Parmesan Chicken

Parmesan Chicken

45ml vegetable oil
1 onion, finely chopped
5 cloves of garlic, minced
1 x 400g tin of diced tomatoes
250ml panko breadcrumbs
2,5ml salt
250ml + 250ml finely grated parmesan cheese
190ml flour
2 eggs
6 chicken breasts
250ml vegetable oil
250ml grated mozzarella cheese

Turn your oven on to grill and line a baking sheet with baking paper.
Place a small saucepan over medium heat and pour in the 45ml oil.
Add the onion and cook until translucent.
Add the garlic and stir-fry for one minute.
Add the diced tomato, reduce the heat to medium-low and cook until thickened, about 30 minutes. Stir every now and then.
Season with salt and pepper and set aside to cool slightly.
Add the breadcrumbs, salt and 250ml parmesan to a shallow bowl.
Add the flower to another bowl.
Add the eggs and 15ml water to a third bowl and whisk together.
Place one chicken breast between two layers of plastic wrap and gently thin it out by pounding it with a meat mallet or rolling pin. The chicken should be no thicker than 1cm.
Season with salt and dip it into the flour. Shake off the excess and dip it into the egg and then into the breadcrumb mixture.
Keep the breaded chicken on a baking sheet until all of the chicken is done.
How place a pan on medium-high heat, add the 250ml oil and wait for it to heat up.
Fry the chicken in batches for about 1 minute before flipping it over for another minute or until it is golden brown.
Arrange the fried chicken on the prepared baking sheet and spoon the cooled tomato sauce over.
Mix the mozzarella and remaining 250ml parmesan and sprinkle over the chicken.
Grill the chicken for about 2 minutes – it is important to watch the chicken as it can easily burn but you want the cheese melted and browned.
Serve the parmesan chicken with any of the remaining tomato sauce.

Tomato and Basil Chicken

Tomato and Basil Chicken

4 chicken breasts
10ml dried Italian herbs
80ml flour
45ml olive oil
125ml white wine
45ml butter
2 cloves of garlic, minced
30ml flour
45ml tomato paste
5ml onion seeds
5ml dried oregano
2,5ml mustard powder
10ml sugar
500ml chicken stock
125ml milk
125ml cream
30ml cream cheese
125ml grated parmesan cheese
300g cherry tomatoes, halved
2 handful of basil leaves

Place the chicken on a chopping board and halve it horizontally/in its length.
Place one piece of chicken between two pieces of plastic wrap and pound it with a rolling pin until it is 1cm thick.
Season with salt, pepper and the Italian herbs.
Add the flour to a shallow bowl and dredge both sides of each chicken piece in the flour.
Add the olive oil to a pan set over medium-high heat and sear a few pieces of chicken at a time. (about 4 minutes). Set aside.
Turn the heat down to medium and pour the wine into the pan.
Scrape the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon to loosen all the bits stuck to it while the wine bubbles away, allowing it to reduce by half.
Add the butter and garlic and cook for 1 minute.
Sprinkle the flour over and stir-fry for another minute.
Now add the tomato paste and cook for another minute.
Add the onion seeds, oregano, mustard and sugar and stir.
Add the stock a little at a time while stirring continuously.
Bring the mixture to a boil and then reduce the heat to a very low simmer.
Pour the milk and the cream into the mixture in the same way.
Stir in the cream cheese and parmesan.
Add the tomato, heat through and turn off the heat.
Scatter the basil over, stir and stand for 5 minutes before serving.

Simple Chicken on Rice

Simple Chicken on Rice

1 onion, finely chopped
4 cloves of garlic, minced
60ml vegetable oil
5ml salt
375ml chicken stock, warmed
310ml boiling water
45ml butter, cubed
375ml long grain white rice

60ml vegetable oil
20ml brown sugar
30ml chicken spice
10ml onion seeds
10ml dried French tarragon
about 12 mixed chicken portions, skin on

Preheat your oven to 180℃ and spray a 28cm x 35cm ovenproof dish with cooking spray.
Add the onion, garlic, vegetable oil, salt, chicken stock, water and butter to the baking dish and stir through until the butter has melted.
Add the rice and mix through.
Pour the oil into a large mixing bowl.
Add the brown sugar, chicken spice, onion seeds and tarragon and stir to mix.
Add the chicken to the bowl and mix through with your hands until each piece of chicken is covered in the mixture.
Now arrange the chicken on top of the rice and cover the baking dish with aluminium foil.
Bake in the oven for 40 minutes.
Remove the foil and bake for another 40minutes.
Serve warm with a crisp salad on the side.

New Retro Apricot Chicken

New Retro Apricot Chicken

125ml flour
45ml vegetable oil
8 chicken breasts, skin and bone removed
1 onion, sliced
2 cloves of garlic, minced
15ml sumac
10ml salt
2 x 400g tins of halved apricots
250ml chicken stock
almond flakes

Add the flour to a shallow bowl and season with salt.
Place a large, heavy-based frying pan over medium-high heat and add the oil.
Dip the chicken in the flour to coat both sides and fry in batches for 2-3 minutes per side, until golden brown. (Add extra oil to the pan if you need to)
Keep the browned chicken on the side.
Add the onion to the pan and cook until soft.
Add the garlic and stir-fry for one minute.
Sprinkle the sumac and salt over and stir.
Pour the syrup and fruit of one of the tins of apricot into a blender and process until smooth.
Pour into the pan, add the chicken stock and bring to a boil.
Reduce the heat to a simmer and add the chicken breasts.
Cook for 20 minutes with a lid on, stirring every now and then.
Drain the second tin of apricots and add the fruit to the pan.
Cook for another 2-3 minutes until the sauce has thickened.
Serve on couscous with almond flakes scattered over.


Chicken Spiedini

Chicken Spiedini

30ml olive oil
30ml rosemary
15ml thyme
1 lemon, zest finely grated
5ml salt
1 kg chicken breast, skin and bone removed
190ml panko breadcrumbs
80ml parmesan cheese, finely grated

Warm dressing:
125ml olive oil
60ml butter
3 cloves of garlic, minced
60ml lemon juice
30ml parsley, chopped
2,5ml salt

wooden skewers

Pour the olive oil into a large bowl and add the rosemary, thyme, lemon zest and salt and stir through.
Cut the chicken breasts into large chunks (about 4 pieces of chicken should go on to one skewer).
Add the chicken pieces to the bowl and mix through with your hands so that all the chicken get coated.
Sprinkle the breadcrumbs and parmesan over and mix again.
Skewer about 4 pieces of chicken on to a skewer.
Place a heavy-bottom pan on medium-high heat and wait for it to warm up.
Grill 4 – 5 skewers at a time for 4 minutes, flip them over and cook for another 4 minutes.
Keep the cooked chicken warm.

For the warm dressing:
Add the olive oil, butter, garlic, lemon juice, parsley and salt to a small saucepan.
Place on the heat and simmer the sauce, stirring every now and then for 3-4 minutes.
Remove from the heat.
Place the chicken on a serving platter and drizzle over the warm sauce to serve.

Shitake Chicken in Mustard Sauce

Shitake Chicken in Mustard Sauce

4 chicken breasts, skin and bone removed
20ml chicken spice
30g + 50g butter, cubed
30ml olive oil
5ml chopped rosemary
500g shitake mushrooms, halved
15ml thyme leaves, chopped
2 cloves of garlic, minced
125ml dry, white wine
125ml chicken stock
15ml wholegrain mustard
60ml cream

Place the chicken on a cutting board and halve each breast horizontally.
Pat dry and season with salt, pepper and the chicken spice.
Place a pan on medium-high heat and wait for it to warm up.
Add the 30g butter, 30ml olive oil and the chopped rosemary.
Lay the chicken cutlets in the pan and cook for 4 minutes before flipping them over and cooking for another 4 minutes.
Remove the chicken from the pan and cover tightly with aluminium foil. Set aside.
Add the 50g butter to the pan and wait for it to melt.
Now add the mushroom and thy and cook for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Add the garlic and stir-fry for 1 minute.
Pour in the white wine and simmer for 2-3 minutes.
Add the chicken stock and stir in the mustard.
Add the chicken cutlets back into the pan and simmer for another 5 minutes.
Pour in the cream and stir through.
Serve the chicken on mashed potato, rice or pasta.

Hasselback Chicken

Hasselback Chicken

4 chicken breasts, boneless and skinless
200g ementhal cheese, sliced into 20 slices
250g smoked bacon, cut into 20 strips
12 bay leaves
125ml cream
1 egg

Preheat your oven to 190℃.
Place the chicken on a chopping board and season with salt.
Cut 5 slits at a slight angle into each chicken breast, making sure not to cut all the way through.
Place a slice of cheese into each slit.
Now insert a pice of bacon into each slit.
Randomly insert 3 bay leaves per breast.
Place the stuffed chicken in a casserole dish and grind over some black pepper.
Add the cream and the egg to a jug and whisk together.
Pour the mixture over the chicken and bake for 35 minutes.
Serve warm.

Cock-a-Leekie Soup

Cock-a-Leekie Soup

4 large leeks, sliced into coins
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 litre chicken stock
3 medium potatoes, peeled and cubed
250ml cooked chicken, finely shredded
2 bay leaves
125ml cream

Place a saucepan over medium-high heat and add some olive oil to it.
Add the leeks and stir-fry until it is really soft.
Take about 2 spoonfuls of the leak out of the saucepan and keep aside as garnish.
Add the garlic and stir-fry for another minute.
Pour in the chicken stock, add the potato, chicken and bay leave and simmer the soup for 30 minutes.
Remove the bay leaves and mash the potato against the side of the saucepan. I like my soup to have uneven bits of potato to add texture but you may blitz it at this stage if you prefer.
Pour in the cream and season the soup with salt and black pepper.
Cook for a minute or two before serving with a fresh loaf of bread.


Perde Pilavi

Perde Pilavi

Perde Pilavi is a traditional Turkish dish made of chicken and rice flavoured with nuts, fruit and spices and wrapped up in a delicious pastry, specked with flaked almonds.

1 chicken (1-1,5kg)
1 litre chicken stock
40g butter
40g flaked almonds
330g short grain rice (like Arborio)
30g raisins
5ml salt
5ml paprika
10ml mint, chopped
660ml chicken stock

Pastry:
2 eggs
60ml yoghurt
60g butter
50ml vegetable oil
5ml salt
350g flour
5ml baking powder
50g flaked almonds

Place the chicken in a large saucepan and pour in the stock.
Cook on medium heat for an hour, until done.
Remove the chicken from the stock and set aside to cool slightly.
Reserve the stock.
Place a large frying pan on medium-high heat, add the butter and wait for it to melt.
Add the almonds and stir-fry until golden.
Add the rice and cook for a minute or so, stirring all the while to coat in the butter.
Now add the raisins, salt, a few grindings of black pepper, paprika and mint.
Pour in 660ml of the reserved stock (add boiling water if you dont have enough), stir the mixture and cover with a lid.
Turn the heat to a gentle simmer and cook until the liquid is absorbed and the rice is almost cooked.
Remove from the heat and set aside.
Shred the chicken into strips and discard the bones and skin.
Add the chicken to the rice mixture and stir through.

For the pastry:
Preheat your oven to 180℃.
Add the eggs, yoghurt, butter and vegetable oil to a bowl and whisk together. Set aside.
Add the salt, flour and baking powder to a bowl and whisk through.
Gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet.
Lightly knead the pastry to bring it together.
Flour a work surface and roll the pastry to a 45cm diameter circle. It should be large enough to line the dish and have enough hanging over the sides to close around the filling.
Spray a 18cm diameter x 8cm deep ceramic dish with cooking spray.
Scatter the almonds on the bottom of the dish.
Line the bottom and sides of the dish with the pastry, leaving the overhang.
Spoon the cooled rice mixture into the pastry.
Fold the overhang-pastry over the filling to enclose it completely – trim off any excess.
Bake for 40 minutes, until golden.
Take the dish from the oven and rest it for 15 minutes.
Place a serving plate over the baking dish and invert it.
Serve the pilavi with a crispy salad.

Chicken Stew/Tavuk Sote

Chicken Stew/Tavuk Sote

45ml olive oil
600g chicken breasts, cut into 2cm cubes
1 onion, chopped
half a green bell pepper, deseeded and cut into 1cm cubes
2 red bell peppers, deseeded and cut into 3cm cubes
75g tomato purée
5ml smoked paprika
5ml sugar
2 tomatoes, peeled and chopped
200ml water
a large handful of parsley, chopped

Place a large saucepan on medium-high heat, add the olive oil and wait for it to heat up.
Brown the chicken in batches and set aside.
Turn the heat down to medium-low and add the onion and peppers. Cook for about 10 minutes until softened but not coloured. Stir every now and then and add more olive oil if needed.
Add the tomato purée, paprika and sugar and cook for another minute.
Now add the chopped tomato, chicken and water and stir to mix.
Season with salt and black pepper.
Bring the mixture to the boil, lower the temperature and simmer for 25 minutes.
Take off the heat. Sprinkle in the parsley, mix through and leave to stand for 5 minutes.
Serve the stew on rice or bulgar wheat.