A simple salad to pull together as an accompaniment or a summer barbecue staple.
What do I need to make it?
How much will I make?
Serves 4 as a side dish
How do I make it?
Roast the corn cobs over an open flame and then shuck them once cooled. Place all the ingredients in a bowl and mix together.
We shared with you a simple recipe to use up some of the Christmas leftovers in a hearty corn soup – here’s another recipe using the remainder of the leftover chicken. What initially started of as a filling for a Vietnamese rice paper roll ended up as a topping for a warm salad (had a bag of rocket leaves that was going to go past it’s expiry date and needed to be used). In hindsight, we think this would have worked even better on a bed of iceberg lettuce or on some plain boiled Jasmine rice. We have used the same core ingredients as with the tarragon butter made for the roast chicken (recipe below) and embellished it with more fresh herbs to give it a Vietnamese slant. We have managed three wholesome meals with one medium sized bird – the humble Christmas roast chicken – the gift that keeps giving 😉
What do I need to make it?
How much will I make?
2 large portions or 4 side salads
How do I make it?
Melt a knob of butter in a large frying pan and saute chopped garlic for 30 seconds. Add the chillies and stir for another minutes before adding the chopped tarragon and sliced mushroom. Saute over medium heat for a few minutes – sprinkle some salt and then add the shredded chicken. Warm the chicken through for five minutes – switch of the heat and add the remaining fresh chopped herbs. To serve, place a generous portion of the warm chicken on a bed of rocket and garnish with the ground roasted peanuts. Enjoy.
Both of us want our little ones to grow up with an appreciation for Indian traditions and festivals such as Vishu, Pongal and Diwali whilst at the same time embracing Western mainstays of Thanksgiving and Christmas. We are trying to start our own special way of celebrating Christmas, including the decorating of the tree, buying of presents for dear friends and most importantly a family sit down lunch. Our Christmas lunch menu comprised of a Gordan Ramsay inspired tarragon and red chilli butter roast chicken stuffed with a chickpea mixture (our table top oven can’t cope with a turkey!) – sides included rosemary roast potatoes, steamed and buttered Brussels sprouts (this year we used the Brussels sprouts grown in our own little vegetable patch – whilst not as big as the store bought alternative they definitely tasted a lot sweeter and better) and candied sweet potatoes (a favourite in the Southern States of the US).
Tarragon & red chilli butter roasted Chicken
What do I need to make it?
Tarragon butter
Use a pestle and mortar to pound the garlic, chillies and tarragon with a pinch of salt till you get a coarse paste. Mix the paste into the soft butter and keep aside till you are ready to prepare the chicken.
Chickpea stuffing
Heat oil in a pan – first add the cumin seeds and saute for a minute before adding the garlic. Saute for a minute and then add the chopped onions and red chilli. Saute over medium heat for 5 minutes – sprinkle the ground cumin and add the drained chickpeas. Mix together, adjust the seasoning and garnish with the fresh coriander. Keep aside and let it cool down before stuffing the chicken with this mixture.
How much will I make?
Serves 4
How do I make it?
Grease an oven proof baking tray and place chicken on it. Season with salt and pepper and place chickpea stuffing in the cavity followed by the lemon – use toothpicks to seal the cavity. Lift the skin and form a pocket before massaging the tarragon butter all over the chicken. Massage some of the butter on top of the skin and rub some over the legs as well. Place the tray in a pre-heated oven at 200 degree centigrade and cook for an hour or till done. Once cooked, remove the stuffing and place in bowl as an accompaniment. Carve the chicken and enjoy.
Candied sweet potatoes
What do I need to make it?
How much will I make?
Serves 4
How do I make it?
Heat the cloves, cinnamon, sugar and butter with 1/3 cup of water and bring to a boil over a medium heat till you get a syrup that coats the back of your spoon. Place the boiled sweet potatoes in the syrup and continue to cook for 5 minutes before transferring to an oven proof dish and placing in a 200 degree Centigrade pre-heated oven for 20-30 minutes. Serve hot.
We can’t believe that neither of us had tried Sharon fruit (persimmon) till earlier this year but having done so it is now a regular feature in our fruit bowl. Tonight we had a simple salad combining thinly sliced Sharon fruit and pear (used a mandolin slicer) topped with lambs lettuce dressed in olive oil, balsamic white vinegar, salt and pepper and finished with shavings of flavoured Gloucester cheese (onions and chives). Hope you enjoy as much as we did.
Having discovered the versatility of chestnut flour as an adequate replacement for normal flour in our baking endeavoors we have been making pancakes regularly with it. We decided yesterday to try something different and incorporate some bold coffee flavours into the batter and are pleasantly surprised with the outcome. We think this could work brilliantly as a dessert option with scoops of vanilla or coffee ice cream or a syrup made with Kaluha. The pancakes have also given us an idea for a tiramusu alternative – more once we have tried it.
What do I need to make it?
How much will I make?
8 medium sized pancakes depending on size
How do I make it?
Beat the egg and milk in a bowl and then add the chestnut flour and baking powder. Use a whisk to beat further to ensure no lumps. Add the remaining ingredients, whisk further and batter should coat your ladle. Heat frying pan on medium heat and add a knob of butter some batter and cook on both sides, Serve hot as a breakfast pancake or as a dessert with a scoop of coffee/vanilla ice cream.
We had a relative visit us over the weekend and had prepared some of Anna’s mum’s dry roast chicken curry as a snack. We had some left over and this has formed the inspiration for this salad. The dressing is simple to make and probably could work well with any Indian grilled/baked chicken dish (ie. tandoori chicken or chicken tikka masala). The recipe for the chicken (Chicken Ularthiyathu) was posted in an earlier blog – link below.
The Dressing
What do I need to make it?
How much will I make?
100-150 ml
How do I make it?
Place all the ingredients in a food processor and blend to a fine paste. Place warmed left over chicken pieces over salad leaves of choice and drizzle the dressing over. Enjoy.
Related Links:
Chicken Ularthiyathu – http://wp.me/p3oBch-M
We have gone quiet for the last week with little to share in the way of new recipes. Furthermore we had a little mishap with our oven which died on us – trying to replace it has been a challenge – old built in oven was 90 cm wide and 48 cm tall and over 10 years old – all newer off the shelf models are 60 cm wide and around 60 cm high – note to self avoid built in ovens if we move house! Our interim solution is a counter top rotisserie oven which so far seems to be doing a remarkable job on the grilling front – although we haven’t tested it with any serious baking so far (we are going to make some chestnut flour chocolate chip cookies later in the week – let’s see how the oven copes!). We digress – this evening we had “Chinese egg drop soup” – which was extremely easy to prepare and can be whipped up in fifteen minutes or less.
What do I need to make it?
How much will I make?
Serves 2 hearty bowls
How do I make it?
Heat pan and add oil to it. Saute the ginger, garlic and red chili for a couple of minutes before adding the mushrooms and sweetcorn. Sprinkle the Chinese five spice powder and saute for another couple of minutes before adding the stock cubes and 400-500 ml of water. Simmer on low heat and once the soup comes to a boil pour in the beaten eggs and mix vigorously. Sprinkle the white pepper, soya sauce and adjust for salt. Bring soup to a boil and then add the spring onions – turn off heat, garnish with fresh chopped coriander.
The weather is definitely turning for the worse as winter sets upon us and we think a casserole is a perfect dish on a cold and wet day as today. So building on the success of our previous ethnic flavoured casserole experiments, this is our homage to Chinese cuisine. We are happy with how it has turned our and are busy concocting our next casserole which is likely to be inspired by Italian flavours and ingredients – stay tuned…
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What do I need to make it?
How much will I make?
Serves 4
How do I make it?
First marinade the chicken thighs with the 2 teaspoons of Chinese five spice powder, black pepper, garlic salt and 2 tablespoons of Shaosing wine – set aside for a few hours. Heat your oven proof casserole dish and add 2 tbsp of vegetable oil – sear the chicken pieces on both sides and remove. Add the ginger and garlic to the same dish and stir for 30 seconds before adding sliced onions, leeks and celery – stir for a couple of minutes before adding the remaining vegetables. Sprinkle 2 tsp of Chinese 5 spice powder, soy sauce, spiced black rice vinegar, the remaining Shaohsin wine, chilli oil and the stock cubes – add a pint of water and stir. Dissolve the cornflour in some water and add to the mixture. Place chicken on top of the vegetables, cover with lid and place the casserole in a pre-heated oven at 200 degree Centigrade for an hour or till the chicken is cooked through. Garnish with fresh coriander and spring onion – serve on its own or with a bowl of egg fried rice.
Diwali the Indian festival of lights is a time of year for families to get together and a time to binge on sweets and savouries with reckless abandon. It is traditional to make some sweets and savouries and offer it to guests when they visit during the Diwali festival. Anna and I both wanted to carry on the tradition of our mothers and grandmothers to make something afresh rather than buy ready made sweets which we have in the past. Here are a couple of quick recipes with coconut which are easy to make and sure to impress!
PS. The macaroon is not a typical Diwali treat but something we made as a housewarming treat for a couple of dear friends of ours.
Coconut barfi
What do I need to make it?
How much will I make?
16-20 pieces (thinly sliced)
How do I make it?
Heat the sugar in a pan with a quarter cup of water till it dissolves and begins to form a thick syrup (should form a string when a spoon is dipped in and pulled out or if brave test between fingers – warning the syrup is piping hot). Reduce the heat to low and then add the coconut and cardamom powder. Keep stirring till the mixture leaves the side of the pan (shouldn’t take more than 10 minutes). Add the ghee, stir and take of the heat. Transfer the mixture onto a tray lined with grease proof paper and spread the mixture evenly (rule of thumb – aim for a height of 5 cm). Allow to cool before cutting into pieces with a pizza cutter. Enjoy.
PS For a juicier barfi replace desiccated coconut with freshly grated.
Coconut macaroons (recipe from Whitworth’s desiccated coconut pack)
What do I need to make it?
How many will I make?
12-16 depending on size
How do I make it?
Pre heat oven to 180 degree Centigrade. Fold all the ingredients into the beaten egg white till you get a semi moist mixture (add more beaten egg white if the mixtures seems dry). Scoop a tablespoon of the mixture and place it 5 cm apart on a baking sheet lined with grease proof paper. Cook for fifteen minutes till the macaroons start to brown. Allow to cool before serving.
If you’ve got fussy eaters as we do here’s a simple recipe for a coconut chicken curry which so far has worked wonders in getting both our little ones to eat without complaining. We both love our spices and want our kids to start experimenting and appreciating food that’s cooked with flavourful ingredients and developing a varied palate (we are tired of the pasta, fish fingers and chicken burger routine!).
What do I need to make it?
How much will I make?
Serves 3-4
How do I make it?
First make a paste of the onions, garlic, ginger, mint and coriander. Heat a small wok/kadai and add the coconut oil. Add the cinnamon, clove, cardamom, fennel, nutmeg and mace powders – stir for 30 seconds before adding the paste. Cook over medium heat for 10 minutes till the masala loses it’s raw smell. Sprinkle the turmeric, cumin and coriander powder and stir for 30 seconds before adding the pureed tomato. Continue cooking till the fat oozes out of the masala or it starts to dry out and turn brown. Add the chicken and half a cup of water – cover and cook over low heat for 15 minutes or till the chicken is done. Stir in the coconut milk powder, adjust the seasoning and switch off the heat. Serve with boiled rice or Indian bread of choice.
Life's Conundrum - Eat to Live or Live to Eat? 