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.

Basque-style chicken

From Le Creuset
Serves 4
Ingredients:

5 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
12 chicken thighs, on the bone
salt and freshly ground black pepper
100g chorizo, sliced
3 red peppers, sliced
2 onions, sliced
3 cloves garlic, sliced thinly
1 tsp smoked sweet paprika
rice measured to 300ml
200ml dry white wine
400ml hot chicken stock
2 tbsp black pitted olives
1 orange, grated zest only
handful chopped parsley

Instructions:

Heat the olive oil in a large pan.

Season the chicken pieces and brown, in batches, until golden-brown. Set aside on a plate.

Fry the chorizo in the same pan for a minute or two until lightly browned and some of the coloured oil has released into the pan. Remove with a slotted spoon and set aside.

In the chorizo oil, fry the peppers, onions and garlic for ten minutes until softened.

Stir in the paprika for a minute, then the rice.

Stir to coat well then pour in the white wine. Stir once then pour in the hot stock and season.

Bring to a simmer, stir once more, then place the chicken pieces on top of the rice.
Cover the pan and simmer very gently over the lowest heat, without stirring, for 40 minutes.

Scatter over the olives and simmer for a further 10-15 minutes, or until rice and chicken are cooked.
Garnish with orange zest and parsley and serve.

Eula Mae’s Chicken and Ham Jambalaya

From Eula Mae’s Cajun Kitchen – cooking through the seasons on Avery Island
Serves 6 to 8
Ingredients

1 fryer chicken (about 3 pounds), boned, skinned, and cut into 1-inch cubes, or 1 1/2 pounds skinless, boneless breasts and thighs, cut into 1-inch cubes
1 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/8 teaspoon cayenne
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1/2 pound cooked ham, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
2 cups chopped yellow onions
1 cup seeded and chopped green bell peppers
1 cup chopped celery
4 garlic cloves, peeled
3 cups chicken broth
One 16-ounce can whole tomatoes, chopped, liquid reserved
1/2 cup chopped green onions (green part only)
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley leaves
2 pounds medium-size shrimp, peeled and deveined
1 teaspoon Tabasco brand pepper sauce
2 cups long-grain white rice, rinsed and drained
preparation

Sprinkle the chicken with the salt, black pepper, and cayenne. Heat the oil in a large, heavy pot or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the chicken and cook, stirring, until browned on all sides, 8 to 10 minutes. Transfer the chicken to a large mixing bowl.
Add the ham to the pot and cook, stirring, until lightly browned, about 5 minutes. Add the ham to the chicken in the bowl.

Add the onions, bell peppers, celery, and garlic to the pot and cook, scraping the bottom of the pot to loosen any browned bits. Return the chicken and ham to the pot, reduce the heat to low, cover, and cook for 25 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Add the chicken broth and reserved tomato juice, cover, and simmer for 45 minutes.

Mash the cooked garlic against the side of the pot and blend into the mixture. Add the tomatoes, green onions, parsley, shrimp, and Tabasco and adjust the seasonings to taste.

Add the rice, cover the pot, and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer, covered, stirring occasionally, until the rice is tender and fluffy and the liquid is absorbed, about 25 minutes. Serve warm.

Read More http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Eula-Maes-Chicken-and-Ham-Jambalaya-242927#ixzz2s4sMjDWG

Nice one-pot comfort food. I substituted the ham with chorizo as I have quite a bit leftover. The key I think is the tabasco sauce. I added quite a bit of it to give it a good kick!

Prawn pilaf

From Gordon Ramsay’s Best Menus
Serves 4

Ingredients

500ml light chicken stock
4tbsp olive oil
1 large onion, peeled and finely chopped
1 garlic clove, peeled and chopped
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground coriander
1.5 tsp mild curry powder
10 cardamom pods
few thyme sprigs (leaves only)
200g basmati rice
sea salt and black pepper
20 large tiger prawns (in shells)

Heat oven to 200C. Cut a circle of baking paper big enough to cover an overproof pan. Cut a steam hole in the centre. Bring stock to boil in another pan.

Heat olive oil in ovenproof pan, add garlic, onion, spices and thyme. Stir over medium heat for 2-3 minutes, then tip rice in and stir well. Add some salt and pepper and toast the rice for a minute. Pour in the boiling stock and arrange the prawns on top of the rice in a single layer.

Lay the baking paper on top to cover, then transfer pan to oven. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until rice is tender and has absorbed most of the liquid. Leave to stand, still covered with the paper, for 5 minutes before serving.

Rice was undercooked but the taste was pretty good! More practice required.

Creamy salmon kedgeree

From Irish Cooking – Clare Connery
Ingredients
Serves 4

50 g Butter
1 large onion (finely chopped)
175 g long grain rice (cooked until just tender)
500 g cooked salmon (boned and flaked)
3 hard-boiled eggs (roughly chopped)
2 tblsp parsley (finely chopped)
150 ml Cream
salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 tsp chives (finely chopped to garnish)

Melt half the butter in a large pan, add the onion and fry until it is soft.

Stir in the cooked rice, and season well with salt and pepper.

Add the salmon, eggs, parsley and cream, folding them carefully into the rice to prevent the fish and eggs from breaking up too much.

Pile the kedgeree into an ovenproof dish.

Grease a sheet of foil with the remaining butter and use to cover the dish.

Heat thoroughly in a preheated oven, 180°C (350°F/Gas 4) for 15 minutes.

When hot, serve sprinkled with the chives.

Was in Dublin for a wedding, and I continued my habit from buying cookbooks from the countries I have been to. Bought this irish cookbook to test out its recipes, and started with this kedgeree dish. Very very creamy and filling, and quite tasty too.

Chorizo rice

From the BBC website
Ingredients
Serves 4

100g/3½oz chorizo
1 onion, sliced
1 garlic clove, sliced
200g/7oz short-grain rice such as arborio rice
4 tomatoes, roughly chopped
50g/2oz butter
1 tbsp parsley
600ml/20fl oz chicken stock
salt and freshly ground black pepper

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

Heat a heavy-based frying pan over a medium heat and fry the chorizo for 3-4 minutes, or until crisp. Remove the chorizo from the pan with a slotted spoon and set aside.

Fry the onion and garlic in the remaining oil for 3-4 minutes, or until soft.

Place the chorizo, onion, garlic, rice, tomatoes, butter and parsley into a well-buttered casserole dish. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper.

Pour over the chicken stock, cover with a tight-fitting lid and bake in the oven for about 25-30 minutes, or until the rice is cooked.

Curry baked rice

Ingredients

1 onion
1 celery stick
1 chicken fillet, diced
2 tbsp of curry powder
1 cup of peas
Cheddar cheese
1 bowl of cooked rice

Fry onions and celery. Add in diced chicken seasoned with salt and curry powder and fry till the chicken is browned on both sides. Add 1 tbsp of water and the peas.

Place rice in a casserole dish, pour the chicken mixture on top and cover with lots and lots of cheddar cheese. Bake till the cheese is golden brown.

I think Singaporeans first knew about baked rice when Swensons introduced it to their menu a couple of years ago. I am not too sure whether I first tasted it at Swensons or whether I tried it at home. My mom apparently loved it so much, she started making it at home on a regular basis. I think she developed the recipe on her own. I am not too sure. Anyway, I have modified her recipe by adding curry powder to it. Cheese goes really well with curry.

Rice tortitas

Ingredients

1 cup of cooked long grain white rice
1 potato, grated
4 spring onions , thinly sliced
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
1 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
3 large eggs, beaten
1/2 tsp paprika

Stir fry rice, with potato, spring onions and garlic , over a high heat for 3 minutes until golden.

Tip the rice and vegetable mixture into a bowl and stir in the parsley and eggs, with the paprika and plenty of salt and pepper. Mix well

Heat oil in frying pan and drop in large spoonfuls of the rice mixture, leaving room for spreading. Cook the tortitas for 1-2 minutes on each side.

Serve hot.

This dish reminds me of the food I was having in Thailand during National Service; how fried rice is wrapped in an omelette. The taste of my rice tortitas isn’t as strong or as oily as the one in Thailand but I prefer mine for its more natural taste. Note that it’s called tortitas rather than tortillas.

Thai olive fried rice

Ingredients

1 shallot, finely diced
1 chili padi, finely diced
1 garlic clove, finely diced
10-15 black olives, finely diced
1 chicken fillet, chopped (seasoned with salt and cornflour)
Prawns
Fish cake (crab stick)
Cooked rice

Fry shallots, chilli and garlic.
Add half of the olives and fry. Add chicken. Add salt. Fry until the chicken is cooked on the outside.
Add the prawns.
Add the rice and mix well.
Add the remaining olives.
Season with salt, sugar and fish sauce.
Mix well and serve with fried shrimps, lime, chili and cashew nuts.

I cooked this for dinner under the watchful guidance of my mom. (My mistake today was forgetting that I was cooking with a wok rather than a non-stick pan. Part of the rice was burnt and stuck to the bottom of the pan.) This is one of the dishes my mom always cooks for me when I come home from the UK. I think I should be able to cook this back in London although I may have some problems getting fish cake in London. I may substitute it with crab sticks..

Saffron chicken and rice

First brown 6 chicken thighs with olive oil at high heat. Then remove them from the pan. Next, at medium heat, cook gently 1 diced onion and 1 diced green pepper for five minutes. Stir in some paprika and cook for 30 seconds. Add 1 can of chopped tomatoes and simmer for 1-3 minutes till it thickens. Stir in 3 1/2 cups of boiling water, add 1 1/4 cups of rice and 1/2 tsp of ground saffron. Stir to combine. Season with salt and pepper, bring to the boil, reduce the heat and simmer for 20 minutes, till the liquid has been absorbed and the chicken is tender.