Anna's Roast Chicken

My dear friend Anna, is a super busy full time TV executive and full time yummy mummy.  I admire her strength and diligence day in and day out, as I watch her juggle her career, with motherhood as well as running a home.

Darling Anna cooked myself and our friends this roast chicken one Christmas, (whilst holding a baby), and ever since then I often cook it in my own household, and everyone knows it fondly as “Anna’s Roast Chicken”.  We love it’s tasty, crispy skin!

Here’s what to use:

1 medium sized organic free range corn fed chicken

1 head of garlic

1 chopped red chilli, seeds included

2 lemons, quartered

1 glass of dry white wine

A few sprigs of fresh rosemary

A handful of green olives olive chopped in half

A few good slug of light soy sauce

A good slug of extra virgin olive oil

Marinade the chicken in the above for as long as possible, preferably overnight. 

Heat your oven up full whack.

When you’re ready to cook the bird, make sure you take it out of the fridge about 15 minutes before cooking time to warm up a little.

As I said to you before, place the bird breast down in the roasting pan.  Scatter the lemons, chillies, olives, herbs and garlic around the bird.  You may think that they have done their job during the marinating time, however, they continue to flavour the pan juices when the bird is cooking.

Now do not let anything lie on the skin, as it will leave an unsightly white mark on the skin when it eventually falls off - just like our summer tans, we want a lovely, evenly coloured golden skin.

As soon as you put the chicken in, turn the temperature down to 200 degrees Celsius.

After half and hour, turn the bird over so the breast is on the top, and baste the breast, legs and wings liberally.

The bird should only take about another 60 or 70 minutes, so baste it generously every half and hour…..it really really does make all the difference.

Remember to leave the bird to rest for 15 minutes covered in foil, to allow the bird to rest, which makes it become even juicier.  Carve the bird, and pour the juices over the breast meat.  The meat is so juicy it doesn't even need gravy!

Serve with roast potatoes, and a medley of steamed greens….

….and of course with love…xoxo

Beef Stroganoff

This is another old fashioned, rather 70’s dish, which although sounds kitsch is a true classic.  It originates from 19^th Century Russia and is traditionally served with shoestring fries.

This is a super speedy supper dish, and is rich, velvety and delicious.  Both Alex and my Daddy love this dish, so I certainly hope the men in your life love it also…..

It is very important to use fillet steak as it is cooked very quickly, so you need a lean and tender piece of meat.  As a general rule the leaner the meat, the quicker you should cook it on a high heat; and the fattier the meat, the more slowly and gently you should cook it.

Here’s what I used for the two of us:

1 medium sized fillet steak

1 medium onion, sliced thinly

1 small packet of chestnut mushrooms, cleaned and sliced thinly

2 tsp Dijon mustard

1 tsp tomato puree

1 tsp of corn flour

1 small pot of ½ fat crème fraiche

Juice of ½ a lemon

½ a mug of rice

First of all put the rice in a pot, with double the amount of cold water.  Add a pinch of salt, and bring to the boil.  When it is boiling move to the smallest ring on the hob, and turn to the lowest setting.  Put the timer on for 20 minutes, and go away and relax.

Thinly slice the steak, and flash fry for a matter of seconds - you only want to sear the meat.  Take out of the pan, and keep warm.

When you come back fry the onions and mushrooms gently.  Traditionally butter is used, but I prefer to use olive oil.

Add the mustard and tomato puree, and fry off.  Then sprinkle with flour, and then add the crème fraiche, lemon juice.  Taste for seasoning, add salt and pepper if necessary. 

Add steak to sauce and warm through.

Serve with rice and sprinkling of parsley….

…..and of course with love…xoxo

Spicy Sausage Pasta

The other night I had to run out and meet a girlfriend, and Alex didn’t fancy pizza, oriental, or any of the usual take-away options.  So I whipped up this little dish, and it only took as long as the pasta needed to cook.

Here’s what I used:

3 small uncooked chorizo sausages

1 red onion, thinly sliced

1 clove of garlic, finely chopped

1 small tub of crème fraiche

1 small tin of chopped tomatoes

1 pinch of chilli flakes

1 tsp of hot paprika

Handful of chopped parsley

200g dried penne pasta

Boil a kettle and add to a pan, with a good pinch of salt and glug of olive oil.  Add the pasta, and cool until al dente, this should only take 11 minutes.

Meanwhile put a pan on the heat, cut the sausages into chunks and fry off.  Add the onion and the garlic, and allow to colour and caramelise for a couple of minutes.  Add the tomatoes, chilli flakes and paprika and bring to a rapid boil.  Then add the crème fraiche, bring to the boil, then simmer until thickened.

The pasta should be cooked al dente by now.  Drain, and add the pasta to the sauce, (Italians always insist on adding the pasta to the sauce, and not the other way around). 

Stir through the parsley, and serve with garlic bread….

…and of course with love…xoxo

Tricolore Salad

The salad received its name as it incorporates the same colours as the Italian flag, green, white and red.

This fresh tasty salad only takes a minute to prepare.  It shows off true Mediterranean beauty in it’s quality, freshness, and simplicity.  It is perfect for a lunch, or a light supper, or as part of a Mediterranean spread or meze, or even a dinner party starter.

We have all had tricolore salads that sometimes look the part, but definitely don’t taste the part.  It is very important to only use the freshest, best quality ingredients in this salad.  Smell the tomatoes individually and the basil leaves, they should smell juicy, pungent and delicious.

It is also important that you serve the tomatoes at room temperature, not straight out of the fridge.  Many organic tomato growers say that we shouldn’t even store tomatoes in the fridge at all.

Here’s what you need:

4 large firm juicy tomatoes

250g Mozzarella di Buffalo

1 bunch of fresh basil

Slice the tomatoes and lay on a plate, then add the sliced mozzarella, then the basil leaves.  Drizzle with extra virgin olive oil, and a few twists of black pepper.

Serve with warm crusty bread, perhaps some Parma or Iberico ham, which you can easily get from your delicatessen….and of course….

…with love….xoxo

Ham & Pea Soup

My father loved this soup and used to make it during the winter months.

We would always know that a split pea and ham soup was on its way when we saw the lentils soaking over night on the counter top.

Every Saturday Daddy and I would visit his favourite delicatessen in the nearest town, and amongst the usual cheeses and charcuterie, we always had hand carved off the bone ham.

Whenever my father fancied this soup, he would ask the deli to keep the ham bone for him.

This is a great soup to make in the morning before going out in the cold, as it happily sits on the hob for hours. I fondly remember the warm comforting delicious aroma of the ham soup bubbling away gently on the aga.

I wasn't able to obtain an entire bone, but was able to get a 1.5kg ham knuckle from my butcher.

Unfortunately, Alex didn't seem as excited as we were when he saw the lentils on our kitchen counter top!

Here's what I used:-

1.5kg knuckle of ham
500g green lentils
A couple of onions, chopped
A couple of carrots, chopped
A couple of sticks of celery, chopped
A handful of bay leaves
A handful of whole black peppercorns

Put everything in a very large pot, and cover with cold water.

Bring to the boil, and simmer gently for a couple of hours.

Remove the ham knuckle, and blend the soup, as I like it smooth.  Strip the meat off the bone and keep warm.  There will be more than enough ham for the soup servings, and I usually like to use the leftovers in a chicken, ham and mushroom pie.

Ladle the soup into bowls, adding nice chunks of the cooked ham....sprinkle with a little chopped parsley and snipped chives.

Serve with cheesy Irish wheaten bread crutons....

and of course....
.....with love...xoxo