Monday, March 28, 2011

Week 13: Indonesian Chicken

The Recipe
Boiled chicken pieces - approx. 800g
1 red bell pepper in stripes
1 yellow bell pepper, in stripes
10 cherry tomatoes - halved
2.5 dl cream
1 clove garlic, chrused
1 tsp curry
1.5 tsp sambal oelek
0.75 dl mango chutney (sweet or hot according to taste)

Preheat the oven to 225*C
Cut the chicken into bite-sized pieces and place it in an ovenproof dish together with bell pepper and tomatoes. Whip the cream lightly and mix it with curry, garlic and chutney (blend the chutney first if you want to get rid of the large pieces). Add sambal oelek and salt according to taste. Pour the whipped cream over the chicken.

Cook the chicken for approx. 20 minutes.

Serve with rice.

The Verdict
Wipped cream in a hot dish? I just HAD to try this! I decided to use turkey rather than chicken though, and only got white meat - I think next time I'll make sure to have some dark as well. However, I only used about 500g, and that was still PLENTY for 3 people.

It turned out really well :) I think I'll make a bigger portion of chutney-whipped cream next time, as it could have used a bit more sauce, and I might also add a bit more sambal oelek as it was rather mild, but I wanted to start out carefully for my DH's sake. It's rather time-consuming though, so I haven't quite decided if it was worth the effort, but it tasted good, and you can prepare quite a bit of it in advance, so I think it might be a good dish for late nights.

Tuesday, March 22, 2011

Week 12: BBQ Chicken

The Recipe
3 chicken drumsticks
4 tbsp tomato ketchup
1 tbsp brown sugar
1 tbsp soya sauce
2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 garlic cloves, chopped
1/2 tbsp Dijon mustard
2 tbsp water
2 tbsp olive oil
2 spring onions, chopped
Salt and pepper

Preheat the oven to 200C.

Into a saucepan put the tomato ketchup, brown sugar, water, Dijon mustard, chopped garlic, soya sauce and Worcestershire sauce. Heat gently for a few minutes whilst stirring continuously to mix all the flavours together.

Meanwhile take the knife and cut a few slits into each drumstick. This will allow the marinade to soak into the meat. Take another pan and add the drumsticks to it. Cover with cold water and add 4 tbsp of the marinade. Bring to the boil and then simmer gently for 10 minutes, skimming off any excess foam that rises to the surface.

Remove the drumsticks from the water and leave them to cool. When cool, cover them with the remaining marinade and season with salt and pepper. Put the drumsticks on a baking tray, allowing a small space between each and place it in the centre of the oven.

Bake for 20 minutes. After 20 minutes, add the olive oil and the spring onions and cook for another 5. Serve while baking hot.

The Verdict
Unfortunately not the best BBQ chicken I've ever had. It was okay, but a tad too ketchupy for my taste. Also boiling the chicken first seemed to add nothing but extra cooking time and more dishes. Not worth a repeat.

Tuesday, March 15, 2011

Week 11: Mexican Torta

The Recipe
1lb ground turkey (I used chicken as the store didn't have turkey - don't think that made a huge difference though)
1 tbsp olive oil
1 envelope taco seasoning
2 onions, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 std bag corn nachos (the original recipe called for corn tortillas, cut into wedges - I could only find flour tortillas, so figured the nachos chips would work better)
2 cups shredded cheese
1 (14oz) can beans
1 (7oz) jar red bell peppers, drained
Salsa

In a pan, heat olive oil over medium heat and cook onions until translucent. Add garlic and turkey and cook until the turkey is browned. Add taco seasoning and mix thoroughly.

In an oven proof dish put first a layer of nachos, a layer of half the turkey and cheese, a layer of nachos, a layer of beans and bell pepper, a layer of nachos, a layer of the rest of the turkey, a final layer of nachos, topping it off with the rest of the cheese.

Cook at 200C for 20-30 minutes. Serve with salsa.

The Verdict
Pretty good, but why oh why use a JAR of red bell peppers? Why not just chop up some fresh ones? I can't think that it added to the taste, so it just felt lazy to me.

The dish tasted fine, but it was no easier to make than regular nachos, and I actually like those better, so I don't see myself making this too often.

Wednesday, March 9, 2011

Week 10: Jerusalem Artichoke Soup

The Recipe
500g Jerusalem Artichokes
1 large onion
4 cups water
salt
pepper
sugar
vinegar
cream

Peel artichokes and onion and cut them into large pieces. Add water and salt and bring them to a boil. Leave to simmer until the artichokes are done. Use a blender to puree the soup. Add pepper, sugar, vinegar and cream according to taste. Bring to a boil again and leave to simmer for 5 minutes.

The Verdict
Unfortunately not the best Jerusalem Artichoke soup I've ever had, but decent enough and really easy so that does make up for it :)