Garlic Chicken & Roast Ratatouille

Well, it has been a long time since I have blogged! I am swamped with college work and life in general. I have a few posts I want to share, some new recipes plus a post about my wonderful visit to the Michelin starred restaurant in Edinburgh!

This was a throw-together quick meal after a full day at college. Luckily all my children like it!
I served this with rice, but potatoes would go as well.

Serves 4
8 chicken thighs
1 tablespoon butter, melted
2 garlic cloves crushed
1 red pepper, chopped
1 yellow pepper, chopped
1 red onion, chopped into chunks
1 courgette, sliced chunky
Olive oil
Mixed herbs
Salt & pepper
1 tin chopped tomatoes
Rice to serve.

Preheat the oven to 190 c. Mix the melted butter & garlic. Throw all the chopped veg into a roasting tin, then drizzle with a little olive oil. Nestle the chicken thighs in the veg, then baste the chicken with the garlic butter. Sprinkle over the mixed herbs & season. Pop into the oven for around 20 minutes. After 20 minutes, remove from oven & add the tinned tomatoes to the veg.Cook for another 10 minutes.

Easy Chicken Biriyani

I like one-pot meals - easy and keeps the washing up to a minimum! This is one the kids enjoy, but you can use a hotter curry powder if you like it spicier. Curry paste can also be used in place of powder, just whatever you have at hand. Allow one or two chicken thighs per person, depending on appetite.

Serves 4

7 chicken thighs (1 or 2 per person)
1 onion, diced
2 tablespoons of curry powder (I used mild, so the kids could enjoy)
1 tablespoon oil
1.5 mugs of easy cook rice
3 mugs of chicken stock
1 mug of frozen peas

Preheat the oven to 200c. In a large hob/oven proof dish, heat up the oil to a medium heat. Fry the chicken in batches, to colour & crisp the skin. Remove & set aside. Fry the onion until soft, about 5 minutes. Add the curry powder & cook for another minutes. Add the rice, and stir to coat in the curry/oil. Pour in the stock, stir & allow to come to a simmer. Add the chicken back on top and then place in the oven for 30 minutes. Add the peas, stir and allow to stand for 5 minutes. Serve in warm bowls.

Braised Chicken, Shallot & Bacon

I picked up some nice chicken pieces from our local butcher, as well as some very tasty bacon. Looking in the fridge, I had some mushrooms & shallots to use up, so this was the ideal recipe. It would serve 2 people alongside some baby potatoes or wilted greens.

4 chicken pieces
12 button mushrooms
12 small shallots, peeled
Oil for frying
3 slices of smoked bacon, diced
Sprig of thyme
150 mls red wine
400 mls chicken stock

 Preheat the oven to 200C.


Heat the oil in an ovenproof dish on the hob on a medium/high heat. Add the chicken & brown on both sides. You may have to do this in batches. Remove to a plate.
Turn down the heat to low/medium and add the shallots. When they start to colour slightly, add the mushrooms and bacon. Cook for 5 minutes. Turn up the heat, and add the red wine, and reduce by half. Pour in the stock & thyme, season, cover & pop in the oven for 45 minutes. 
Check the chicken is cooked through. Remove the chicken, mushrooms, bacon & shallots & reduce the liquid to a thicker consistency if desired. Pour over the chicken & serve.

Loaded Chicken

I am back! After an extended Christmas break from my blog, I am here raring to go. I got a few good cookery books for Christmas that I will be testing out, including the Masterchef Everyday which I am excited by! I also got some fab foodie gifts, including a box of Pimenton, a grow your own Funky Veg kit and some Kewpie mayo. All will feature at some point, I am sure.

This is a recipe I threw together the other night when I just had bits & bobs left in the fridge. You could add anything that you would add to a pizza - go wild! I have tried with with chorizo instead of bacon, which was lovely. You could also try different cheeses. We ate ours with a side salad & homemade coleslaw.

The photos I took after it was cooked came out too blurry :( but I can vouch for how tasty they looked!

Serves 4

4 chicken breasts, cut into halves (so that you have 2 thin breast pieces per person)

Tomato sauce -

2 tblsps tomato puree
2 tblsps water
Pinch Italian herbs or basil
1 crushed garlic clove
Pinch onion powder/granules

Mix all the ingredients together in a bowl.

Suggested toppings -

Cheese (I used grated cheddar)
Bacon bits
Fried onion
Mushrooms
Ham
Sweetcorn
Peppers


Spread each chicken breast with the tomato sauce. Add your toppings (I used bacon, onion & mushrooms) and then top with cheese. Pop into a preheated oven at 200C for 30 minutes. Make sure the chicken is cooked through, and serve.

Saucy Chicken & Vegetable One Pot

This was just a recipe to use up some odds & ends that I had in the fridge. I was trying to clear some room for the epic Christmas Dinner shop. You could add any vegetables you like or need to use up. Chicken thighs, skin fried crispy first, would also work well. I am looking forward to some serious Christmas cooking, but I will be doing simple dishes up until then. Everyone seemed to really enjoy this, and it was very filling.

Serves 4
Olive oil
4 chicken breasts, diced
Half an onion or 1 shallot, finely diced
2 carrots, cut into thick circles
Half a head of cauliflower, cut into small florets
Half a head of broccoli, cut into small florets
Cupful of frozen peas
400g new potatoes, thickly sliced
Fresh tarragon, snipped
150 ml double cream
1 litre chicken stock

 Heat the oil in a large frying pan or wok. Fry the chicken for 5 minutes then add the onion (or shallot). Fry until soft, Stir in the potatoes, and toss until coated. Pour in the stock. Cover & cook for 10 minutes, until the potatoes are almost cooked through.

Turn the heat up high & reduce the stock until it just covers the bottom of the pan. Throw in the veg, and cover & cook for 5 minutes. Stir in the double cream, season & add the tarragon. Serve with crusty bread.

Chicken & Vegetable Coconut Curry

This is my entry for the Cook Off/Blog Off competition run by Gourmet Garden. They sent me some of their products to use in my recipes. I was quite excited to get my pack of herbs & spices - most of my herbs in my garden have died in the frosts :(

I love a tasty curry, so decided that's would I would make for my entry, as it uses as many of the products as possible. You could add any veg that you like, I just happen to love mushrooms! I also had green beans to use up, so added those too. I think this recipe would freeze well, and it definitely tastes the next day after sitting in the fridge overnight - most curries do! This is quite mild, so add more chilli to taste.

1 onion, sliced
5 mushrooms, sliced
100g trimmed green beans
1 tablespoon olive oil
35g butter
4 chicken breasts
400g tin tomatoes, drained of juice
400g tin coconut milk
10 crushed cardamom pods
5 whole cloves
1 cinnamon stick
1 teaspoon Gourmet Garden ready ginger
1 teaspoon Gourmet Garden ready garlic
1 teaspoon (or more if you like it spicier) of Gourmet Garden ready chilli
1 teaspoon Gourmet Garden ready coriander
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon coriander seeds
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
2 teaspoons garam masala


Heat the oil & butter in a large frying pan or wok to a medium heat. Add cardamom pods, cloves and cinnamon stick and stir fry for 1 minute. Add the garlic, ginger, chilli, coriander paste, coriander spices & cumin spices and stir for 2 minutes to release the flavours & aroma. Add the chopped chicken & stir through. Add the tomatoes & coconut milk, and allow to come to a simmer. Cover and allow to simmer and reduce slightly for 30 minutes. 2 minutes before serving, add the garam masala & stir through. Serve with rice & naan.

Kids Can Cook - Sticky Chicken Noodles

Tonight it was the turn of my 10 year old daughter to cook tea for her & her sister & brother. I thought a simple stir-fry would be a good start, so she could learn some knife skills and to help her balance flavours when making the sauce. She did really well, with minimal input from me. Dinner was eaten in record time, so I think it was a huge success! This is a good recipe for a beginner, as it has just a few simple ingredients and its hard to get it wrong. It's also great for a quick lunch if you are stuck for ideas. You could use any veg, we talked about how next time we would maybe add mushrooms and baby corn to the stir-fry.

Serves 3 children

2 chicken breasts, diced
Half a red pepper, chopped into bite size pieces
1 onion, sliced
1 tablespoon runny honey
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon sesame oil
Pinch Chinese 5-spice
200g egg noodles (cooked by an adult if you are a beginner)

Olive oil to fry

Heat up the olive oil in a large wok or frying pan on a medium heat. Stir fry the onions & peppers until they are soft. Add the chicken & stir fry until it is all golden in colour. Put your egg noodles on to boil for 3 minutes (or get an adult to help). Drain & put aside. Mix the soy sauce, sesame oil. honey & Chinese 5-spice in a small bowl, and mix it up with a spoon until it is all combined. Pour over your chicken stir fry and toss everything in the sauce. Add the drained noodles, and toss again. Serve quickly to warm bowls & serve.

Guest Post - Simple Chicken Soup

I invited some of my family & friends to write up their favourite recipes to include on my blog as guest posts. Here is the first, from my cousin Heather, who also loves to cook. This is her recipe for a basic chicken soup.

~Basic Chicken Soup~
900mls boiling water
1-2 chicken stock cubes (I use one, but I like this to taste less salty)
225g skinless chicken breast, cubed into bite sized pieces
1 red pepper, sliced into thin slices and halved
1-2 tbsp fresh tarragon chopped, or 1-2 tsp dried if you can't get fresh
a small bunch of chives cut into pieces.
2 tbsp medium sherry, or 1-2 tsp vanilla extract
Purple sprouting broccoli or shredded curly kale
a large handful or two of frozen sweetcorn kernels

Method
Bring the stock to the boil and add the pepper and sweetcorn,
Let boil for a couple of minutes, then add the chicken.
Allow to simmer for 5 minutes before adding the sherry/vanilla and herbs.
Stir and then place the greens on top, don't stir them in, allow the broccoli/kale to cook on top. Place a lid on the pan if you wish but keep an eye on it to make sure it doesn't boil over.
After 5 more minutes give the soup a careful stir. Taste a little of the broth to see if you need to add any salt or pepper.
Serve.

You can add twists to this soup.
Exchange the kale for pak choi, and the tarragon for ginger (be careful and add a small amount, and add more as you need) break up a portion of the dried fine egg noodles and add and a slug of good rich soy sauce will give you an oriental version (for people that like a kick, add a finely shredded fresh red chilli too)

You can add different vegetables depending what you have in the fridge and cupboards. All greens go well. Onions for extra flavour. Only potatoes would thicken the broth and make the texture weird.

Chicken Fricasse

This was a dish that included all of my favourite ingredients - chicken, mushrooms and cream! My girls are away this weekend, so I made this for just the 3 of us, which meant plenty to go round. The sauce was so tasty I was almost tempted to lick my plate. You could use sliced onion instead of shallots if you wished, it wouldn't make a huge difference to the flavour. Serve it whichever vegetables you like, and perhaps a big dollop of creamy mash. I always like to use up whatever veg I have left in the fridge - which happened to be carrots & green beans today.It tastes just as great

Serves 4

8 chicken thighs
2 tablespoons butter
250g button mushrooms
12 shallots
400ml chicken stock
250ml white wine
75ml double cream
1 bouquet garni (bay leaf, thyme stalk & parsley stalk tied together)
2 tablespoons chopped parsley
salt & pepper to season

Heat the oven to 180c. Melt 1 tblspn butter in a flame-proof casserole dish, and brown the chicken on both sides until golden. Remove with a slotted spoon to a plate. Add the wine, allow to bubble for a minute then add the stock. Chuck in the bouquet garni, and stir while it bubbles & thickens. After about 5 minutes, season & taste then add the chicken on top, cover & pop into the oven for 1 hour.
Melt the remaining  butter in a frying pan, and brown the mushrooms & shallots for around 5/6 minutes. Add to the casserole dish with the chicken, and return to the oven for another hour.

Serve the chicken to the plates, leaving the stock behind in the dish. Add the cream & parsley, and mix through. Taste & season, then pour over the chicken.

Creamy Pesto Pasta

This is one of those meals that just uses up the odds & ends in the fridge. Half a tub of this, half a jar of that, the 2 leftover chicken breasts and half a pack of mushrooms. I always keep a wedge of parmesan in my freezer, its grates perfectly from frozen. I made this for just me and my husband, but there are enough leftovers for my eldest daughter (who loves pesto) to have for lunch tomorrow with a nice chuck of crusty bread. It is quite a quick meal, it took me less than 30 minutes from start to finish. try using an interesting shaped pasta to liven it up a little. This is nice cold as well as hot. Add some pine nuts to add a crunch to the dish.

Serves 2 with leftovers. You can make more/less than my amounts, I was just using up extras from the fridge.

2 chicken breasts, diced
10 mushrooms, chopped
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
Olive oil
Half a jar of basil pesto (or use homemade, recipe here.)
Half a tub of creme fraiche
Tablespoon of pine nuts (optional, but great for a crunchy texture)
300g of dried or fresh pasta
Fresh parmesan to garnish

Heat the oil on a medium heat in a large frying pan. Add the mushrooms & garlic, and stir fry for 3 or 4 minutes. Add the chicken and fry until coloured (about 10 minutes). Put the pasta on to cook, and cook til al dente. Save about 2 tablespoons of the pasta water.
While the pasta cooks, add the pine nuts & fry for another 3/4 minutes. Add the pesto and allow to cook for 5 minutes. Stir in the creme fraiche and heat through. Add the pasta water, stir and then add the pasta. Toss the pasta in the sauce until it is all coated.
Serve in bowls with fresh grated parmesan on top.

Chicken & Almond Traybake

I love meals that I can bung it all in a dish & pop in the oven! Simple and quick, this took just a few minutes to put together then needed very little supervision. You need quite a big oven tray to fit this all in though! Alternatively, split it between 2 trays. A dollop of greek yogurt was lovely on top, sprinkle with some coriander. This recipe will serve 4 people (it went round all 5 of us).

500g boneless, skinless chicken thighs
3 medium red onions , cut into thick wedges
500g small potatoes , cut into thick slices
2 red peppers , deseeded and cut into thick slices
1 garlic clove , finely chopped
1 tsp each ground cumin, smoked paprika and fennel seeds , slightly crushed
3 tbsp olive oil
zest and juice 1 lemon
50g whole blanched almonds , roughly chopped

 Heat oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. Place the chicken, onions, potatoes and peppers in a large roasting tray (or 2). In a bowl, mix together the garlic, spices, oil, and lemon zest and juice. Pour this over everything. 
Roast for 40 mins, turning over after 20 mins, until the chicken is cooked through. Add the almonds for the final 8 mins of cooking.

One-pot chicken casserole

My husband wanted a "milk pudding" after tea tonight, so I needed a light main course. I made him a semolina pudding, something I haven't had in many many years! It was lovely though. I forgot to snap a photo of it before we devoured it :( This casserole was warming but not too filling, so it was perfect. You could use any herbs, I just used a selection from my garden. Remove the skin from the chicken, as it would probably go quite soggy in this dish!

8 chicken thighs , skin discarded
1 tbsp oil
5 spring onions , sliced
2 tbsp plain flour
2 chicken stock cubes
2 large carrots , cut into batons (no need to peel)
400g new potatoes , halved if large
200g frozen peas
1 tbsp grainy mustard
small handful fresh soft herbs, like parsley, chives, dill or tarragon , chopped

 Put the kettle on. Fry the thighs in the oil in a casserole or wide pan with a lid to quickly brown. Stir in the whites of the spring onion with the flour and stock cubes until the flour disappears, then gradually stir in 750ml hot water from the kettle. Throw in the carrots and potatoes, bring to a simmer. Cover and cook for 20 mins.
Take off the lid and simmer for 15 mins more, then throw in the peas for another 5 mins. Season, stir in the mustard, green spring onion bits, herbs and some seasoning.

Sri Lankan Chicken & Potato Curry

Flicking through my copy of Lorraine Pascale's cookbook, I found a recipe for a "really simple" Sri Lankan curry. It seemed a bit sparse to me, so I adapted it. It was quite tasty (much better than her Tikka Masala!) but was slightly hot for my tastes (a wimp!!). I also made her Roti Jala (net bread, find recipe here) to have alongside. I allowed mine to simmer for a lot longer than her recipe suggests, which made the chicken lovely & tender. I prefer the taste of a longer cooked curry. You could serve this with rice if you liked.

2 tablespoons curry powder (choose your own strength, I used mild madras)
2 teaspoons garam masala
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1-3 teaspoons chilli powder (decide your own strength)
4 chicken breasts, diced
1 medium onion, diced
Vegetable oil
400ml tin coconut milk
100ml water
1 garlic clove, crushed
5 new potatoes, chopped in half
Large handful of frozen peas
Salt & pepper

Heat a large pan on a medium high heat. Add all the dry spices & toast for 2 minutes (no oil). Add a small amount of vegetable oil & add the onion. Cook the onion until softened (about 5 minutes). Add the chicken, and toss in the spices. Cook for 4 minutes, until browned. Remove the pan from the heat & pour in the coconut milk and water and then add the garlic. Return to the heat & allow to simmer for 10 minutes. Add the potatoes & peas and allow to simmer for 45 minutes. Season and serve with fresh coriander sprinkled on top.

Chicken and Leek Pie

Everyone loves pie! Especially in my house. This was a very yummy chicken and leek pie (or cock-a-leekie as we call it). I made the filling the night before, so that it was completely cooled to put the pastry lid on top. I don't make my own puff pastry, so just used some shop bought. Life is too short :) I had 5 licked-clean plates after this dinner, so very much a winner. The weather is so wet & windy at the moment, comfort food is needed.

2 tbsp vegetable oil
1 onion, finely chopped
2 medium leeks, washed, trimmed and thickly sliced
4 skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite-size pieces
1 garlic clove, crushed
150ml white wine
150ml chicken stock, hot
142ml carton double cream
Sprigs fresh tarragon, leaves picked and roughly chopped
375g pack ready-rolled puff pastry
1 medium egg

 Heat the oil in a large frying pan over a medium heat. Add the onion and leeks and cook for 4-5 minutes until softened.
Add the chicken pieces and cook, stirring, for another 4-5 minutes. Stir in the garlic, add the wine and bubble away until reduced by two-thirds. Pour in the stock and simmer until reduced by half. Add the cream and tarragon, bring to the boil, then simmer for 5-6 minutes until thickened. Season, then spoon into a 2.5-litre pie dish (or 4 x 300ml ovenproof dishes). Set aside to cool.
Brush a little water along the edge of the pie dish or dishes. Unroll the pastry and cut out a piece large enough to cover the dish or dishes. Press down the edges and trim off the excess. Snip a small hole in the centre of the pastry to let the steam escape. Put on a baking tray and chill for 15 minutes.
Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 220C/fan200C/gas 7. Beat the egg with a little salt, then brush over the pastry. Bake for 40-45 minutes (20-25 minutes if you are making individual pies) until the pastry is golden.

Brown Butter & Sage Chicken Spaghetti

I stumbled across this recipe, and had to try it! It is quite rich with butter, but so, so tasty. It really made up for last nights disaster (chicken tikka masala by Lorraine Pascale, did not like it!). This is quite a quick dinner to put together, and uses just a few ingredients. I have a lovely sage bush growing in my garden, so had fresh sage to hand. I would really recommend growing your own herbs, I just buy the potted herbs from the supermarket & plant them in the garden. This recipe serves 2 people, and would be lovely with some fresh garlic bread on the side.

2 chicken breasts, chopped
10 mushrooms, sliced
1 small onion, sliced
5/6 fresh sage leaves
2 tablespoons butter
Olive oil

Enough spaghetti for 2 people.

Heat some of the oil in a large frying pan, and cook the chicken until golden & cooked through. Remove from the pan & set aside.

Add a little more oil, and cook the onions & mushrooms until caramelised. This will take about 10-15 minutes on a medium heat. Stir occasionally. Remove from the pan & add to the cooked chicken. Halfway through this time, start cooking your spaghetti.

Melt all the butter in the frying pan, and add the sage leaves. Cook the foaming butter until the butter starts to brown, but not burnt. Add the drained pasta & mix through. Add the onion, mushrooms & chicken, heat through & serve in warm bowls.

Chicken Tikka Masala

This is Lorraine Pascale's take on the tasty chicken tikka masala. I saw her make this on her show the other night, and it looked easy. All her meals are so easy to do, and always turn out lovely so I really expected this one to. I wasn't as keen on this as I thought I would be, but everyone else ate it. Even my 4 year old ate it, with extra cream added. I am looking forward to trying out more recipes from her book even though I am very disappointed by this one!

Edit - a commenter has suggested frying off the spices before adding any wet ingredients, this may improve the flavour.

4 chicken breasts
1 bunch spring onions
2 cm ginger, grated
2 garlic cloves, crushed
350 ml single cream
200g tomato puree
4 tblsp garam masala
1 tbsp paprika
2 tsp english mustard powder
Fresh coriander

Fry the chicken in some oil until all browned. Add the spring onions & stir. Then add the garlic, ginger, cream, puree, spices & mustard powder. It looks messy to start with, but stir until its all combined and then allow to bubble away & thicken. Season to your taste, then top with fresh coriander. Serve with rice cooked in turmeric stock.

Chicken Tarragon Crumble

I love chicken in a creamy tarragon sauce, and someone on my Facebook page had posted about having chicken crumble, so I decided to combine them both. I have some love tarragon growing in my garden, just perfect for this recipe. It was quite a hearty meal! I love stodge on a lazy Sunday afternoon though.I served it with new potatoes and baby carrots.

Serves 4
 450g chicken breasts
300 ml creme fraiche
300 ml chicken stock
Handful fresh tarragon, chopped (or 1 tablespoon of dried)
1 garlic clove, crushed
1 medium onion, diced finely
About 10 mushrooms, sliced
Salt & pepper to season

Crumble topping -
80g plain flour
40g butter
Salt & pepper

In a large frying pan, melt the butter & add the olive oil of a medium-high heat. Fry the chicken breasts on both sides until golden. It doesn't matter if they are cooked through at this point. Remove from teh heat, allow to cool and chop roughly into bite size pieces.

Using the same frying pan & oil, fry the onions, garlic & mushrooms until softened. Add the chicken stock and allow to simmer for a few minutes. Add the tarragon & season with salt & pepper. Remove from the heat and add the creme fraiche, and stir through.

Preheat the oven to 200c. In a large casserole dish, add the chicken & pour over the sauce & mix. Make your crumble topping my rubbing the flour & butter together with your fingers until it resembles breadcrumbs.  Top the chicken mix in the casserole with the crumble. Pop into the oven for about 30 minutes.

Sticky Asian BBQ Chicken wings & sweetcorn rice

Another recipe from Lorraine Pascale! This is such a great TV show & recipe book, I have loved everything I have tried from it. It is also exactly my way of cooking, Fast, Easy & Fresh! Tasty hearty meals for my family that are budget friendly and easy to whip up. This glaze is made entirely from store-cupboard ingredients. I used a mixture of chicken wings & drumsticks - no leftovers though! The kids went back for seconds.

Sauce

800g chicken wings & drumsticks
6 squidges of tomato ketchup
3 tblsp balsamic vinegar
3 tblsp soy sauce
2 tblsp chinese 5-spice
2 squidges of honey
1 garlic clove (finely chopped)
Few sprigs of thyme (leaves only)
Sunflower oil (drizzle)
Salt & pepper to season

Preheat the oven to 200c. Mix all the ingredients together to form a thick sauce. Lay out your chicken pieces on a baking tray. Pour over the sauce and make sure each piece is coated. Pop into the oven for 30 minutes, until cooked through. Baste occasionally while cooking.

Sweetcorn Rice

350g rice
198g tin of sweetcorn
Handful chopped coriander or parsley
Drizzle of oil

Cook the rice as per the instructions on the packet. Drain and toss with the oil, herbs & sweetcorn. Serve alongside the chicken.

Schnitzel & coleslaw

I had intended to make chicken parmos like these I have made before. When it came to it though, I didn't fancy the cheese/sauce thing so decided to just make them as schnitzel instead. I made some homemade coleslaw to go alongside it, plus some salad and it was perfect.

Coleslaw -

Half small white cabbage, shredded
1 large carrot (or 2 medium) grated
4 spring onions, diced
4 tablespoons mayo (or to taste)
1/2 teaspoon sugar
Salt & pepper

Mix all the ingredients & allow to chill in the fridge for an hour or so. Will keep for 2/3 days in an airtight container in the fridge.

Chicken Schnitzel (serves 2)

2 chicken breasts
1 egg, beaten
Plain flour for dusting
Breadcrumbs to coat
Oil for frying

Butterfly the chicken breasts to make them all one thickness. To do this, cut them in half almost all way, leaving one edge still attached, then fold out & flatten.

Dip into flour, then egg then breadcrumbs, making sure to get a good coating. Gently place into a frying pan with a couple of cms of hot oil. Fry for 4 minutes each side, until cooked through & golden on the outside.

Buttermilk Roast Chicken

I have seen numerous recipes online that involve brining chicken in buttermilk, so when I saw some in Morrisons I grabbed some to try this out. It was well worth it! The chicken is so moist & tender after roasting, and had such a lovely flavour. I think next time I may try brining for 24 hours, I did it for around 6 hours today. Everyone loved it, and I had used cheap chicken quarters so was a great value meal too. I served ours with sauteed potatoes and sweetcorn.

4 chicken portions
1 carton buttermilk
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 cloves garlic, bruised and skins removed
Lots of salt & pepper
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 tablespoon maple syrup

Mix all the ingredients in a bowl, then pour over the chicken pieces. Allow to marinate for as long as possible (at least 2 hours, preferably over 12).

Preheat the oven to 200C. Place the chicken pieces on a roasting tray, and pour a tablespoon of the buttermilk mixture over each one. Roast in the oven for 30 minutes, until beautifully coloured & cooked through.