Sunday, December 2, 2012

Tray-Baked Chicken, Squashed Potatoes and Creamed Spinach

Serves 4

POTATOES
700g small red-skinned potatoes or new potatoes
a few sprigs of fresh rosemary
a couple of fresh bay leaves
6 cloves of garlic

SPINACH
a bunch of spring onions
3 cloves of garlic
a few fresh thyme tips
1 whole nutmeg, for grating
a large knob of butter
400g prewashed baby spinach
100ml single cream
25g Parmesan cheese

CHICKEN
dried oregano
sweet paprika
a knob of butter
4 x 180g skinless chicken breasts
1 lemon
300g cherry tomatoes on the vine
4 rashers of smoked streaky bacon
a couple of sprigs of fresh rosemary

SEASONINGS
olive oil
extra virgin olive oil
sea salt and black pepper

TO START Get all your ingredients and equipment ready.  Fill and boil the kettle.  Put a medium saucepan on a medium heat, a large frying pan on a low heat and a large shallow pan on a medium heat.  Turn the grill to full whack.

POTATOES Wash the potatoes, then halve lengthways (or leave whole if using new potatoes) and add to the saucepan with a pinch of salt.  Cover with boiled water, put the lid on and boil hard for around 12 to 14 minutes, or until cooked through.

SPINACH Trim and finely slice the spring onions.  Add to the large shallow pan with a splash of olive oil.   Crush in 3 cloves of unpeeled garlic and add a swig of boiled water.  Pick in the leaves from a few sprigs of thyme, finely grate in 1/4 of a nutmeg and add the knob of butter.  Leave to tick away for around 3 minutes, stirring occasionally.

CHICKEN Turn the heat under the empty frying pan to high.  Get out a large sheet of greaseproof paper.  Sprinkle over a good pinch of dried oregano, salt and pepper and paprika, then drizzle over some olive oil and add a lug to the hot frying pan now too, along with the knob of butter.  Lay the chicken breasts on top of the greaseproof paper and roll them in the flavours.  Add to the hot pan and fry for 4 to 5 minutes or until golden on both sides.  While this is happening, clear away the greaseproof paper and wash your hands.

SPINACH Pile the spinach into the pan with the spring onions and leave to wilt.  You may need to do this in batches but it will wilt quickly.  Keep stirring so nothing catches.

CHICKEN Get out a nice roasting tray, then quarter the lemon and chuck it in the tray along with the vine tomatoes.  Tip in the chicken breasts and any juices from the pan.  Use tongs to arrange everything nicely, then lay the bacon on top of the breasts.  Put the frying pan back on a medium heat, add the sprigs of rosemary to the pan and move them around so that they are coated in the juices.  Pop them into the tray, then whack the tray under the grill for at least 14 minutes.

POTATOES Check the potatoes are cooked, then drain and let them steam dry for a minute or two.  Add a couple of lugs of olive oil, leaves from a few sprigs of rosemary and the bay leaves to the empty frying pan.  Put the potatoes on top of the herbs in a flat layer, drizzle over some olive oil and sprinkle over some salt.  Crush in 6 unpeeled cloves  of garlic, then turn the heat up to high.  Get a flat lid from a smaller pan and really press down so you burst and squash the potatoes.  Leave to colour, then toss after about 3 minutes and squash down again.

SPINACH Stir to help it along.  Pour in the cream.  Turn down the heat to low.  Finely grate in the Parmesan and stir well.

POTATOES Keep checking, squashing and turning so the potatoes get golden all over.

TO SERVE Take the tray of chicken out from under the grill.  Check the breasts are cooked through, then take straight to the table with the pan of spinach.  Tip the potatoes on to a platter, take to the table and tuck in!

Wednesday, August 3, 2011

Steaks with Mixed Herbs

Serves 4

4 striploin steaks, about 3/4 inch thick
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
2 oz. butter
4 garlic cloves, crushed
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
1 tablespoon chopped fresh chives
1 tablespoon chopped fresh chervil
1 tablespoon chopped fresh tarragon
2 oz. mushrooms, wiped clean and finely chopped
2 fl. oz. double cream

Place the steaks on a board and sprinkle them with the salt and pepper.  Set aside.

In a frying pan large enough to hold all the steaks in one layer, melt the butter over moderate heat.  When the foam subsides, add the garlic, parsley, chives, chervil, tarragon and mushrooms and fry for 2 minutes, stirring constantly.  Increase the heat to moderately high and add the steaks to the pan.  Fry them for 2 minutes on each side.  Reduce the heat to low and cook them for a further 2 minutes on each side.  This will produce rare steaks - double the time for well-done steaks.

Remove the steaks from the pan and transfer them to a warmed serving dish.  Keep them hot while you finish making the sauce.

Pour the cream into the pan and cook for 2 minutes, stirring constantly, or until the mixture is hot but not boiling.

Remove the pan fromt he heat.  Pour the sauce over the steaks and serve immediately.

Spaghetti Bolognese

Serves 4

1 onion, peeled
2 garlic cloves, peeled
2 carrots, peeled
1 celery stalk
6 rashers streaky bacon, rinded
1 oz. butter
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 lb lean minced beef
3 tablespoons tomato puree
1 can chopped tomatoes
1/4 pint red wine
1/4 pint beef stock
few sprigs fresh oregano
1 bay leaf
1 teaspoon sugar
8 oz. dried spaghetti
grated Parmesan cheese to sprinkle

Finely chop the onion and garlic; dice the carrots and celery; chop the bacon.

Melt the butter with 1 tablespoon of the olive oil in a large frying pan and fry the onion, garlic, carrots, celery and bacon for about 5 minutes.  Add the minced beef and fry until browned all over, stirring all the time.

Stir in the tomato puree and tomatoes.  Mix together the wine and stock and add to the frying pan.

Add the oregano, bay leaf and sugar to the frying pan and season with salt and freshly ground black pepper.  Simmer uncovered, for 35-40 minutes, stirring the sauce occasionally.

About 15 minutes before the end of cooking time, start cooking the spaghetti.,  Bring a large pan of lightly salted water to the boil and add the remaining olive oil to the bubbling water.

Place the spaghetti in the pan and, as the pasta softens, gently push it into the hot water.  Cook for 8-10 minutes until the pasta is tender but still has a bite to it.  Drain well.

Remove the bay leaf and oregano from the sauce.  Check seasoning and adjust if necessary.

Serve the  spaghetti on warmed serving plates and spoon the sauce over.  Serve with grated Parmesan cheese, to sprinkle on top.

Tuesday, August 2, 2011

Éamonns Tagliatelle Carbonnara

Tagliatelle
1-2 tablespoons olive oil
2/3 rashers per person, rind removed and chopped
2-3 fl. oz. double cream per person
1-2 eggs per person
Parmesan cheese
cayenne pepper
salt and freshly ground black pepper

Cook the tagliatelle in a large pot of boiling water and set aside.

Mix the eggs, Parmesan, cayenne, salt and pepper in a bowl.  Heat the oil and fry the bacon until cooked.  Reduce the heat and add the double cream, cook for 3-4 minutes.  Add the tagliatelle to the bacon and pour the egg mixture over.  Mix and heat until the eggs are cooked.

Tomato and Herb Sauce

1 head garlic - peeled
1/4 cup olive oil
2 large cans chopped tomatoes
2 cans water
1 teaspoon black pepper, finely ground
1 teaspoon dried parsley
2 teaspoon dried basil
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt

Chop the garlic until fine.  Heat the oil on high heat in a large saucepan.  Add the garlic and cook until light brown.  Stir in the tomatoes, juice and 2 tomato cans of water.  Add the pepper, parsley, basil, sugar and salt.  Stir again.  When the sauce begins to boil, reduce the heat.  Simmer, stirring occasionally for about 45 minutes.

Fionas' Chicken Parmagiana

Use 2 eggs in one bowl as batter.
In another bowl mix 1/4 cup of breadcrumbs and 3/4 cup Parmesan cheese.
Cut chicken breasts into chicken tender sized slices.
Dip in egg mixture and then roll it in breadcrumb/cheese mix.
Fry in olive oil until golden brown on each side and ten put in oven at 300 for approx 20-30 minutes.

Balti Chicken

Serves 4-6

800g chicken
1 onion - chopped
4 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons oil
3 garlic cloves - crushed
1/2 teaspoon crushed black peppercorns
1/2 teaspoons crushed cardamom pods
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon chilli powder
1/2 cup ground almonds
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon saffron strands
1 teaspoon lemon juice
150ml natural yoghurt
150ml water
150ml cream
2 tablespoons chopped coriander

Melt butter and oil in deep pan.  Add chicken and fry until brown.  Remove chicken from pan and put into casserole dish.  Do not discard fat and juices left in the pan.   Add chopped onion and fry for a minute or so over a medium heat.

Meanwhile mix together in a bowl the garlic, spices, yoghurt, almonds, lemon juice, salt and saffron strands.  When onions are brown add spice mixture to the pan and stir fry for 1-2 minutes.  Add water and simmer.  Transfer the mixture to the casserole dish and cook for 30-35 minutes at 180C.

When cooked, stir in cream and most of the chopped coriander.

Serve with basmati rice and garnish with the rest of the coriander.