Showing posts sorted by relevance for query lamb. Sort by date Show all posts
Showing posts sorted by relevance for query lamb. Sort by date Show all posts
Yes, its another chicken recipe to share with you today. We do eat a lot of chicken. I usually try to intersperse other recipes in between, but I messed up this week, so yes, its another chicken recipe, but it is not only a tasty recipe that I think you are going to really enjoy, but its a great store cupboard recipe, and perfectly sized for two. You can easily adapt it to serve more if you wish.
I was slightly inspired by a recipe I found in Miguel Barclay's latest book, Super Easy One Pound Meals. He has a recipe in there for a chicken parm, which uses skin on chicken thighs. I got rid of the skin in favour of a cheesy breading, which is much more authentic to my way of thinking, and . . . dare I say it???? Why not . . . a tad bit tastier.
I have to confess, I have tried a few recipes from his books, and I will be honest, they (to me) lack flavour. I mean no offense, truly. I did his Moussaka for us the other day, which was in his first book, I believe. The photograph looked really good, and we quite like Moussaka.
First off, the
sauce was pretty tasteless, which was easy for me to fix. I added some
cinnamon, and thyme, and a splash of white wine. I also chose to infuse the milk for the bechamel with some bay leaf. (Just warm the milk with a broken bay leaf added, and let sit for bout 10 minutes.)
The recipe called for eggplant/aubergine sliced lengthwise rather than crosswise, and layered in a pan
with the lamb sauce and the bechamel, which in theory sounds great. I thought to myself, what novel idea. It doesn't work. The end result is tough eggplant (especially when going by the cook time suggested in the recipe) It was actually quite rubbery. I scraped out the meat sauce and put it into a casserole dish, discarding the eggplant and bechamel. I topped it with some frozen mash and Todd had it for dinner as a kind of Greek Shepherd's pie, which he did enjoy. Lemons/lemonade . . . so . . .
Just sharing my experience, that's all. I mean no harm.The chicken parm recipe in his first book sounds and looks delicious, but with a few changes, such as the cheese/crumb coating on the chicken, rather than skin. To be honest, once you add the sauce the skin would lose any crispness, the crumbs stand up much better to sauce, than skin.
He also uses plain passatta (sieved tomatoes) with some oregano added. It sounded bland. I used a basil and garlic marinara sauce, which costs approximately the same, but has a lot more flavour, containing more herbs and garlic . . .
This gets added at the very end, so the crumbs stay nice and crisp, and then I topped the marinara with some Italian Four Cheese Blend, which I also thought had more flavour. It is a mix of mozzarella and other cheeses, so you still get the ooze, but it just tastes better. (Again only my opinion!)
What I did like about his recipe was the idea of roasting potato cubes along with the chicken. They got nice and crisp edged. We quite liked them.
I haven't costed the recipe with my changes, but I can't think that they would increase the cost by much as it is really only adding some herbs and a few different flavours. I have a well stocked herb cupboard.
I think on the whole his books are good for younger inexperienced cooks, the recipes make great canvases for cooks to play with, so its not all bad news. He really tends to play it safe when it comes to flavours, and a more experienced cook can easily play with them and amp things up.
But that is really the mark of a good recipe isn't it . . . its a recipe which anyone can cook, and which inspires you to want to cook, motivating you to want to stretch your abilities/tastes a tiny bit. You look at it and you say to yourself, what a great idea . . . and you grab the ball and run with it. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't.
The changes I applied to this one worked, and they worked well. We were both very pleased with our dinners. I would not cook the moussaka one again. I'll stick to my tried and true one instead. I have always roasted my aubergine first and I would suggest if you try his, you do too, or you could just cook my tried and true recipe, which was adapted from one by the reliable Tamasin Day Lewis. I have never cooked one of her recipes that I did not fall in love with.
In any case, this was good. It was delicious. It was quick. It was easy.
Yield: 2
Quick & Easy Chicken Parm
prep time: 10 minscook time: 30 minstotal time: 40 mins
This is a quick and easy meal, making use of some store cupboard ingredients. For those days when you are feeling lacking in inspiration but still want something really tasty to eat.
ingredients:
2 large skinless, boneless chicken thighs (alternately you can use small breasts)
4 TBS Panko Bread crumbs
2 TBS coarsely grated Parmesan cheese
salt and black pepper to taste
120ml good quality tomato and basil pasta sauce (1/2 cup)
4 TBS Italian four cheese blend
2 medium baking potatoes peeled and cubed
olive oil
instructions:
Preheat the oven to 190*C/375*F/ gas mark 5. Have ready a baking
tray large enough to hold the chicken and potatoes in a single layer.
Toss the potatoes in a bowl with a bit of oil and some seasoning.
Scatter them onto the baking tray.
tray large enough to hold the chicken and potatoes in a single layer.
Toss the potatoes in a bowl with a bit of oil and some seasoning.
Scatter them onto the baking tray.
Lay the
chicken thighs onto the baking tray in a single layer, stretching them
out and opening them up. Season with some salt and black pepper. Mix
together the bread crumbs and Parmesan. Sprinkle evenly over top of the
chicken. Drizzle with a tiny bit of olive oil. Pop the tray into the
preheated oven. Roast for 25 to 30 minutes, stirring the potatoes every
10 minutes. At the end of that time, spoon the tomato sauce over each
piece of chicken and scatter with the cheese blend. return to the oven
and roast until everything is heated through, the cheese has melted and
the chicken juices run clear. Serve hot.
chicken thighs onto the baking tray in a single layer, stretching them
out and opening them up. Season with some salt and black pepper. Mix
together the bread crumbs and Parmesan. Sprinkle evenly over top of the
chicken. Drizzle with a tiny bit of olive oil. Pop the tray into the
preheated oven. Roast for 25 to 30 minutes, stirring the potatoes every
10 minutes. At the end of that time, spoon the tomato sauce over each
piece of chicken and scatter with the cheese blend. return to the oven
and roast until everything is heated through, the cheese has melted and
the chicken juices run clear. Serve hot.
Created using The Recipes Generator
I don't know as I would bother with the potatoes again. I think really rice or pasta would go much better, but again that's just my opinion. Have a great day and Bon Appetit!
There are certain foods that I just have to make each Easter for us to eat here in my English Kitchen. Things like hot cross buns . . .
Baked Ham and scalloped potatoes . . . if I'm in a North American mood, or Roast Leg of Lamb, if I'm feeling decidedly British . . .
Deviled Eggs . . .
Simnel Cakes . . .
There are some foods that are just traditional for Easter Celebrations. My Aunt Thelma always used to make lovely fruit breads for Easter. All yeasty and sweet and stogged full of raisins and candied peel . . . the tops covered with a lucious icing glaze and decorated with candied cherries. We so used to look forward to their arrival every Easter Holiday . . .
These past few years I have adopted the habit of making these delicious chocolatey Easter Crispie Cakes. They're so easy to make, and scummily moreish to eat.
Kids just love them. Adults likewise . . . somewhat reminiscent of the Nestle's Crunch Bar . . . there is nothing to them but good melted chocolate (two kinds) and crisp rice cereal.
Oh, and those tasty candy covered little chocolate eggs of course!!
Bet you can't eat just one . . . and I bet you'll have to make them more than once during the Easter Holiday season. Aren't you glad they're so easy to make?
*Easter Chocolate Crispie Nests*
Makes about 15
Printable Recipe
These are so easy to do and look so pretty when they are finished. I had long heard of Marshmallow Crispy Squares, but never these chocolate delights! What a sheltered life I have lived! I wish I had known about these when my children were growing up. They would have loved them!
50 grams of milk chocolate (I used Green and Blacks organic) (1/3 cup)
50 grams of dark chocolate (again I used Green and Blacks)(1/3 cup)
3 cups of crisp rice cereal
1 bag of Easter mini eggs (you will not need them all, but I am sure you will find a use for the extras, I did!)
Put a pot with some water in the bottom of it on the stove and bring it to a simmer. Break the chocolate up into bits and place it into a glass bowl, large enough to sit over the simmering water. Cook and stir until melted. Take care not to let the water boil. Once the chocolate is all melted and smooth, carefully remove it from the heat and stir in the rice cereal.
Line a bun tin with paper liners and spoon the chocolate cereal mixture in, dividing it equally amongst each cup. Place a few easter eggs on the top of each and set them aside to cool and set up. You can put them into the fridge to do this if you are in a hurry, but it may cause your chocolate to bloom. If you are a patient sort it really doesn't take that long for them to set up out of the fridge, perhaps not much more than an hour or so.
Sunday lunch/dinner is a huge tradition over here in the UK . . . with roast dinners and all the trimmings. In fact in most pubs on a Sunday you can't order off the menu. It's roast dinner or nothing. Mind you, most give you a choice or beef, pork, lamb or turkey, so it's not that bad really. We don't eat out on Sundays and we never have a roast dinner at home. We spend half of the day in church and to be honest . . . when I get home I can't be asked to cook a big roast dinner then.
This Pasta with Chicken Broth, Butter & Cheese that I am sharing with you today is a beautiful example of simple and uncomplicated foods. Food done well and put together in a most delicious way.
These are my favourie kinds of recipes. I just love them. Its how I like to cook most of the time. I am so done with complications in my life, let alone in my food.
There are several things that I always keep in my larder. One of them is a variety of pasta shapes, from the always popular spaghetti right on down to rice shaped orzo.
I love pasta, and would eat it in any way shape or form. My husband, however . . . is not so sure! More for me!
He does always eat whatever I put in front of him. He is a fan of pinching the pennies, and so he didn't complain overly much when I served him this.
Plus there was still some Baby Sticky Toffee Pudding Cakes, leftover from the other day for afters. Who can complain about that!
Another thing I always keep in my store cupboard is a variety of stock cubes and gel pots. Chicken, vegetable, beef, ham, lamb, etc.
Stock and pasta are the basis of this very simple and yet delicious dish in which pasta is quite simply cooked in a quantity of stock . . . It doesn't get much easier than this.
Cooking the pasta in the stock infuses it with lots of flavour. The starch from the pasta actually serves to thicken the stock somewhat into a sauce,
A miracle of chemistry.
The knob of butter added at the end doesn't hurt either . . . . just sayin' You will hear no complaints from me.
Butter, pasta, cheese . . . all weaknesses.
This is one dish where you want to cook the pasta at a slow simmer. To boil it in the stock would mean that too much of the stock would evaporate.
You want to keep as much of the stock in the pot as possible for that sauce. A low simmer does the trick perfectly.
As you can see, I had plenty of stock left to ladle over the cooked pasta for the sauce. You don't want it to be overly soupy, but neither do you want it to be dry.
I used a very small elbow macaroni for this today, but any small pasta shape works well. Ditali, orzo, any small pasta shape.
You want ideally one that will cook in less then 10 minutes. So make sure you check the package for a cook time.
If you use a good stock you shouldn't need any seasoning, other than coarse black pepper. The stock should be salty enough.
Do make sure you use a quality stock however. Most of the flavour of the dish will becoming from that.
Me, I always like a good grinding of black pepper on everything. My father is the same. He loves a good lot of pepper on everything.
So much so that I am often aghast at just how much he uses and I wonder at how he can taste anything beyond pepper!
Garnished with some freshly grated Parmesan Cheese and a sprinkle of chopped fresh parsley this was a real treat for me.
Comfort in a bowl . . . it doesn't get much better than this. Some hot buttered toast on the side goes very well.
Yield: 2
Pasta with Chicken Broth, Butter & Cheese
This is essentially comfort food. Quick to make and very simple. We enjoy it with slices of hot buttered toast.
ingredients:
- 950ml chicken broth (4 cups)
- 230g small pasta shapes (small macaroni, small shells, orzo, ditali, stilleti, etc.) (2 cups)
- 30g butter (1/4 cup)
- 50g finely grated Parmesan Cheese (1/4 cup)
- coarse pepper
- chopped fresh parsley or basil
instructions:
How to cook Pasta with Chicken Broth, Butter & Cheese
- Put the chicken stock into a large heavy based saucepan. Bring to the boil and then stir in the pasta. Reduce immediately to a low simmer. Cook as per pasta package instructions, stirring frequently to prevent it from sticking. Don't be tempted to boil it as you will most definitely run out of stock. This is meant to be cooked at a very slow simmer. Once the pasta is cooked, remove from the heat and stir in the butter. Grind some pepper into the pot and stir.
- Using a slotted spoon, scoop out the pasta to two heated bowls. Ladle any stock left in the saucepan over each, dividing it equally. Sprinkle each with half the cheese and a spoonful of chopped herbs. Serve immediately.
It is the simple meals like this that I enjoy most of all. I have never made it for any more than two people, but if I was going to do so, I would cook it in separate pots. This really is a delicious doddle!
This content (written and photography) is the sole property of The English Kitchen. Any reposting or misuse is not permitted. If you are reading this elsewhere, please know that it is stolen content and you may report it to me at: mariealicejoan at aol dot com Thanks so much for visiting. Do come again!
*Perfect Deviled Eggs*
Makes 12 servings
Makes 12 servings
Printable Recipe
I
wish I had a pound for every one of these I have cooked in my
lifetime. I'd be sitting real pretty on a huge pile of dosh right now!
These are excellent. Always the first things to disappear on the
buffet table.
Tips for Creating Perfect Hard Boiled Eggs:
1. Older eggs are a lot easier to peel than newer eggs. I always use eggs that at least one week old, if not older. If you have eggs that are close to their expiration date, so much the better. It's true!
2. Boiled Eggs, should actually NEVER be boiled! Keeping them at a steady simmer is much better. Boiling toughens the yolk. Also, never add salt to the water. I do add a tiny bit of vinegar, which helps them to peel easier.
3. Always bring your eggs to room temperature before boiling. They are less likely to crack if you do this.
4. Don't stack your eggs in the pot. Have them laid out in one layer. If you have too many eggs to do this with, you need a larger pot! You only need about 1 inch of water over the top of the eggs. More than that and it takes too long to boil. Less than that and your eggs won't stay covered.
5. As soon as your water comes to the boil, remove your pot from the heat, pop a lid on and let them set in the boiling water for (17 minutes) large eggs, (20 minutes) jumbo eggs. At the end of that time, drain and then run cold water over them until they are cooled down. Let them sit in cold water for about 10 minutes and then drain. For ease of peeling roll them around and allow the shells to crack while they are still in the water. Let sit for a few minutes.
For ease in peeling these things help alot . . . using older eggs, beginning at the large end of the egg, peeling under running cold water. I usually tap the large end on the counter until it cracks, then give the egg a gentle roll all over before peeling them under a slow running tap. You will get perfect results almost 100% of the time.
And now for a giggle. Here's a few things I baked over the past few days for Easter that never made the cut for the blog for aesthetic reasons. In other words, they didn't photograph well.
This is my Easter Lamb Cake. I had always wanted to do an Easter Lamb Cake, but did not have the proper pan. I decided to use a Scottie Dog Shortbread tin, which kinda worked, lol. But I laughed and laughed when I saw it done. Here is the recipe I used for the cake itself, which is a excellent recipe.
*Kentucky Butter Cake*
Makes 12 servings
The other cake I baked was this Easter Basket Cake, which was a recipe I have had in my Big Blue Binder. It was clipped from a magazine and was supposed to be in aid of Sunmaid Raisins and Pet Evaporated Milk. It's a lovely cake. For some odd reason however, this time my cake stuck to the sides of my pan. You win some and you lose some! Its a cake I made quite frequently when my children were growing up.
*Easter Basket Cake*
Makes 15 servingsI don't think I will ever be able to find work as a Cake Decorator, lol. Happy Easter!
New Potato Colcannon. This is a delicious colcannon recipe I wanted to share with you before Saint Patricks' Day on the 17th of March. There is something pretty wonderful that happens when you combine cabbage and potatoes and Ireland.
Its called Colcannon! And its very Irish. This is a slightly healthier version of the original. Created to be low GI and very diabetic friendly.
During the 17th and 18th century in Europe and Ireland, cabbages, potatoes and leeks were considered to be the basic foods of the common serf, man. In other words, most people. Only the very wealthy could afford to eat fancier foods.
Colcannon is the inevitable result of mankind's ability to make lemonade out of lemons. And it is a most delicious way to present these three simple ingredients. This dish however uses milder spring onions rather than the much stronger flavored leek.
A first reference to Colcannon in Irish History was found in the 1735 diary entry of William Bulkely, a traveler from Wales who was introduced to the dish on a Halloween night in Dublin:
“Dined at Cos. Wm. Parry, and also supped there upon a shoulder of mutton roasted and what they call there Coel Callen, which is cabbage boiled, potatoes and parsnips, all this mixed together. They eat well enough, and is a Dish always had in this Kingdom on this night.”
The word colcannon is derived from the Gaelic term “cal ceannann” which means white-headed cabbage. Although generally speaking these days the dish is made from either Kale or the darker green savoy cabbage!
Humble ingredients put together in a most delicious way, this is considered haute cuisine in many multiple Michelin star restaurants. In short this is a beautiful side dish well deserving to be served on any table!
This version I am sharing today boasts the addition of some smoky and salty pancetta. Oh, I just adore bacon and pancetta. Both go so very well with cabbages and potatoes of any kind, hence the addition of pancetta to this dish only makes sense.
New potatoes are considered to be low GI. In order to be considered low GI, a food must have a glucose index score of less than 55. These carbohydrates take longer to break down than their higher GI counterparts, which means that they cause a persons sugar levels to raise much more slowly, which is good news when it comes to controlling your diet as a diabetic.
I love it when the side dish becomes the star of the meal. I am a vegetable lover after all, and could be quite happy if I never ate meat again.
Well, I tell, a bit of a lie there because I would miss a good steak every now and again, and I do kind of like roast chicken and turkey. And a really well done Prime Rib Roast is a magnificent thing to behold and to eat!
Okay . . . I guess it's settled. I just like to eat. But I do have my favorite things and vegetables are one of them!
This Crushed New Potato Colcannon is a delightful side dish! Chock full of lovely savoy cabbage and new potatoes. It is also a perfect side dish to enjoy on Saint Patrick's Day.
I have also used spring onions, which have a nice mild onion flavor, not too harsh. It goes really well with the cabbage.
Savoy cabbage is quite a mild flavored cabbage. If you were to use leeks, or even regular onions, you run the risk of them overpowering the dish.
This is a case where you want to be able to taste the cabbage. Another reason I chose savoy is because it is has such a pretty green color and Saint Patrick's Day is all about the green!
This is a side dish that goes together really quickly once you have the individual elements of it ready to go. I sautéed the prosciutto first in a skillet, reserving the drippings for the finish.
The cabbage itself, was lightly steamed, so as to help preserve that rich green color. The potatoes were boiled in lightly salted water, just until they were fork tender.
You could actually do all of these things earlier in the day or the night before so that when the time came, you could quickly and easily just throw the dish together.
Spring onions/scallions are cooked in the pan drippings, just long enough to wilt them without browning. Once you've done that you quickly add the potatoes to the pan, heating them through and crushing them a bit in the process.
Then you add the cabbage and prosciutto, gently tossing everything together and heating both as well. A knob of butter is optionally thrown in at the end to add a bit of richness, but I can tell you, this beautiful side dish is every bit as delicious without it. ''
This was served simply with some grilled bangers/sausages, steamed carrots and a spoonful of grainy Dijon mustard. It would also go well with grilled pork or lamb chops, or even grilled chicken.
In fact, this is pretty tasty all on its own. Not to confess or anything, but I could be quite happy with just a plate of this and nothing else!!
Crushed New Potato Colcannon
Yield: 4
Prep time: 5 MinCook time: 30 MinTotal time: 35 Min
A healthier version of an old Irish favorite. Its delicious!
Ingredients
- 1 1/4 pounds (600g) new potatoes, unpeeled, washed well and cut in half
- 3/4 pound (400g) savoy cabbage, washed, trimmed and coarsely shredded
- 2 tsp sunflower oil
- 4 rashers prosciutto, cut into 1/2 inch slices
- 6 spring onions, trimmed and finely sliced (scallions)
- 2 TBS (25g) butter, cubed (optional)
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Add the prosciutto into a large skillet, along with the oil. Cook, until crisp. Scoop out and drain on paper towels.
- Set the skillet aside for now and reserve the pan drippings.
- Put the potatoes into a saucepan of lightly salted water. Bring to the boil and then reduce to a simmer. Cook for 18 to 20 minutes until tender. Drain well.
- Cook the cabbage in boiling water for about 3 minutes, until just tender. Drain well, run under cold water and drain again.
- Reheat the drippings in the skillet. Add the spring onions to the skillet and soften without coloring.
- Add the cabbage and heat through. Drop in the potatoes and lightly crush.
- Stir through the prosciutto and season to taste. If you are using butter, stir it in now.
- Serve hot.
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