Summer Roast Chicken

The weather outside is lovely and I want a lovely end of the week meal to reflect this. The main attraction is this chicken. Serve with potato salad, salad leave, couscous or whatever you want.

Serves 4-6 People

1 Whole Chicken
1 Lemon, cut into wedges
Handful of Rosemary Sprigs
Handful of Thyme Sprigs
200ml White Wine
Olive Oil
4/6 Strips of Streaky Bacon
Salt and Pepper
6 Garlic Cloves

1.Preheat the oven to 190c/170c Fan Assisted (If the packaging has different times follow those)

2. Begin by taking the chicken out of the packet and cutting the string. Prepare the chicken by putting lemon wedges around the chicken (between the legs and the wins) and any remaining in the chicken. Do the same with the garlic cloves. Pour the wine over the chicken.  Scatter the herbs around the chicken and a few in the chicken. Layer the bacon the strips over the breasts. Rub olive oil over the chicken and grind salt and pepper over the chicken. Cover with foil

3. General rule of thumb for roasting a whole chicken is 45 minutes per kg, plus 20 minutes. For my chicken it was in the oven for 1 hour and 45 minutes. (do the math and comment what the weight of my chicken was). Remove foil 30 minutes before the end of the cooking time.

4. Leave to rest for 10 minutes. Test the chicken is cooked thoroughly by sticking a skewer through the thickest part, if the juices are clear then it has cooked thoroughly. If they don't then put back in the oven. Cut up and serve.

Chicken Parcel with Summer Potato Salad

The days are getting warmer and the food is more lighter. So here is the start of the summer season. Chicken is a good staple for any summer dish and the potato salad is a good accompaniment.  A meal done in under 30 minutes!

Only cooking for yourself? Leave the other prepared breast
for another day

Serves 2

2 Large Chicken Breasts
1 Ball of Mozzarella Sliced
8 Streaky Bacon Slices
Olive Oil
Salt and Pepper
Rocket

Potato Salad
6-8 New Potatoes, cut in half
2 tbsp Mayo
1 ½ tsp Dijon Mustard
2 tbsp White Wine Vinegar
Handful of Chopped Chives
Salt and Pepper


1, Heat the oven to  200c/180c fan assisted. The take a chicken breast and make a cut in the middle of the chicken, on the side half way deep. Put the mozzarella slices in the chicken. Then lay 4 rashers of bacon down and lay the chicken on top. and wrap the chicken in bacon and season. Repeat this for the second breast.

2. Heat some oil in a frying pan. Fry the chicken breast one at a time starting with the side where the bacon strips meet. Flip after 4-5 minutes or when the chicken goes white then cook other side.

3. Then put the chicken on a tray and put it in the oven for 20 minutes.

4. For the potato salad. Boil the potatoes until they are just cooked. Leave to cool. While cooling, mix all the other ingredients in a bowl. Then when the potatoes are cool mix with the mixture.

5. Plate the chicken, potato salad and rocket.

Potato, Leek and Bacon Soup

It's still bloody freezing outside even if most of the snow has melted. So here is a lovely cheap warmer for you to enjoy.

Serves: 6

2 Leeks, finely sliced
25g Butter
1 Onion, finely sliced
450g Potatoes, peeled and cut into small cubes
1 litre Vegetable stock
4 rashers of Streaky bacon, chopped
100ml Whole Milk
150ml Double Cream, plus extra
3 Extra rashers of Streaky Bacon,

1. Melt the butter in a pan. Add the onion and bacon to the pan and cook until the onions have softened.

2. Add the leeks and potatoes to the pan and reduce the heat. Cook gently for about 10 minutes with the lid is on. Shake the pan occasionally so the contents don't stick to the bottom.

3. Pour in the stock and season. Bring to a boil and reduce the heat. Cover and leave for about 20 minutes.

4. While the soup is boiling, heat some olive oil/butter and fry the extra bacon until its crispy.

5. After the soup has boiled, use either a hand blender or food processor, blend the contents until it's smooth. Once it's blended add the milk and cream to the pan and stir well. Taste and season. Pour into bowls, top with the crispy bacon and a drizzle of cream. Serve with bread.

Tips:

• Make it creamier by adding a bit more cream

• Make it vegetarian by getting rid of the bacon and top the soup with croutons

Couscous Centred Chicken

So haven't posted much recently. Since its summer, going to start putting picnic style food. However if you are facing the British weather, just as nice eating the food inside. Have these by themselves or in a sandwich.

Serves 4

2 Chicken Breasts

1 Onion, finely chopped

1 Garlic Clove, crushed

Handful of pine nuts

Handful of Parsley, chopped

1 tbsp Mint, chopped

1 tbsp lemon juice

50g Butter

50g Couscous

200ml Chicken Stock

Pack of Streaky Bacon

75g Dried Apricots, chopped

1. Add the boiling chicken stock to a bowl with couscous. Leave for 10 minutes.

2. Lay out some tin foil and place the steak bacon on it. Flatten the chicken breasts between 2 sheets of cling film.  Lay this in the centre of the bacon.

3. Fry the onion and garlic in butter in a frying pan until softened. 

4. Once the couscous has soaked up the stock, add the lemon juice, onions, garlic, pine nuts, apricots, bit of butter, mint and parsely to the bowl. Mix well.

5. Put the mixture onto the chicken. Wrap the chicken around the couscous, then the bacon and then the foil tightly around the whole thing. Keep refrigerated overnight.

6. Preheat the oven to 160c Fan assisted/180c.

7. Cook in the foil for 30 minutes. Take out of the foil and cook for further 30 minutes. Let it cool and cut into slices. Serve.

Meatloaf

An Italian dish in origin, but quite a popular dish in the USA. Such a filling dish that is quick and easy to cook.

Serves 4

Meatloaf
500g Minced Beef
3 Slices worth of breadcrumbs
1 Large Egg
3 tbsp Parmesan
2 tbsp Tomato Puree
Pack of Streaky Bacon
1 Garlic clove, crushed
1 Onion, finely sliced
2 tsp Oregano

Tomato Sauce
300ml Passata
200ml Beef Stock
1 Garlic Clove, Crushed
1 Onion, finely sliced
1 Small Glass of Red Wine
Shake of Worcestereshire Sauce
1 tsp of Brown Sugar
Torn up Basil

1. Preheat the oven to 200/180 fan assisted. Line a loaf tine with the streaky bacon.

2. Take a food processor or blender and add the egg, beef, breadcrumbs, parmesan, tomato puree, garlic, onion and oregano. Blend together.

3. Add this to the tin. Cover with the over hanging bacon. And put in the oven for an hour. It will shrink in the oven.

4. For the tomato sauce: fry the onion and garlic in a pan with a bit of olive oil. Add the brown sugar and Worcestershire sauce for a minute. Then add the stock and red wine and leave to boil for 5 minutes. Add the passata and heat through. Then blend until smooth.

5. Slice the loaf and pour over the meatloaf. Serve with salad, basil and potatoes.