Sticky lemon chicken

Serves 4.

Description:
A quick and easy chicken dish to serve with either rice or potatoes and veg. Very moist and very tasty.

Ingredients:
4 chicken breast fillets with skin, about 150g/5oz each
1 large lemon
2 tsp fresh thyme leaves or a generous sprinkling of dried
1½ tbsp clear honey

Directions:
Preheat the grill to high and lightly oil a shallow heatproof dish. Put the chicken in the dish, skin side down, and season with salt and pepper. Grill for 5 minutes. While the chicken is grilling, cut four thin slices from the lemon.
Turn the chicken fillets over and put a slice of lemon on top of each one. Sprinkle over the thyme and a little more seasoning, then drizzle with the honey. Squeeze over the juice from the remaining lemon and spoon round 2 tbsp water. Return to the grill for 10 minutes more, until the chicken is golden and cooked all the way through. Serve the chicken and the sticky juices with rice or potatoes and a green veg - broccoli or leeks are good.

Tourtiere, a Quebec specialty - Meat Pie

 

Servings:

4

Description:
A French Canadian pork pie served hot. (Can also be served cold)

Ingredients:
Make dough for double crust pie, chill, wrapped, for 1 hour
Filling:
1 onion, chopped
1 Tablespoon unsalted butter
1 lb. ground pork
1 stalk celery, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
3/4 cup chicken stock (I use homemade)
1/2 teasp. salt
1/2 teasp. thyme
1/4 teasp. ground allspice
1 bay leaf
2 Tablespoons fresh bread crumbs


Directions:
In a saucepan cook onion & celery in butter over mod. heat, stirring frequently, for 4 mins. Add garlic and cook the mix for 2 mins. Add the pork and cook stirring until pork changes color. Add the chicken stock, the thyme, salt, allspice and bay leaf and simmer the mixture, covered, for 30 mins. Let it cool and stir in breadcrumbs.

Roll ball of dough into 9-inch round,fit it into a 7-inch pie plate & spoon pork mixture into it. Roll smaller ball of dough into 7.5 inch round and lay on top of the filling. Press edges together to seal pie and trim excess dough. Make a 1/2 inch X in the center, brush dough with egg glaze (1 egg, beaten with 2 Tablesp. cream) and bake the tourtiere in the lower third of a preheated oven (425 degrees F) for 10 mins. Reduce heat to moderately hot (375 degrees F), transfer the tourtiere to the middle of the oven and bake it for 25 mins. more, or until crust is golden.

One-pan Spanish fish stew

Serves 4.

Description:
A really tasty fish and prawn stew with potatoes all cooked in one pot on top of the cooker. Everyone here had seconds.

NB. I used cod in my recipe and extra garlic. I also did not include the chick peas as I didn't realise we had run out until it was too late. we had freshly baked rolls to mop up all the juices.

Ingredients:
handful flat-leaf parsley leaves, chopped
2 garlic cloves , finely chopped
zest and juice 1 lemon
3 tbsp olive oil , plus extra to serve
1 medium onion , finely sliced
500g floury potatoes , cut into small chunks, no larger than 2cm cubes
1 tsp paprika
pinch cayenne pepper
400g can chopped tomatoes
1 fish stock cube
200g raw peeled king prawns
½ a 410g can chickpeas , rinsed and drained
500g skinless fish fillets, cut into very large chunks

Directions:
In a small bowl, mix the parsley with ½ the garlic and lemon zest, then set aside. Heat 2 tbsp oil in a large sauté pan. Throw in the onion and potatoes, cover the pan, then sweat everything for about 5 mins until the onion has softened. Add the remaining oil, garlic and spices, then cook for 2 mins more.
Pour over the lemon juice and sizzle for a moment. Add the tomatoes, ½ a can of water and crumble in the stock. Season with a little salt, then cover the pan. Simmer everything for 15-20 mins until the potatoes are just cooked. 

Stir through the prawns and chickpeas, then nestle the fish chunks into the top of the stew. Reduce the heat and recover the pan, then cook for about 8 mins, stirring very gently once or twice. When the fish is just cooked through, remove from the heat, scatter with the parsley mix, then bring the dish to the table with the bottle of olive oil for drizzling over and some crusty bread, if you want. 

One-pan prawn pilau

Description:
An easy prawn and rice dish that's not too hot. Serves 4.

Ingredients:
2 tbsp korma curry paste (Patak's is good)
1 small onion , finely chopped
300g basmati rice , rinsed and drained
700ml chicken stock made from a cube
150g pack cooked peeled prawns , defrosted if frozen
cupful frozen peas
1 red chilli , sliced into rings
handful coriander leaves, chopped


Directions:
Heat a large wide pan and dry-fry the curry paste with the onions for 4-5 mins until the onion begins to soften. Add the rice to the pan and stir to coat in the curry paste. Add the stock, then bring to the boil.
Cover the pan and turn the heat down to low. Leave the rice to simmer slowly for 12-15 mins until all the liquid has been absorbed and the rice is cooked. Turn off the heat and stir in the prawns, peas and chilli. Cover the pan and leave to stand for 5 mins.
Fluff up the rice grains with a fork and season if you want. Scatter over the coriander and serve with lemon wedges.

Creamy baked haddock & tatties

 

Description:
A variation on a fish pie with a crispy potato topping. serves 4.

Ingredients:
400g smoked haddock (undyed is better, but not essential), skinned and chopped into chunks
1 trimmed leek , finely sliced
handful of parsley , chopped
142ml carton double cream
2 medium baking potatoes , about 200g/7oz each, skin on, sliced as thinly as possible


Directions:
Firstly assemble the dish. Scatter the haddock, leek and parsley over the bottom of a shallow microwavable dish and mix together with your fingers or a spoon. Drizzle over half the cream and 5 tablespoons of water. Lay the potato slices over the fish and leeks and drizzle over the remaining cream. Season the potatoes with a little salt and plenty of black pepper.
Put the grill on high. Cover the dish with cling film and pierce it a few times. Microwave the pie on the highest setting for 8-10 minutes until everything's bubbling away and the potatoes are tender when poked with a knife. Whip off the cling film and put the dish under the grill until the potatoes are golden. Leave to rest for a minute, then serve straight from the dish. 

Farmhouse Chicken

Ingredients:

1 skinless chicken breast per person.

1 carrot and 1 leek per person

3 large mushrooms

3/4 pint of chicken stock and a spoon of plain flour and some oil.


Directions:
Fry chicken breasts in oil to seal. Place in large oven proof dish. Chop up carrots and leeks and fry in oil for a few minutes. Add the flour and pour over the stock. Stir until it boils, add the mushrooms and simmer for a few minutes. Pour it all over the chicken. Cover with foil and cook in the oven for 45 minutes at gas mark 2. Easy as anything and really nice! Serve with mashed potato and runner beans and swede.