Month: Apr 2021

Whole poached chicken

~ Sophie ~ 3 Comments

Pale and incredibly succulent, cooking a whole chicken using this method feels as though the end result must be doing you good.

I tend to go one of 2 ways with a poached chicken. One is the classic Jewish penicillin, cooked with leek, carrot, celery and parsley. This makes the basis of an excellent soup with matzo balls, but I prefer it as a plate of beautifully tender chicken pieces served with brown basmati rice, garlic greens and a generous spoonful of dijon mustard for a poke of hot spice on the side.

The other way is Chinese style ‘saliva chicken’, so succulent it makes your mouth water. This is cooked with spring onions, ginger and rice wine, and served again with rice and a contrasting poke of spice this time provided by intensely spicy chilli sauce.

  • 1.5kg whole chicken
  • Aromatic ingredients (either 2 spring onions, roughly chopped; 2-inch piece of ginger, sliced into thick coins; 2 tbsp shaosing rice wine; 1 star anise OR 1 leek, cleaned and roughly chopped incl the green bit; 1 large carrot, scrubbed and roughly chopped; 1 stick celery, roughly chopped; small handful parsley stalks; 5 black peppercorns; 1 bay leaf)
  • 2 tsp salt
  1. Put the chicken breast side up, salt and all the aromatic ingredients into a deep pan
  2. Pour over enough cold water to just cover the chicken
  3. Cover and bring to a rolling boil
  4. Boil for 10 mins then turn off the heat and leave the pot to sit, covered, for an hour
  5. Remove the chicken from the pot and discard the other ingredients
  6. Rest for 10 mins then remove the skin, cut into pieces, season with a pinch of salt and eat up

To make soup, boil the broth until reduced by at least a third to intensify the flavour

You can also use the broth as stock to use in other dishes

If making the Chinese style version, sprinkle the chicken pieces with sesame oil and toasted sesame seeds. Here’s the recipe for the chilli sauce to dunk your chicken pieces in

Szechuan chilli sauce

  • 6 tbsp chilli oil
  • 2 tbsp black vinegar
  • 1 tbsp sesame oil
  • 2 tbsp shaosing wine
  • 1 tbsp sugar
  • pinch of salt
  • 1 tbsp soy sauce
  • 2 garlic cloves, squashed with the flat of a knife
  • 1 spring onion, minced
  • Coriander stalks, minced
  1. Mix all the ingredients together. Allow to sit for 15 mins before using, discarding the garlic as you serve

Fry bodi

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A tasty side dish of green beans and tomato, eat it with grilled chicken and rice and peas. You can add a finely chopped chilli to spice it up if you like.

  • 1 tsp veg oil
  • 1 ripe tomato, finely chopped
  • ½ a small onion, finely chopped
  • 1 garlic clove, minced
  • 200g fine green beans, trimmed and cut in half
  • Salt and pepper
  1. Heat the oil in a small saucepan on a medium heat
  2. Add the onion with a pinch of salt and cook, stirring often, for about 5 mins
  3. Add the tomato and garlic and give it a stir, cooking for a further 2 mins
  4. Put in the beans and 2 tbsp water, stir together, season and cover
  5. Cook for around 8 mins, stirring occasionally, until the beans are tender

Chocolate coconut cookies

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A gift of a recipe from baking whizz Amy, these cookies are squidgy, chocolate-y and just sweet enough without being sickly. This is a great recipe for making with children, as long as you’re prepared for the constant demands to lick the bowl/spoon/beaters/chopping board. These cookies are my go-to for bringing as a gift when we visit people.

  • 115g softened butter
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 200g brown sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 270g plain flour
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 100g unsweetened desiccated coconut
  • 180g dark chocolate, cut into small chunks
  1. Pre-heat oven to 170C fan (190C)
  2. In a big bowl, cream together the butter, sugar and vanilla until lighter and fluffy
  3. Beat in the eggs, one at a time
  4. Stir through the flour, baking powder, coconut and chocolate to make a sticky, soft dough
  5. Roll into golfball-sized balls, flatten slightly with your fingertips and place on, spaced out, on a lined baking tray
  6. Bake for 15 mins until lightly browned and smelling amazing

Tabbouleh

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I love this salad for its herby, zingy freshness.

  • 50g fine bulgar wheat
  • 3 tomatoes, diced (save the juice to add to the salad)
  • 3 spring onions, finely chopped
  • ½ cucumber, seeds removed then diced
  • 60g flat leaf parsley, finely chopped
  • 20g mint, finely chopped
  • Juice of ½ lemon
  • 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
  • Salt and pepper
  1. Rinse the bulgar wheat in a sieve, then pour boiling water over to cover by an inch or so
  2. After 15 mins, drain it and put it in a bowl with all the other ingredients
  3. Taste and adjust the seasoning, add a squeeze more lemon if you want

Tomato soup

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Rich, intensely tomato-y and flavourful. A lovely thing to share with friends after a bracing walk in the woods. Just make sure you have crusty bread on the side for dunking.

  • 1 kg ripe tomatoes, halved
  • 1 onion, chopped
  • 1 stick celery, chopped
  • 3 cloves garlic, chopped
  • 2 tbsp veg oil
  • 500ml veg stock
  • 1 tsp dried oregano
  • 1 tbsp red wine vinegar
  • Salt and pepper
  1. Pre-heat oven to 200C fan (220C) and put the tomatoes on a baking tray cut side up
  2. Roast for 30 mins or so until completely soft, caught round the edges and collapsing in on themselves
  3. Meanwhile, heat the oil in a large saucepan over a low heat and cook the onion, celery and garlic for around 10 mins until completely soft
  4. Scrape the contents of the baking tray into the pan, add the oregano, vinegar and seasoning and pour over the stock
  5. Bring to the boil, take off the heat and whizz up in the pan with a wand blender
  6. Taste, adjust the seasoning and serve piping hot. If you are feeling fancy, swirl a bit of single cream into each bowl as you serve

Feasts

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I delight in cooking for friends and family, I love how happy good food makes everyone and I find it so satisfying to have been the person who made that happen.

We don’t manage a family meal every night of the week due to work commitments, but our Friday night dinner is sacrosanct. Maybe it’s an echo of my Jewish heritage craving a Shabbat meal. The food is always something a bit more special, requiring a bit of effort, and we eat it together at the table with proper manners, no devices and open conversation. We talk about the week, highlights and low points, and what we’re looking forward to at the weekend. No topic is off the table.

I was brought up on rowdy, animated family meals, sharing food and talking (occasionally shouting) about any and all subjects. I’m so glad to be able to introduce that noisy, loving happiness into my own home as an adult, not only for family, but for friends too. I’m intrigued by the mixing of individuals and groups from different parts of my life. Nothing as grand as dinner parties, just informal social gatherings, often accompanied by music and a bottle of prosecco. I could take or leave bars and clubs at this stage in my life (honestly, at pretty much every stage in my life), but the joy of having my people, sitting together and eating something delicous together is unparalleled.

Because I’m one of life’s planners, of course the food is always mulled over extensively and planned out in advance. I like to plot a whole feast, a generous spread of dishes coaxed together, thinking and re-thinking until it feels just right. Here are a few of them.

  • Bbq ribs
  • Fried buttermilk chicken
  • Roast sweet potato wedges
  • Ottolenghi winter slaw
  • Green salad
  • Lime coriander yogurt
  • Patatas bravas
  • Albondigas
  • Chorizo with sherry glaze
  • Sweet potato, onion and spinach tortilla
  • Prawns with chilli, garlic, lemon, parsley
  • Bread
  • Green salad
  • Sliced manchego
  • Beetroot salad
  • Lamb rogan josh
  • Aubergine tomato curry
  • Basmati rice
  • Deep fried crispy bindhi
  • Pani poori
  • Chicken tikka skewers
  • Mango chutney
  • Raita

Potato pancakes

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Savoury, delicious and gluten free (if you’re into that sort of thing). Excellent with an egg on top and crispy bacon on the side, or served alongside soup for dunking.

  • 3 large baking potatoes, peeled and cut into large chunks
  • 1 tsp maple syrup
  • 1 egg, beaten
  • 200g rice flour
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 50g parmesan, finely grated
  • ½ tsp onion powder
  • ¼ tsp garlic powder
  • ½ dried sage
  • ½ tsp salt
  • ½ tsp paprika
  • Pepper
  • Veg oil
  1. Pre-heat oven to 180C fan (200C) and line a baking tray with baking paper.
  2. Bring a saucepan of salted water to the boil. Slip the potatoes in without scalding yourself and cook at a bubble for 15-20 mins until soft
  3. Strain, pop into a big bowl and mash to your desired smoothness (or use a potato ricer)
  4. Add the rest of the ingredients and mix thoroughly to create a sticky dough
  5. With your hands, form dough into 8 flat roughly-circular shapes around 1½ cm thick and place onto the lined baking tray
  6. Brush with oil and bake for 30 mins. Flip over, brush the other side with oil and give them a further 15 mins until golden all over

Gnocchi

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I made gnocchi for the first time this evening! So very impressed with myself, although it was actually pretty straightforward. (Although made infinitely more straightforward if you have a potato ricer).

Just 4 ingredients, a bit of mixing and then there were these beautiful, pillowy, soft gnocchi! So tasty with pesto and green beans. As usual, I forgot to take pics so you’ll have to take my word for it. Feeds 2 with quite a lot of leftovers.

  • 700g potatoes (I used red-skinned floury ones)
  • 210g strong white flour or pasta flour (plus extra for dusting)
  • 1 egg
  • 1 tsp salt
  1. Put the whole potatoes in a saucepan and cover with cold water
  2. Stick the lid on and turn the heat to high. Bring to the boil, cook for 15-30 mins (depending how big your potatoes are) until soft, and then drain
  3. Directly onto the counter, tip the flour into a pile, add the salt and sort of swirl toegther with your fingertips. Make a gap in the middle of the pile so it looks a bit like a christmas wreath
  4. Peel the potatoes (this bit can be slightly burny on your fingertips!) While they’re still hot, use the ricer to rice the whole potatoes roughly into the gap in the middle of the flour. This is not an exact science and that is fine. Don’t worry
  5. Make a well in the middle of the potato and crack the egg in
  6. Use a fork to beat the egg, then mix it gradually into the potato and flour, drawing them into the middle and combining the ingredients thoroughly
  7. Once it comes together, get your hands in and knead briefly to form a soft dough. Don’t give it too much time or energy, or you’ll get tough gnocchis
  8. Cut the dough ball into 4 roughly even pieces and work on each piece separately just to make life a bit easier
  9. Dust the counter with flour and gently roll one of the pieces into a long snake-piece, about 2cm in diameter. I used the palms of both hands to make my snakes
  10. Cut into 2cm pieces with a sharp knife. Either leave as they are or roll over the back of a floury fork with your thumb to make a pretty (sauce-trapping) pattern of ridges
  11. Drop the the finished gnocchi onto a floured tray and dust with a bit more flour to stop them sticking together
  12. When you’re ready to eat, bring a large pan of salted water to the boil, keep the heat high and drop your gnocchi in
  13. As they cook, they will rise to the top and you can just scoop them out with a slotted spoon

Eat immediately with lashings of fresh, homemade pesto or any other sauce you might use on pasta – tomato sauce, melted butter and sage leaves, cheese sauce or any one of a number of others.

Indian spiced shepherds pie

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A proper Anglo-Indian collision. Spiced, warm and enormously comforting. Eat with a spoon for maximum coddling.

  • 750g minced lamb
  • 1 tbsp veg oil
  • 1 tbsp butter
  • 2 onions, finely chopped
  • 2 inches fresh ginger, minced
  • 3 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 green birdseye chilli, finely chopped with seeds left in
  • 2 tbsp tomato puree
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 1 tsp turmeric
  • 1 large cinnamon stick
  • 1 tbsp ground coriander
  • 2 tbsp ground cumin
  • 1 tsp fenugreek seeds
  • 2 shakes worcestershire sauce
  • 1 lamb stock cube
  • Salt and pepper
  • 2 tsp garam masala
  • 2 handfuls of frozen peas
  • 900g parsnips, peeled and cut into chunks
  • 1 egg, beaten
  • 50ml cream
  • Grated nutmeg
  • Sprinkle of turmeric
  • Handful fresh coriander, chopped
  • 150g spinach, briefly cooked, liquid squeezed out and chopped
  1. Heat butter and oil in a deep, thick-bottomed pan
  2. Brown the lamb mince in batches over a high heat and remove from the pan
  3. Dump in the onions, turn the heat down and saute for 7 or 8 mins until completely soft
  4. Add ginger, garlic and green chilli, cook for 3 mins
  5. Add the tomato puree and cook for another minute
  6. Tip in the bay leaf, turmeric, cinnamon stick, ground coriander, cumin, fenugreek, worcestershire sauce, stock cube, salt and pepper. Stir together
  7. Then stir in lamb and add 200ml boiling water. Scrape the brown bits off the bottom of the pan
  8. Cook for 45 mins, stirring occasionally until liquid is reduced
  9. Meanwhile, make the mash. Cook the parsnip chunks in salted boiling water for 10 mins or so until soft. Mash with egg, cream, nutmeg, turmeric, salt and pepper. Stir through coriander and cooked spinach
  10. Add garam masala and peas to the lamb mixture. Taste everything and check the seasoning
  11. Pre-heat the oven to 180C fan (200C)
  12. Tip the lamb mixture into a deep oven dish and top with the mash. Run a fork over the top to make it spiky and bake for 30-40 mins until golden and bubbling

Coronation chicken

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A trashy-but-unashamed retro classic and brilliant use of leftover roast chicken. Wrap it in lettuce leaves, top toast with it, put it on a salad, make a mega-sandwich. Feeds 2.

  • 1 large, cooked chicken breast or equivalent amount, sliced and diced into approx 1cm cubes
  • 4 tbsp flaked almonds, toasted
  • 2 tbsp plain yoghurt (or substitute plain coconut yoghurt)
  • 3 tbsp mayonnaise
  • 1 heaped tbsp mango chutney
  • 1-2 tsp medium curry powder
  • Salt and pepper
  1. Literally just mix everything together and you’re good to go. Sprinkle with fresh coriander leaves and eat it.

BUT ALSO… a recent innovation I’ve just discovered that blew my tiny mind is using chickpeas instead of chicken. It’s coronation chickpeas! Incredibly yum. Just drain a tin of chickpeas and crush them roughly with a potato masher. Mix with all the other ingredients, plus a handful of packaged crispy fried onions. Tuck. IN.