Spicy chinese chicken drumsticks and wings

As part of my 'three meals from one chicken' approach this is a way of using the legs and wings for a side dish or a snack perhaps. The recipe contains the usual chinese flavours with lots of ginger and chili, but it is also very sweet, so probably consider this dish to be a treat. The secret is to marinade the chicken for roughly 24 hours before cooking the chicken and then to cook it in the marinade.

Ingredients

2 chicken legs
2 chicken wings
an inch of grated root ginger
1 medium red chili
1 heaped tbsp of honey (chinese if available)
3 tsp of chinese five spice
2 tbsp of dark soy sauce
1 tbsp of muscavado sugar

Method

1. It is essential to marinade the chicken at least overnight. Cut off the chicken legs and wings and lacerate them with a knife.
2. In a bowl mix all the other ingredients. Make sure the ginger is finely grated and the chili is chopped finely. Deseed the chili, or leave it out, if you do not like the spice, but it adds a cracking contrast to the sweetness of the honey and sugar.
3. Marinade the chicken and when possible spoon the marinade over the chicken again.
4. In a dish create a bowl out of tin foil and place the chicken and marinade in the middle.
5. Place in a preheated oven at 200 degrees for an hour. This should create a crispy and dark skin, which while being unhealthy is delicious. Go on, treat yourself!

Serve with the sauce drizzled over the chicken and what else you are eating, such as rice and corn on the cob.

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Chicken and mushrooms in white wine sauce

This recipe is my take on the simple, yet delicious, chicken and mushroom with a white wine sauce. The main differences from this traditional dish is the inclusion of celery and celery seeds and a less creamy sauce. I hope you enjoy this easy and inoffensive dish, which is a hit with young children too.

Ingredients

300g of diced chicken (which ever part of the bird you prefer)
1 onion
2 garlic cloves
100g of chestnut mushrooms
100g of shiitake mushrooms
2 sticks of celery
1 pint of chicken stock
150ml of white wine such as Sauvignon Blanc
250ml of full fat milk
50ml of double cream
25g of butter
50g of plain flour
2tsp of dried oregano
1tsp of dried parsley
1tsp of celery seeds
salt and pepper to taste - this dish does need a good pinch of salt I feel.

Method

1. In a little olive oil sweat the chopped onion and garlic for five minutes.
2. Add the diced chicken and over a medium heat cook for another five minutes
3. Add the two types of mushroom, both chopped, celery and the herbs and celery seeds.
4. Keep stirring for 5 minutes and the add the wine.
5. Simmer for five more minutes and then add the chicken stock.
6. Leave to simmer while you make the roux-style sauce.
7. In a separate pan melt the butter and then take off the heat and stir in the flour. Return to a low heat and add the milk. Stir continurously and when the sauce begins to thicken add the cream.
8. Now mix this sauce in with the chicken and stir and continue to simmer for another five minutes. 
9. In all the cooking should take between 45 minutes and an hour, but just make sure the chicken is cooked through.
10. Add pepper and salt if required.

Please note the sauce is very runny, but this works perfectly with a plate of rice to soak it all up.

Serve with rice.

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Chicken breast stuffed with chorizo

This is one of my favourite 'dinner party dishes' as it tastes fabulous and looks far more impressive than it probably is. It can be fiddly to pull off a perfect stuffed chicken breast, but is far from complex, so give it a go and let me know how you get on.

As much as we all love chicken a whole breast can lack flavour, so stuffing it with chorizo makes up for this with abundance, while the wafer thin prosciutto wrapped around also adds a lovely taste. Ok, on to the recipe.


Ingredients

4 large plump chicken breasts
5 inches of cured chorizo sausage
4/8 rashers of prosciutto
1 large onion (finely chopped)
salt and freshly cracked black pepper
1 tbsp of olive oil

Method

1. Start by turning the oven on to 180 degrees.
   
2. Now the difficult bit. Use a sharp knife with a small blade and carefully push it into the end of each chicken breast at the plumpest part. Make sure you do not get too close to breaking through at the other end. Take out the knife and push in a (washed) finger to open up the hole further, but keeping the breast in tact.
   
3. Now chop four inches of the chorizo (one inch per chicken breast is enough, but you can use more) into small pieces. Slice the remaining inch into four even pieces, which will be used to block up the chicken later.
   
4. Fry the onion in a little of the oil for a few minutes and then add the chopped chorizo. Stir constantly until the chorizo lets off its oil and the onion is soft. Take off the heat and mix in the salt and pepper. Leave to cool.
   
5. Once cool push as much of the mixture as you can into each chicken breast. Don't push your luck or the breast may rip. Use the chorizo slices to fill the hole.
   
6. Now rub the remaining oil over the breasts and place on a hot pan over a medium heat, turning often to sear all sides. Do one at a time to make it easier.
   
7. Finally wrap the semi-cooked breasts with the prosciutto. One or two slices each depending on their width. Now place in the hot oven with foil placed roughly on top of the breasts. Turn once at 15 minutes, remove the foil and leave for another 15 minutes.
   

Please check the chicken is fully cooked and then enjoy your meal, especially when you first slice open your stuffed chicken breast.

A variation of the above is to add chopped chili in with the onion to give an extra kick to this dish.

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One chicken can equal three meals

I find it horrifying that many people never consider that they can make their own food and rely on ready made meals, prepared in a microwave. It can be so easy, and so much cheaper, to buy some key ingredients and make your meals.

Those that do attempt home cooking often buy meat that has been prepared for them, such as diced meat. Again, this frustrates me! It isn't cost effective and you are never going to be getting the best meat. A good quality, corn fed, free range chicken can cost £6 or £7, this puts some people off, but it can result in three fabulous and diverse meals. I'll show you how.

The three meals created from one chicken are:

Chicken Soup
Stuffed Chicken Breasts
Chinese Chicken legs and wings

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Chicken and Almond creamy curry - A korma style curry children can enjoy

I am not sure what actually defines a dish as being a curry, but this one resembles that of what is considered a korma. However, this dish is not spicy, oily and is certainly suitable for children. My two-year-old loves it!

This serves three and takes less than 90 minutes from start to finish to reproduced.

Ingredients:

2 large chicken breasts (or 300g of boneless chicken)
2 large onions
5 cloves of garlic
25g of root ginger
2cm stick of cinnamon
5 green cardamon pods
15 coriander seeds (roughly)
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1 tsp tumeric
100g of low fat yoghurt
1 tsp of salt
2 tsp of caster sugar
25g desiccated coconut (dry fried and soaked in water)
50g ground almonds
25g flaked almonds
knob of butter
75ml of double cream (replace with single if you wish)

There are a lot of ingredients listed above - do not fear if you are missing one or two, the basis of this dish will carry it through regardless.

Method:

Firstly in a dry saucepan heat the stick of cinnamon until it starts to let off a smell. Now add the cardamon pods and coriander seeds and heat until they begin to darken in colour.
Remove the spices from the heat and using a spice grinder reduced to a fine powder. Use a sieve to check the powder is fine.
Blitz the garlic and ginger with a slash of water to form a paste
Mix together the spices, garlic/ginger paste, yoghurt and salt and marinate the chopped chicken (use bite-sized pieces).
Return to the fridge for as long as it takes to prepare the rest of the meal.
Chop the onions and using a hand blender reduce to a puree.
Heat the butter in a saucepan and then cook the pureed onion for five minutes.
Now add the marinated chicken, nutmeg and tumeric and simmer in the pan with the lid on for 20 minutes.
Add the almond powder, flaked almonds and desiccated coconut to the mix and cook for five more minutes.
Now add the double cream and cook for a further two minutes.

Serve with rice and/or peshwari naan bread

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