Set the oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4.

Combine all of the ingredients apart from the chicken in a food processor and blend until smooth.

Brush the chicken generously with the spice mix.
Cover the chicken with foil and roast in the oven for 70-80 minutes, or until the juices run clear when the chicken is pierced with a skewer – the cooking time will depend on the size of the chicken. Remove the foil half way through to allow the skin to crisp up.

 

Leave to rest for 15 minutes covered in foil before serving.

Slow-roasted pork belly with fennel

Gordon Ramsay’s Ultimate Cookery Course
Serves 4

Ingredients

1kg pork belly
Sea salt and black pepper
1 fennel bulb, trimmed and roughly sliced
4 fresh bay leaves
3 garlic cloves, peeled and bashed
1 tsp cardamom pods, bashed
4 star anise
1 tbsp fennel seeds
Olive oil
325ml white wine
500–750ml chicken stock (depending on the size of your pan)
1 tbsp wholegrain mustard

Preheat the oven to 180°C/Gas 4.

Score the pork belly skin diagonally in a diamond pattern at 1½ cm intervals. Season generously with salt and pepper, rubbing it well into the skin.

Put the fennel, bay leaves, garlic, cardamom, star anise and half the fennel seeds into a hot roasting tray on the hob with a little oil and heat for about 2 minutes until aromatic.

Push to the side of the tray, then add the pork, skin side down, and cook for at least 5 minutes until turning golden brown.

Turn the pork over, season the skin again with salt and sprinkle with the remaining fennel seeds. Pour in the wine to deglaze the pan, scraping up the bits from the bottom (be careful not to get the skin of the pork wet). Bring to the boil, then pour in enough stock to come up to the layer of fat just below the skin and allow to boil again.

Transfer the tray to the preheated oven and cook for 2½ hours.

Transfer the meat to a warm plate and set aside to rest. Meanwhile, spoon off any excess fat in the roasting tray or drag a slice of bread along the surface of the cooking juices to absorb it. Heat the tray on the hob, adding the mustard. Mix in with a whisk, then taste and adjust the flavours as necessary. Remove the star anise and cardamom pods and pour the sauce into a jug. Serve the rested pork with the sauce alongside.

Lamb cutlets with mint, chilli and golden potatoes

From Nigellissma
Serves 4

Ingredients

500g/1lb 2oz baby new potatoes, washed and halved but not peeled
3 tbsp olive oil
½ tsp dried chilli flakes
1 tsp dried mint
½ tsp celery salt
8 lamb cutlets, preferably organic, trimmed of fat
100g/3½oz rocket
1 tsp sea salt flakes or ½ tsp pouring salt
1 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
1 tbsp chopped fresh mint

Put the halved baby potatoes on to steam.

Get out a large dish – in which the lamb cutlets will fit in a single layer – and first pour into it the olive oil and sprinkle in the chilli flakes, dried mint and celery salt.

Using one lamb cutlet as if it were a wooden spoon, smoosh the oil with its sprinklings around a bit, so that it is rather better mixed, then place the lamb cutlets in a single layer, turn them instantly, and leave to marinate for 10 minutes.

Heat a large, heavy-based, non-stick frying-pan – big enough for all the cutlets to fit in – then duly place them all in it (the oil that clings to them from the marinade is plenty enough for them to fry in) and fry over a medium heat for five minutes. While the cutlets cook, check that the potatoes are tender, which they should be by now; in which case, turn the heat off under your steamer.
Using tongs (for ease), turn the cutlets over and cook for a further three minutes. If you are going to make this an entire one-plate meal, strew the bottom of a large serving platter with rocket, or any other leafage you desire, and when the lamb cutlets are cooked, but still juicily pink, remove them to the salad-lined (or, indeed, naked) plate. Obviously, cook for longer if you like your lamb well done.

Tip the steamed potatoes into the pan and fry for three minutes, then turn them over and fry for another three minutes, shaking the pan every now and again to make them tumble and turn in the hot, spiced fat.

Using a slotted spatula or similar, transfer the potatoes to the plate of cutlets and sprinkle with one teaspoon of sea salt flakes (I like these plenty salty, but if you have more austere tastes or are feeding small children, then decrease the salt or ignore the command altogether) and the chopped parsley and mint.

Duck with orange sauce

From Chicken the best ever recipe collection
Serves 2-3

Ingredients

1 whole roasting duck, approximately 2kg
2 oranges,
1/2 cup caster sugar
6 tablespoons white wine vinegar,
1/2 cup grand marnier
salt and freshly ground black pepper,
orange slices to garnish.

Preheat the oven to 150 degrees. Trim off the excess fat and skin from the duck and prick the skin all over with a fork. Season the duck inside and out with salt and pepper; secure the legs with cooking string.

Place the duck on a rack in a large roasting tin. Cover tightly with foil and cook in the oven for 1½ hours.

With a vegetable peeler, remove the orange rind in wide strips then slice into thinner strips. Squeeze the juice from the oranges.

In a small heavy-based saucepan mix the vinegar and orange juice and stir to dissolve. Boil over a high heat, without stirring, until the mixture is rich caramel colour. Remove from the heat and carefully add the orange juice, pouring it down the side of the pan. Swirl the pan to blend, bring back to the boil and add the orange rind and liquor. Simmer for 2 – 3 minutes.

Remove the duck from the oven and pour off all the fat. Raise the oven temperature to 200?C/400?F/Gas 6. Return the duck to the oven and continue to roast, uncovered for 25-30 minutes, basting frequently with the sauce, until the duck is brown and juice runs clear when the thickest part of the thigh is pierced with a knife or skewer.

Pour the juices from the duck cavity into the tin and transfer the bird to a carving board. Cover with foil, and let rest for 10 minutes before carving.

Pour the roasting juices into the saucepan with the remaining caramel mixture, skim off the fat and simmer gently. Serve the duck garnished with watercress and orange slices, and accompanied by the sauce.

Salmon and broccoli with zesty lemon herb sauce

From Clean Eating
Serves 4

Ingredients

2 8-oz thick-cut boneless, skinless wild 
salmon fillets
1/4 tsp ground black pepper, plus additional, to taste
1 tbsp olive oil
1 cup low-sodium fish or vegetable broth, divided
1 leek, thinly sliced crosswise, white and pale green parts only
1 head broccoli, cut into thin spears
Juice of 1 lemon, divided
6 oz plain Greek yogurt
2 tbsp finely chopped fresh tarragon
2 tbsp finely chopped fresh mint leaves
Sea salt, to taste

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Pat salmon dry with paper towel and season with pepper. In a large braiser or ovenproof sauté pan, heat oil on medium-high. Add salmon and sear for 3 minutes per side, until lightly golden. Transfer salmon to a plate and keep warm.

Reduce heat to medium and add 1/4 cup broth to pan. Add leek and cook for 2 minutes, stirring, until liquid evaporates and leeks soften. Add remaining 3/4 cup broth and broccoli; 
mix well.

Return salmon to center of braiser, nestling between leeks and broccoli. Drizzle half of lemon juice over salmon; cover and transfer pan to oven. Cook for 12 to 14 minutes, until salmon and broccoli are tender. Remove from oven and, using a slotted spoon, transfer salmon and vegetables to a platter; cover with foil to keep warm. Reserve 1/2 cup pan juices.

Prepare lemon-herb sauce: In a small bowl, combine yogurt, tarragon, mint, remaining half of lemon juice and reserved 1/2 cup pan juices; mix well. (Add more lemon juice or pan juices as needed to reach desired consistency.) Season with salt and additional pepper.

To serve, halve salmon fillets and plate each with lemon-herb sauce and leek-broccoli mixture.