Chicken – Page 9 – The Food Wife

Spiced Chicken and Potato Traybake

16th July 201816th July 2018
by thefoodwife

Serves 4-6

During the week (or weekend!) itâ€™s a godsend to be able to throw a few ingredients in a dish and then pop it in the oven and forget about it for a while (it worked perfectly for me putting The Food Baby to bed!) and then hey-presto your dinner is ready with hardly any interference from you. This is just such a dish. It takes five or 10 minutes of prep and then about 50 minutes in the oven and it’s ready to serve.

You can choose how much effort you put in to the spicing too. I made my own spice mix, but if there is a shop-bought one you like, by all means use that.

I have suggested cooking this in two baking dishes, as I found cramming it into one made it overcrowded and would have resulted in it steaming rather than baking.

Ingredients:

For the spice mix:
1 tsp (hot) paprika
1 tsp chipotle chilli flakes
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp sumac (or the grated zest of a lemon)
1 tsp caster sugar
1 tsp garlic powder (or two garlic cloves, crushed)
Pinch of salt

For the bake:
2 peppers, cut into 1-inch pieces
750g small new potatoes, quartered
2 red onions, peeled and cut into thin wedges
2-3 tbsp olive oil
Pinch of salt
1kg chicken thighs

To serve (optional):
50g feta cheese, crumbled

Step 1: preheat the oven to 190c.

Step 2: Mix the spices together and set to one side.

Step 3: Toss the potatoes, peppers and onions in the olive oil and a pinch of salt and divide between two baking trays.

Step 4: Score the top of each of the chicken thighs with a sharp knife three times and place on top of the potatoes.

Step 5: Sprinkle the seasoning mix over the skin of the chicken and toss lightly with the vegetables, before nestling them, skin-side up amongst the potatoes and peppers.

Step 6: Place in the preheated oven and cook for 50 minutes.

This is nice served with a green salad and a sprinkling of crumbled feta over the potatoes and peppers (although leave this out if you want to make it dairy-free).

Thai-Style Chicken and Mango Salad

2nd July 20182nd July 2018
by thefoodwife

Serves 2 for lunch or 1 for a main meal

This is one of my favourite meals to have when itâ€™s hot. Itâ€™s so quick (assuming youâ€™re using leftover chicken), fresh, and incredibly satisfying. The fat-free dressing gives you a citrusy, salty, chilli hit. Yum. Iâ€™ve been eating it for the last few years and itâ€™s great for when youâ€™re watching your calorie intake. I also like it without the noodles if Iâ€™m looking for a carb-free meal or an even lighter lunch.

Ingredients:

For the salad:
1 chicken breast cooked and shredded (you could poach or fry one breast and then shred; I like to use leftover meat from a roast chicken)
50g vermicelli rice/bean noodles, soaked in boiling water until soft then drained under cold water
A mix of salad such as;
Baby gem lettuce, sliced
2 inches of cucumber, sliced or cubed
2 spring onions, sliced
1/2 carrot, using a peeler to peel into ribbons
1/2 red pepper cut into thin strips
5 cherry tomatoes, halved
Small bunch of mint leaves, torn
Half a mango, skinned and cubed, or finely chop 30g of dried mango

Dressing:
Juice of 1/2 – 1 lime
1-2 tsp sugar
1-2 tbsp fish sauce
Pinch of dried chilli flakes/chopped fresh red chilli

Step 1: Combine the salad ingredients in a large bowl or platter.

Step 2: Mix the dressing ingredients to taste.

Step 3: Pour the dressing over the salad just before serving.

This makes a great lunchbox salad, but keep the dressing separate until just before serving. To make a lower calorie, lighter meal, omit the noodles and up the salad items.

Paprika and Lemon Chicken Tapas

25th June 201825th June 2018
by thefoodwife

Serves 3-4 as a tapas

At the weekend my sister came to stay and having been out for tapas on Friday evening with some mummy-friends, I felt inspired to play around with some flavours and came up with a few small dishes. It was a great success and my sister and Mr FW declared them definitely blog-worthy, so here goes.

This is the first of my tapas dishes. Juicy and flavoursome, this easy marinade perks up chicken breasts and is a great addition to a tapas meal. By allowing the meat to marinate for an hour or two, the citrus and spice permeate the flesh and you are left with succulent pieces of chicken that can be simply grilled or cooked on the barbecue.

These would also be a great filling for a wrap or to jazz up a salad.

Ingredients:
1 tbsp olive oil
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 1/2 tsp smoked paprika
Zest of an unwaxed lemon
Juice of 1/2 a lemon
Pinch of salt and pepper
1 tbsp parsley, finely chopped
2 chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch pieces

Step 1: Combine all the ingredients in a bowl and cover with clingfilm. Leave to marinate for at least an hour in the fridge.

Step 2: Remove from the fridge 20 minutes before you are ready to cook.

Step 3: Cook under a hot grill, turning once, for a couple of minutes each side until cooked through.

Katsu Curry

13th June 201818th June 2018
by thefoodwife

Serves 4

If Iâ€™m going for Japanese, and not eating sushi, then it is very likely Iâ€™ll opt for a katsu curry. Referring to the breaded and fried meat or tofu, katsu is served with a fruity curry sauce and a sticky rice.

At home Iâ€™ve been researching recipes for the curry sauce as I had already decided that I wanted to have a go at making a lower calorie katsu by cheating on the frying element (by just using frylight and a non-stick pan). I knew I wanted to use apples in my recipe and I also wanted to make sure that it could be both vegan and gluten-free if required. I succeeded in adapting the recipes to make this version which I was really pleased with.

It is really quick to make (it only took about 20 minutes) and I made it earlier in the day so I only had to reheat it in the evening whilst I was frying my tofu. I have included a description of how I created the katsu element at the end of this recipe, and whilst this is not gluten-free/vegan, it could be adapted by using gluten-free flour, aquafaba (the thick water found in a tin of chickpeas that is often used as a vegan egg-replacement) and gluten-free bread crumbs if necessary.

Ingredients:
1 tbsp coconut oil
1 onion, diced
2 carrots, peeled and grated
2 Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored and roughly diced
3 cloves garlic, finely diced
1 tbsp soy sauce (gluten-free if required)
2 tsp caster sugar
1 tbsp cornflour, slackened in a little cold water
2 heaped tsp of curry powder (I used medium strength)
1/2 tsp ground ginger
350ml hot vegetable stock (gluten-free if required)
A drop of sesame oil
Salt and pepper

Step 1: Melt the coconut oil on a medium heat in a frying pan and add the onion, carrot and apple. Put a lid on the pan and cook for eight to 10 minutes until they are softened (you may need to stir or shake the contents a couple of times).

Step 2: Whilst this is softening add the sugar, soy sauce and tomato purÃ©e to the slackened cornflour and stir. Set to one side.

Step 3: Remove the lid and add the garlic and cook for a minute, followed by the two spices, stirring for 30 seconds.

Step 4: Add the vegetable stock and stir followed by the cornflour mix and stir. Add a tiny drop of sesame oil. Lower the heat and let it simmer for four or five minutes.

I served this with a low calorie, low fat version of tofu katsu, but there is no reason why you couldnâ€™t follow the same method with chicken or pork.

I used a firm tofu and cut slices 1cm-1 1/2 cm thick, pressed them on kitchen paper to remove the excess moisture and then panÃ©d them by first dusting them in seasoned flour, dipping them in beaten egg (if you wanted to make this strictly vegan then replace the egg with aquafaba) and then coating on a mix of panko breadcrumbs and sesame seeds. I fried them in a non-stick pan with just a spray of fry-light, cooking them on a medium heat for three-four minutes on each side. I served two of these slices with some sticky sushi rice and a small salad on the side.

Roast Chicken with Preserved Lemons

11th June 201811th June 2018
by thefoodwife

I always try to buy free-range chicken; if I’m going to eat meat it makes me feel better as a consumer and also I think it tastes better, so itâ€™s a win win. The last couple of times weâ€™ve had a whole roasted chicken I have stuffed the inside with preserved lemons. They provide a delicate flavour to the flesh and enhance the caramelised juices with a salty citrus hit.

Roasting a chicken is a simple and fuss free way of cooking and can feed several people in one sitting. Alternatively it can provide the basis for two or three meals for a couple of people (try the leftovers shredded into my Asian Noodle Peanut Salad).

Ingredients:
1 free-range whole chicken (giblets removed)
2 or 3 preserved lemons, halved
Salt and pepper

Step 1: Place the chicken in a roasting tray and insert the preserved lemons inside the bird through the opening at one end.

Step 2: Sprinkle the skin with salt and pepper.

Step 3: Place in a preheated oven at 190c and cook for 45 minutes per kilogram plus a further 20 minutes.

Step 4: Once cooked, remove the chicken from the oven and leave to rest for a good 20 minutes before carving.

Serve as a classic roast dinner, or enjoy in the summer with a warm potato salad and a green salad.