Chicken au Chardonnay

Had this with jacket potatoes, peas, cauliflower and ribbon carrots (cooked in butter and honey). Very nice but I did thicken the sauce with some white sauce granules as it was too runny, I cooked it in a covered casserole in the oven for 45 minutes before adding the cream and returning without the lid for the last 10 minutes.

1 tbsp olive oil

1 onions, finely chopped

4-5 strips of bacon/pancetta, chopped

2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced

4 chicken breasts cut into pieces

400 g mushrooms, whole or halved

500 m/2/3 of a bottle Chardonnay

250 ml/1 cup double/whipping cream
salt & pepper to taste
handful flat leaf chopped parsley

1. Cook bacon or pancetta in a tablespoon of olive oil. Skip oil if bacon is too fatty. Remove the bacon to a paper towel-lined plate

2. Salt and pepper the chicken pieces and brown them in bacon fat over medium-high heat. Remove to a paper towel-lined plate.

3. Cook chopped onion over low heat for 5-7 minutes, add garlic when the onion is tender and translucent and cook for 1 minute longer. Remove cooked onion and garlic to the same plate as chicken and bacon.

4. Add mushrooms to the pan and brown them for 3-5 minutes over medium-high heat.

5. Return chicken, onion, garlic and bacon to the pan, pour wine all over, bring to a boil, then lower the heat to low and simmer for 40 minutes.

6.    Add cream and simmer for 10 minutes longer.

7.    Sprinkle with chopped parsley before serving.

Recipe from: Julia Frey of Vikalinka

Stuffed Mushrooms

These are a quick appetizer that can be prepared ahead. If you want a more intense cheese flavour mix in some grated parmesan. I used smoked bacon to give a smoky flavour.

4 Large mushrooms
300g Light Cottage Cheese
1/2 Onion finely chopped
4 rashers bacon - no fat
1 Stock cube

Cook bacon until crisp then fry onion in its juices
Snip bacon into bits and mix with onion and cottage cheese
You can leave rest until you are ready to eat them

Cook mushrooms in boiling stock for a few minutes each side to soften slightly
Drain mushrooms and then place on grill pan
Stuff mushrooms with filling and grill for 10-12 minutes until nice and brown
Sprinkle with chopped parsley (optional)

Lamb Shanks braised in Guinness

We had these with a colcannon  made with leeks and kale; I prepared the colcannon and cooked the lamb shanks for 2 hours (the smell was lovely) on the stove top; both were put back in the oven later and then re-heated for 30 minutes. I cooked 4 lamb shanks but there was plenty of meat so I have frozen enough for a dinner for 2

1 yellow onion, diced    

1 celery stalks, diced

2 carrots, peeled and diced

2 garlic cloves, crushed

400 ml beef stock

2 Tbs. tomato paste

2 tsp. chopped fresh thyme OR 1 dried

4 lamb shanks, external fat trimmed

Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste

2 Tbs. olive oil

2 cup red wine OR 400 ml Guinness

Season the lamb shanks with salt and pepper. 

In a large sauté pan over medium-high heat, warm the olive oil until nearly smoking. 

Add the shanks and brown on all sides, about 10 minutes total. 

Remove to a plate with paper towel to absorb grease.

Pour off excess grease then fry the onion and garlic till slightly brown. 

Add carrots, celery, tomato paste and thyme and stir for a few minutes before adding stock and liquor.

Bring to a simmer, stirring to scrape up any browned bits from the pan bottom then add back the lamb. 

Cook very slowly for 2-3 hours until lamb falls off the bone adding more liquid if required.

Remove the lamb to a large casserole dish and using a blender or stick blender puree the liquids and solids until smooth. 

Pour some of the sauce over the shanks and pass the rest alongside.

Berry Clafoutis

This one has mixed berries (raspberries and blueberries) and left out the cinnamon. I made just 2/3 of the amount in () which was plenty for 4 of us and dusted with a little icing sugar.

1 ¼ cups milk (7oz)

½ cup sugar  (2oz)

3 eggs

½ cup flour (3oz)

¼ teaspoon salt

1 Tablespoon vanilla

¼ teaspoon lemon zest

1/8 teaspoon cinnamon

2 cups berries

1.     Preheat oven to 350° Fan 150

2.     In a blender blend the milk, 1/3 cup of the sugar, eggs, vanilla, salt, lemon zest, cinnamon and flour.

3.     Pour a ¼ inch layer of the batter in a lightly and evenly buttered fireproof baking dish. Place in the oven until batter firms up a bit (a film will set in the pan). Remove from the heat and place the berries/cherries over the batter. Sprinkle on the remaining sugar. Pour on the rest of the batter evenly.

4.     Bake at 350° for about 45 minutes to an hour. The clafouti is done when puffed and brown and a knife plunged in the center comes out clean. Great served warm or room temperature.
Refrigerate leftovers.

Alternative uses 1lb Rhubarb
Cut the rhubarb into 2-inch lengths and put in a baking pan with a good pinch of cinnamon, if using, the juice of 1 orange and 2 tablespoons of sugar. Toss well and roast in the oven for 10 to 15 minutes, or until tender and just beginning to caramelize around the edges. Let cool completely and then drain in a sieve.

Pear Upside Down Cake

This did not rise much which makes me think my wholemeal flour is not a self-raising one - will add baking powder next time I use it. I made it in a loaf tin as I have parchment wrappers pre-cut and put the pears on the bottom rather than the top. I substituted ginger for the cinnamon.

Recipe is River Cottage Caramelized Pear Cake

• 150g unsalted butter, softened

• 125g caster sugar

• 2 medium eggs

• 75g wholemeal self raising flour

• 75g ground almonds

• A good pinch of cinnamon

For the caramelised pears:

• 2 pears (reasonably firm, but not rock hard)

• 25g unsalted butter

• 1 tbsp dark brown sugar

1. Preheat oven to 170°C/gas 3. Grease a 20cm-diameter springform cake tin and line the base with baking parchment.

2. Peel, core and quarter the pears.

3. Melt the 25g butter in a frying pan big enough to take all the pear pieces, over a medium high heat. When it’s bubbling, add the sugar and stir gently until it has dissolved into the butter. Add the pears and cook gently, turning once or twice, until they have softened and are starting to colour – 5-10 minutes. Set aside to cool.

4. In a mixing bowl, beat the softened butter with the caster sugar until pale and fluffy. Beat in one egg at a time, adding a spoonful of the flour with each to stop the mix curdling.

5. Combine the remaining flour, the ground almonds and the cinnamon, and fold into the mixture. Scrape into the prepared tin. Arrange the pears on top and pour on any buttery juices left in the pan.

6. Bake for about 40-50 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the centre of the cake comes out clean.

7. Stand the cake in its tin on a wire rack to cool for a few minutes, then release the tin.

Soda Bread

Made this to have with the One Pot Casserole but it has turned out quite small. Tastes OK but is quite heavy (bicarb must be old)

75g/3oz plain flour

100g/3½oz wholemeal flour

25g/1oz oats

1½ tsp caster sugar

½ tsp salt

½ tsp baking soda

1 tbsp linseeds

175ml/6fl oz natural yoghurt

1.     Preheat the oven to 220C/425F/Gas 7. Line a baking tray with greaseproof paper.

2.     Stir all of the ingredients, except the yoghurt, together in a bowl. Add most of the yoghurt and mix together to a soft dough. Add a little extra yoghurt if the dough is dry.

3.     Tip the dough out onto a floured work surface and knead for a few minutes until smooth.

4.     Shape into round loaf and put on the baking tray. Flatten slightly with your hand then mark a deep X on the top using a knife. Make sure to cut almost all the way to the bottom of the dough, so that the middle of the bread cooks all the way through.

5.     Bake in the oven for 20-25 minutes.

Chicken One Pot

This is smelling super while cooking and it has butter beans which I love :)

I made half for 2 of us using cut up chicken breasts and substituted a carrot for the tomato puree as Ricky not over keen on a tomato flavour

·         1.2 kg of your favorite chicken parts (I used a mix)

·         2 onions, peeled and sliced

·         4 cloves of garlic , chopped

·         ½ cup of celery - 1 cm cubes

·         A few sprigs of thyme or rosemary

·         2 tbsp flour

·         2 tbsp tomato puree

·         650ml chicken stock

·         1 x 400g tin chopped tomatoes

·         1 x 400g tin butter beans (or any other beans that you prefer), drained

·         Salt and ground black pepper

·         Olive oil

Place a large dutch oven or heavy lidded pan on a medium heat. Season the chicken thighs with salt and pepper.

Drizzle about 2 tbsp olive oil into the pan.

Add the chicken pieces and cook for about 5 minutes on a medium/high heat or until golden brown.

Remove the chicken from the pan and keep aside.

In the same pot, add 1 more tablespoon of olive oil and add the onions and herbs to the pan and cook for at least 5 minutes.

Add in garlic, fry for a further 30 seconds and stir in the tomato puree.

Add in the flour and cook for 2 minutes.

At this point, you can add the canned tomatoes, stock and season with salt and black pepper.

Simmer the sauce for about 5 minutes.

Add the chicken pieces, celery and beans.

Bring to the boil then turn down to a simmer. Place the lid on and cook on the stove, under low heat for around 1 hour.

Althernatively, you can cook this in the oven.

Serve with rice, bread or mashed potatoes.

Adapted from recipe by Maya Kitchenette