Impressive Chicken

Sometimes the universe points you in a certain direction and it’s best to go that way.  Like today, I was in the supermarket, and the free range chicken thigh fillets were calling out to me.  I have chicken in the freezer, and wasn’t really planning to buy more, but I followed my instincts and picked it up (it wasn’t even on special). By the time I got home, I knew what was going to happen to the chicken.  I’d been to Fratelli Fresh on the weekend and picked up some excellent Italian prosciutto, and leeks are in season, so there was one of those in my shopping as well.

It was all coming together in this recipe, which I started making from Jamie Oliver originally, but which I have adapted over time.  You can see Jamie’s influence in this recipe evenn when I’ve written it down because nothing is really measured and the ingredients are interchangeable.  It always looks and tastes excellent, but isn’t that difficult to do.  It makes an impressive midweek meal, but is also pretty good at a dinner party.

Serves 2

Impressive chicken - ingredients

4 chicken thigh fillets

2 large strips of prosciutto or streaky bacon

1 leek, sliced in 2cm rings

a small handful of dried or fresh oregano or thyme

a glug of olive oil

a splash of white wine

salt and pepper

4 medium potatoes, cut into pieces

Preheat the oven to 200 degrees.  Place everything except the prosciutto in a bowl and make sure that all the chicken and potatoes are coated in herbs. Choose a baking dish that is a snug fit for the contents, and oil it lightly (olive oil spray is good for this). Take potatoes out of the bowl and place in a pile in on one side of the baking dish.  Take the leeks out of the bowl and arrange on the bottom of the dish next to the potatoes.  Group the chicken fillets into pairs, and wrap each fillet with the prosciutto.  Place the chicken on top of the leek and drizzle what’s left in the bowl over the baking dish.  Bake for about 45 minutes, when the potatoes are done, the chicken will be done.  Serve with other vegetables.

Impressive Chicken - done

Easy Chicken and Vegetable Soup

With winter well and truly settling in over Sydney, I decided that a nice and easy chicken and vegetable soup was just the thing to do with the first batch of stock from that chicken. This is a good basic recipe for using whatever fresh veges you have, and you can vary the ingredients quite a bit. It goes pretty well with corn, parsips, or one of those “soup packs” you can get at the supermarket or green grocer at this time of year. It’s pretty light and quick to prepare, a nice contrast to some of the heavier meals that we find ourselves tucking into over winter!

This quantity was enough for two of us for a full meal.

2 finely diced garlic cloves

3 cups chicken stock, 2 cups water (adjust according to your stock)

shredded chicken (1 1/2 breast fillets)

2 carrots, cut into chunks

3 medium potatoes, cut into chunks

6 broccolini stalks, cut into thirds

2 handfuls small soup pasta (or break some thin spaghetti)

spring onion

Put the chunks of potato and carrot in the microwave for about 2-4 minutes, to get them started. You want them about 3/4 cooked. Put a drop of oil in the pot, and over a gently heat, soften the garlic for a minute so that it releases some flavour, but don’t let it start going brown or sizzling. Add the stock and water, and bring to boil. Add the carrots and potatoes and pasta and allow it simmer until the veges and pasta are done (about 8-10 minutes). Add the chicken and the broccolini for the last minute or two. Check the seasoning, serve in soup bowls and sprinkle some spring onion over the top.

Tasty Chicken Sandwiches

I made these sandwiches with the poached chicken from the stock . . .they turned out very tasty. Be generous with all the ingredients and spread the dressing on the bread instead of butter.

Bread (any multigrain will work pretty well)

shredded chicken

cos lettuce

spring onion

ranch dressing

salt and pepper

Sunday Afternoon Chicken Stock

One of my favourite things to do in the colder weather is to make chicken stock. On a Sunday afternoon when the kitchen is clean and all other chores are being done, tossing a stock together just fits in. It doesn’t take long to get the ingredients together, as long as I’ve picked up a nice free range or organic chicken. It’s a great way to get good value from what can sometimes be an expensive purchase. I will usually freeze some of the stock to use in soups, casseroles, risottos and stir frys, and the chicken itself also turns up during the week in sandwiches and wraps, grills, in soups, and stir frys. I’ll let you know when and how this chicken and stock turns up.

Ingredients

1 whole chicken or 1.5 kilos chicken wings and necks

2 cloves garlic

1 carrot

1 brown onion

1 stick celery

a few stalks of parsley

few sprigs of thyme

2 cloves garlic

2 big pieces of lemon zest

8-10 peppercorns

2 bay leaves

sea salt

Put the chicken in a large pot. Fill with water, until the chicken is covered. Be generous with the water, as it will reduce. Bring to the boil, add the other ingredients, and then turn the heat down. Let it simmer very gently for at least 1 hour – between 3-5 is best. Take out the chicken and put it in the fridge Let it cool (overnight works well), and then skim the top of the stock to remove the fat and stuff that has accumulated there. Divide the stock into different containers and jars and place in the freezer or the fridge (but I find that it only lasts about 4 days in the fridge).

Almond Milkshake

On Thursday night I saw Marcel Khalife, the famous Lebanese oud player and composer, performing at the Sydney Opera House. It was an exceptional concert, the music ranging from traditional Arabic styles and popular ballads to some amazing jazz piano improvisation.

So I was thinking of improvising when I came up with this for breakfast this morning – an almond milkshake in tribute to Marcel Khalife. I used soy icecream and oatmilk , and it worked really well with the nutty flavour of the almond, but that’s just a personal preference.

3-4 large scoops vanilla icecream

300ml of milk

2 drops almond essence

sprinkling of crushed smoked almonds

Blend the icecream, milk and almond essence. Pour into a glass, and sprinkle the crushed almonds on top.

Birdy Kettle – A kitchen favourite

I like pretty things, and one of the prettiest things I own is Birdy Kettle.

It was a birthday gift from my husband. It’s shiny, it has a great shape, and its whistling song makes me happy. Birdy’s sweet song helps get me going in the morning (and probably the cup of tea as well). I have two different whistles for Birdy Kettle – the original red one, and a white one. Each one has a distinctive sound.

Some of you will have recognised Birdy Kettle as the Alessi kettle with a whistling bird by Michael Graves – a design classic. Alessi make a lot of pretty things, but I think this is one of their best.

Want to see Birdy Kettle sing?

Cooking on TV

Earlier this year I went to a screening of the TV cooking show “Ready Steady Cook”. It was organised by my husband, who knows that I am a real fan of the show. We had a great time, took home some goodies, and even got our faces on TV. The cooks on the day were Janelle and Darren, and the contestants were the Sydney Swans players Peter Everitt and Nick Fosdike. The episode details have all the recipes we saw that day. I voted for Janelle because I really liked the breakfast tarts that she made.

Now that I know how the show is made, I’m much more aware of the editing that goes on. I used to watch the show thinking “isn’t that amazing how quickly they got all those dishes together for presentation”, but actually there’s a long break in the taping where they plate things up, and clean the kitchens. There’s also a long break after the cooks see the ingredients, so that all the necessary ingredients and equipment can be placed in the kitchens within easy reach. However they really do cook in the time limits, and it’s amazing to watch the chefs at work. An insight into both TV and cooking!

Joy

Hello, my name is Joy. This is my blog. By day I work at a museum managing a national online project. I live with my husband in Western Sydney.

I have a passion for good, tasty, homecooking. I love hearing about people’s kitchen adventures and learning to cook new things from family and friends. I like cooking using fresh ingredients, herbs and spices and I love trying new things. You’ll see my recipes and techniques in this blog. In Sydney we have people from all over the world, and we are able to get a great variety fresh produce at good prices. We’re very lucky. I love shopping in small corner stores and markets.

My cooking hero is my Mum, who has an amazing way of doing things in the kitchen “quickly”. Hopefully I’ll capture some of her best work for this blog.

I like to eat Middle Eastern food, Japanese food, barbecues and soups.