chicken – The Foody Grail

This chicken dish is top of the pecking order when it comes to ease of cooking and combination of flavours. Yoghurt and honey sweetness are a perfect match for charred chicken, crisp chicken skin and crusty peanut bread. With roasted tomatoes, that burst to create a light sauce – ‘dip dip hooray’ – it’s a rustic family meal for sharing or to wow your friends during an informal dinner.

Griddled Chicken

Ingredients:

Chicken: (Serves 4 and needs to marinate overnight)
8 boned chicken thighs – with skin.
200ml Greek yoghurt.
1 clove of garlic – crushed.
1/2 tsp salt.
1/4 tsp black pepper.
1 heaped tsp paprika.
35g honey.
2 tsps of coarse sea salt.

Yoghurt Dressing:
120ml Greek yoghurt.
Pinch of salt.
Pinch of white pepper.
2 tsps of runny honey.
Paprika for sprinkling/dusting.

Garnish:
12 Vine tomatoes.
3 sticks of celery – cut into 6cm lengths.
2 tsps Paprika.
Salt and black pepper for seasoning.
Drizzle of olive oil.
1 tabls chopped parsely.
4-8 curls of butter.
4 cooked corn on the cob – cut in half.

Peanut Bread:
200g strong bread flour. Extra for kneading.
100g salted peanuts – ground.
5g easy bake yeast.
50g unsalted butter.
135ml warm water.
Olive oil.
Sea salt to sprinkle on top of loaf just before baking.
Caraway seeds to sprinkle on loaf just before baking.
Note: Don’t add salt to the dough mix as the salted peanuts contain salt.

Method/cook:

Peanut Bread:
Set oven to gas 8 or 230°C / 450°F
Rub the butter into the flour.
Add the yeast and ground salted peanuts.
Add the warm water and combine to a dough. Add a touch more flour if to wet.
Knead the dough for 5 mins’.
Place dough in a floured bowl, cover with a damp cloth or clingfilm. Rest the dough in a warm place to proof until doubled in size.
Once the dough has double in size, knead again for 3 mins’. You shouldn’t need to flour the surface for the second knead – due to the butter in the dough. But if it does stick, add a little flour as possible to stop it sticking.
Place the kneaded dough in a greased and floured baking tin.
Sprinkle with caraway seeds, sea salt and olive oil. Press into the top of the dough with your finger tips – six or seven good, heavy handed, prods – to incorporate the oil. (see image)
_V2A9228
Cover with cling film or a damp cloth and proof again until doubled in size. Bake for 25-30 mins’ until golden brown. Once baked, turn out onto a baking rack. Set aside.
Tip: If the loaf isn’t crisp on the bottom after baking. Remove from the baking tin and pop back in the oven for 5 mins’

Chicken:
Mix the yoghurt, seasoning, spices, garlic and honey set aside.
Remove skin from the chicken thighs and trim the skin into oblong pieces. (see image)
_V2A9244
Set the skin aside and store in a refrigerator until ready to cook.
In a bowl coat your chicken thighs with the yoghurt mix. Chill overnight.
Once your chicken thighs have marinated you are ready to proceed.
Set oven to gas 6 or 200°C / 400°F.
Place your trimmed chicken skin pieces on a deep baking tray, lined with silicon paper. (see previous image) Season the chicken skins with sea salt and roast until crisp – about 30 mins’.
Note: The baking tray must have high enough sides to retain the oils/fat dripping from the chicken skins.
Once the skins are crisp (they will shrink to yummy bite size morsels) remove from the oven and set aside. Also, save the oils/fat produced from cooking the skins – it’s full of flavour and will be used when serving later.
Set oven to gas 7 or 220°C / 425°F. Ready for the chicken thighs.
For the thighs, heat a griddle pan to a medium heat. Seal and char the marinaded thighs on both sides. Note: Because of the honey, it is easy to over char the chicken so don’t have your griddle pan smoking hot.
Once you have sealed and charred your chicken, place in the oven for 20 mins’ to cook through.

Garnish:
Set oven to gas 6 or 200°C / 400°F.
Place your celery and vine tomatoes on a roasting tray.
Drizzle with olive oil, season and sprinkle generously with paprika.
Place your cooked sweet corn on the tray with your tomatoes and celery to re-heat.
Roast for 30-40 mins’ or until tomatoes are soft and the skins begin to split. The celery will retain a crunch and the sweet corn will be hot. Set aside your garnish and keep warm.
Tip: Cook the garnish at the same time as the chicken skin – save time and energy.

Yoghurt:
Mix the yoghurt, seasoning and honey. Set aside.

Serving: (Can be served as a sharing dish or plated for each diner.)
To serve plated: Dress each plate with several good teaspoons of the yoghurt dressing – random blobs, splodges or cheffy smears. (Drizzle extra honey, over the yoghurt, if you like the sweetness) Sprinkle over the yoghurt with paprika – be generous.
Next, add two pieces of cooked chicken thigh to the centre of each plate – brush with the fat/oil saved from cooking the skins. Top with several pieces of crispy chicken skin.
Add 3 roasted tomatoes and three pieces of roasted celery to each plate.
Finally, sprinkle each plate with chopped parsley.
Serve with hot corn on the cob and warm wedges of the crusty peanut and caraway bread. Don’t forget your butter curls.

Enjoy!

Spicy Chicken Salad — Spicy chicken roulade with a mango salad and a mango and lemon dressing.

A quick and tasty chicken salad that’s perfect for an alfresco lunch or dinner.
The chicken can be served hot or cold and makes for a great picnic food also.
This is my first dish to incorporate Quinoa seeds. Quinoa is a wonderful, protein packed, alternative to rice and is gluten free. I will certainly be using it again as it went down well with my family of foodie guinea pigs – Quinoa originates from the Andes funny enough.

Ingredients: (Serves two)

Chicken Roulade:
1 large chicken breast or 2 small breasts.
30g unsalted butter.
Seasoning.
Juice of half a lemon.
For the filling:
2 cloves garlic sliced.
1 medium green chilli finely chopped.
15g fresh ginger chopped.
Juice of half a lime.
1 tsp ground coriander.
1 tsp ground cumin.
1 tsp ground turmeric.
1/2 tsp five spice.
1/4 teaspoon of coarse salt.
Pinch of black pepper.
2 tabls olive oil.
1 red onion finely chopped.

Mango Dressing:
140g of fresh mango.
Juice of half a lemon.
100ml warm chicken stock.
Seasoning.

Quinoa:
80g Quinoa seeds.
350ml chiken or veg’ stock.
Seasoning.

Garnish:
Fresh leaf salad.
10 Slices of red chilli.
4 wedges of lime.
Slices of fresh mango.
Sprigs of fresh coriander or parsley.
Drizzle of olive oil.

Method/cook:

Mango Dressing:
Put all the ingredients into a food processor and blitz until smooth.
Set aside in the refrigerator.

Quinoa: (I used tri-colour seeds)
Rinse the quinoa seeds in cold water.
Bring the seeds to a boil in the stock.
Once boiling simmer, with a lid, for 10 minutes.
Once cooked, drain, season and set aside.

The Roulade Filling:
In a pestle and mortar grind the garlic, chilli, ginger, salt and pepper.
Once ground, add the lime juice and the spices – combine and set aside.
In a frying pan, gently heat the olive and lightly fry the red onion until softened. Once the onions have softened, add your spice mix and lightly cook out the spices for 3 minutes. Set aside to chill in the refrigerator.
Note: A well chilled filling will be easier to roll later when forming the roulade.
Tip: Add a touch more oil if the pan becomes dry.

Prepare Chicken Breast:
Butterfly the chicken breast by slicing along its length. Only cutting halfway into the breast and opening out. (see images)
_V2A7915
_V2A7914
Once you have butterflied the chicken breast, place it between two layers of cling film, or in a polythene bag. Flatten out the chicken breast using a rolling pin, meat mallet or tenderiser. (see images)
_V2A7917
_V2A7918
Don’t worry if the chicken breast has a tear or hole.
Once the chicken breast has been batted out, season with salt and black pepper. Now cover with a layer of your well chilled spicy filling. (see image)
_V2A7919
Roll up your breast meat and wrap tightly in a layer of cling film – twisting the ends. Wrap in a second layer of cling film and again twisting the ends. (see image)
_V2A7921
The roulade can be made in advance and stored in the refrigerator.

Cooking The Roulade:
Bring a pan of water to a simmer.
Place your roulade, in the cling film, in the simmering water and pop on a lid.
Simmer the roulade for 20 minutes.
I use a saute pan with a lid. (see image)
_V2A7922
The two ramekins stop the roulade from floating about in the simmering water – less risk of the cling film coming undone.
After twenty minutes remove the roulade, still in the cling film, and place in a cold frying pan. Leave the roulade to cool for 10 minutes then remove the cling film. Juices will run out when you cut the cling film.
Note: The roulade will contain juices that will run out when the cling film is removed. You want to retain them.
After removing the cling film, put the frying pan on a low heat and add the butter.
Lightly brown the roulade – being careful not to burn the butter.
Once the roulade has browned (see image) add the lemon juice and set aside to keep warm.
_V2A7923

Serving:
Serve slices of the chicken roulade on a bed of Quinoa.
Arrange fresh slices of mango with the salad leaves – spoon over some of the mango dressing.
Garnish with wedges of lime, coriander herb and slices of fresh chillis.
Drizzle with olive oil.

Enjoy!

Tag: chicken

Griddled Chicken and Chicken Skin Bites. Served with Salted Peanut and Caraway Bread.

Spicy Chicken Roulade with a Mango Salad and Dressing. Served on a bed of Quinoa.