Mix 1 tbsp Greek yoghurt, 1 tbsp crème fraîche, 1 tsp Dyon mustard and the zest and juice of 1 lime.
Thinly slice 200 g white cabbage, cut 100g carrot in julienne, cut an orange in segments (en vife, without the membrane) and quarter 7 cherry tomatoes
Mix the slaw with the yoghurt dressing and marinate for at least an hour
Soak 25g Panko in 5 tbsp milk.
Beat an egg and mix with 1 tbsp oyster sauce, a knifepoint of nutmeg, 7 hacked cherry tomatoes, the hacked leaves of 3 sprigs of parsley, then add the soaked breadcrumbs
Add 300g minced chicken meat, season with salt and pepper and mix well to firm up.
Pre heat the oven to 200°C
Line an oven dish with baking paper, use and ice cream scoop to make 6 balls from the meat, cover with some more Panko and bake in the hot oven for at least 30 min
Boil a clove of garlic till soft. Open a 200g can of chickpeas, rinse and put in the blender with 1/2 tbsp tahin, 50ml olive oil, a pinch of both cumin and smokedpaprika and the juice of 1/4 lemon.
Add the boiled garlic and 1,5 tbsp sour cream and mix into a smooth hummus
Clean 300g chicken livers, dry them with kitchen paper and put on a plate. Then grate another clove of garlic and 10g ginger over the meat. Mix well.
Take the leaves from 1 sprig of parsley, 1 sprig of mint and 1 sprig of coriander and hack them
Lightly moisten 2 Lebanese flatbreads and toast them in the hot oven for 2 mins
Quickly fry the livers in butter and olive oil. Season with ground cinnamon, salt and pepper.
Once nicely browned pour over 1 tbsp pomegranate syrup and the juice of 1/4 orange
Spoon the hummus on plates, making a ring. Put the chicken livers in the middle.
Finish with the green herbs and a tbsp pomegranate pips.
Mix a marinade with 1 tsp light soy sauce, 1 tsp ketchup, 1 tsp chipotle sauce, 1 tsp tomato paste, a big pinch of onion powder, a big pinch of garlic powder and 1/2 tbsp sunflower oil
Cut 4 chicken thighs in chunks and marinate them for an hour
Panfry the marinated chicken in a bit of olive oil for about 10 mins, then sprinkle 3 tbsp Panko over the meat and mix well, lower the heat and fry for a couple more minutes till the Panko is nicely browned
Serve as shown with spring onions, coriander leaves, potato croquettes and a nice salad with yoghurt dressing. Feeds 2.
I tried this recipe with tacos, but decided flatbread would be nicer.
First make the dough. In a large bowl, whisk 125g flour with 1 tsp baking powder, 1/2 tsp salt and 1 tsp nigella seeds, then add 95g yoghurt.
Pull together into a ball, tip on to a floured surface and knead for two minutes. Now rest in a lightly oiled bowl covered with a damp tea towel.
If you can't buy it make the tonkatsu sauce yourself: in a small bowl, mix together 30g ketchup, 1 tsp sugar, and 30 g Worcestershire sauce. Set aside.
Make the salad: in a medium bowl, slice 5 romaine salad leaves and toss with 1 tbsp mayonnaise, 1 tsp sushi vinegar, and salt until well coated. Season with additional salt if needed. Set aside.
Prepare the chicken: Fill a heavy-bottomed, high-sided skillet with about 1¼ cm of vegetable oil. Heat over medium heat until the oil reaches 180°C.
Place 2 chicken thighs on a cutting board and cover with plastic wrap. Pound the chicken with the flat side of a meat cleaver until the thighs are 4 mm thick.
On the cutting board, season the flattened chicken on both sides with salt.
Add 200g flour, 2 beaten eggs and 200g Panko to 3 separate shallow bowls.
Coat each piece of chicken in the flour, shaking off any excess, then in the egg, then in the panko. Gently press the panko into the chicken to ensure a thick, even coating.
Working in batches, carefully fry the chicken in the hot oil for about 2 minutes per side, until golden brown and cooked through.
Set on paper towels to drain and immediately season lightly with salt. Keep warm in a 70° oven
To cook the flatbreads, warm clarified butter in a large pan over a high heat. Divide the dough into 2 balls and roll each out on a floured surface to 15-20cm – the thinner, the better. Once the pan is hot, cook each flatbread for a few minutes on each side until puffed up and blistered.
Start plating with 1,5 thigh onto a flatbread. Top with about 2 tbsp of salad, a drizzle of tonkatsu sauce, sliced spring onions and coriander leaves. Sprinkle furikake on top
Preheat the oven to 200°C fan and line a large baking tray with baking paper.
The recipe asked for Ottolenghi's citrus and spice blend, which I did not have, so I mixed 1 tsp sumak, 1,5 tsp nigella seeds, 4 tsp lemon zest, 6 heaped tsp toasted ground cumin, 2 tsp palm sugar, 1 tsp garlic powder and some sea salt
Place 30g butter, 3 tbsp olive oil, 2 tbsp of the spice mix, 1 tbsp lime juice and 5 garlic cloves (peeled and smashed with the back of a knife in a small saucepan, along with 1 teaspoon of salt and a good grind of black pepper and mix. Warm gently on a low heat until the butter has melted and set aside.
Place 4 chicken thighs onto the tray and arrange a large fennel bulb, halved and each half cut into 4 wedges and 250g red lady potatoes, skin on and sliced in 3 mm rounds around to fit - it’s ok for some of the potatoes to overlap each other (they will shrink as they cook).
Pour over the butter/oil mixture and use your hands to give everything a good coating.
Roast for 40 minutes until the chicken is well browned and the potatoes and fennel are starting to catch around the edges, using the juices to baste everything once or twice during cooking. After 20 mins add some cherry tomatoes
Remove from the oven and drizzle over 2 tbsp double cream, followed by a good grating of parmesan
Serve with more of the parmesan alongside. Feeds 2
For the curried chicken, combine 1 small shallot, 1 garlic clove, 1 cm ginger, 1 lemon grass, the juice from 1 lemon, 1/4 tsp turmeric and 1/4 tsp garam masala in a liquidiser and blend thoroughly. Place the paste in a bowl and mix with 100 ml coconut milk, 100 ml yoghurt, 1 red chilli and 1/2 handful fresh coriander. Season with salt and pepper to taste
Cut a chicken breast lengthways into 6 strips, place in the bowl and mix carefully. Make sure the chicken is well coated. Cover with cling film and chill in the fridge to marinate for as long as possible, preferably overnight
Pre-heat the oven to 190°C
Place the chicken strips in a roasting tin and bake for about 15 minutes, turning them fairly frequently to ensure they are cooked right through
While the chicken is roasting, whisk an egg yolk, 1 tbsp Dyon mustard, a tbsp lukewarm water and some salt and pepper, slowly add 70ml grapeseed oil. Whisk into a nice thick mayonaise.
Once you have added all the oil, mix in the zest and juice of 1/4 lime.
Scrape the mayonnaise out of the food processor into a bowl. Fold the cubed flesh of 1/8 mango into the mayonnaise, taste and re-season if necessary
Serve the curried chicken hot or cold, with the mango mayonnaise and garnish with some baby watercress Feeds 2
Brown 2 poussins on all sides in 40g butter, season with salt and pepper, then transfer them to an oven dish. Add 100 ml veal fond and a few small knobs of butter and roast for 45 mins.
Spoon the gravy over them after 20 mins
Wash 300g baby potatoes, halve them and boil in salted water for 18 mins, drain and reserve
Pour the butter from the poussins in a sauce pan, add 2 tbsp tarragon vinegar, 2 tbsp white wine, 150 ml veal fond and 40 ml double cream. Season with salt and pepper.
Pluck the leaves from a few sprigs of tarragon and add to the sauce. Bring to the boil and slightly reduce.
Hack the tarragon leaves and add to the sauce, just before serving
10 mins before the poussins are ready panfry the boiled potatoes in butter.
De-frost 10 sheets of filo pastry2 hrs in advance.
Heat 2 tbsp oil in a large heavy-based saucepan with a lid over medium-high heat. In batches, cook 1 kg skinless, boneless chicken thighs for 3-4 minutes on each side until browned. Remove from the pan and set aside.
Reduce heat to medium-low and add 1 finely chopped onion, 2 finely chopped garlic cloves, 25g grated ginger, 1 tbsp ras el hanout and 1 tsp turmeric, and cook for 5-7 minutes until the onion has softened.
Return chicken back to the pan with 500ml of water. Add 1/4 tsp saffron threads and season with salt and pepper. Cover with the lid and simmer for 15 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through.
Meanwhile, place 80g blanched almonds in the bowl of a small food processor and whiz until finely chopped. Set aside.
Remove the chicken from the pan and set aside to cool.
Increase the heat to high and cook stock for 15 minutes or until reduced by more than half and thickened. Remove from the heat and slowly pour in 4 lightly beaten eggs, stirring the whole time. Return to a low heat and cook for 2-3 minutes until the mixture resembles soft scrambled eggs. Remove from the heat and transfer mixture to a large bowl.
Shred the chicken and add to the egg mixture with the almond, 1 tbsp icing sugar, the leaves of a bunch of parsley, zest and juice of 1 lemon.
Season with salt and pepper and set aside to cool completely. This will cost you at leat another half hour!
Preheat the oven to 180°C. Melt 100g butter
Butter a 20cm springform cake pan. Brush 1 sheet of filo pastry and lay vertically in the pan, allowing the excess to hang over the edges. Butter another sheet and lay it over the first sheet horizontally, in a cross pattern, carefully pushing into the pan.
Repeat with 8 more sheets.
Add the cooled filling, smoothing over the top.
Fold overhanging pastry in to enclose the filling. Brush the top with the remaining butter and sprinkle with 1/2 tsp black sesame seeds. Bake for 60 minutes or until the pastry is golden
Meanwhile, for the sweet and sour currants, heat the oil in a small saucepan over medium-low heat, add a small finely sliced onion and cook for 15 minutes or until softened and starting to caramelise.
Add 2 tbsp brown sugar and cook for a further minute. Add 35g currants and 125 ml red wine vinegar and simmer for 4-5 minutes until thickened slightly
Scatter b’stilla with extra parsley and serve with sweet and sour
Brush an oven dish with plenty olive oil. Rub 4 boneless chicken thighs with 1 tbsp currypowder, 1 tbsp acacia honey,olive oil and salt
Then roll them trough the almonds until completely covered, put them in the oven dish, not touching and roast them about 30 mins.
Turn them halfway and add a little water if the caramelisation goes too quick
In the meantime finely hack 15g coriander, mix with 250g de-stoned (on top of an empty wine bottle, with a chop stick) sweet cherries, the juice of 1/2 lime and the zest of a lime
Deglaze the chicken thighs with the juice of a second lime, add a few tbsp water and stir into a sauce.
Serve as shown, with flatbread or pita to soak op the juices
This dish delivers on multiple fronts: salt and spice from the peppered chicken and sweet and sharp from the pickled watermelon. Store any excess pickle in a sterilised jar in the fridge for up to two weeks, and use to spoon on salads or grilled meat.
Put 800g diced watermelon, 1 sliced jalapeño and 170g caster sugar in a large, sterilised jar, give it a gentle shake to coat, then leave to macerate for 20 minutes. Add 125ml vinegar, 2 camomile tea bags, 2 tbsp mint leaves, a teaspoon of salt and 175ml water and cover with a piece of greaseproof paper. Seal the jar and refrigerate overnight.
Now for the chicken. Combine 2 tsp mixed ground peppercorns in a medium bowl, and set aside a quarter-teaspoon of the mix. Add 2 tbsp flour and a half-teaspoon of salt to the remaining ground peppercorns.
Put 1 tbsp oil in a medium frying pan on a high heat. Sandwich 3 boneless and skinless chicken thighs between two sheets of greaseproof paper and use a rolling pin to bash it out to ½cm thick.
Coat the chicken in the pepper-flour mixture, then lay them one by one in the hot pan and fry for three minutes on each side. Transfer the chicken to a board, sprinkle an eighth of a teaspoon of salt over them all, and leave to rest.
Drain the pickle solids and set aside. Return the frying pan to a medium-high heat and add 200ml of the watermelon pickling liquid; Cook down the pickling liquid for five minutes, until it turns orange and syrupy and has reduced by four-fifths, then take off the heat.
Meanwhile, mix very thin rings of banana shallot, 45g watercress and the drained watermelon pickle, then transfer to a large plate with a lip. Cut each chicken thigh at an angle into three or four slices and arrange on top.
Spoon over the reduced syrup, sprinkle on the reserved quarter-teaspoon of ground peppercorns and serve with lime halves for squeezing over
First make the dough. In a large bowl, whisk 125g flour with 1 tsp baking powder, 1/2 tsp salt and 1 tsp nigella seeds, then add 95g yoghurt. Pull together into a ball, tip on to a floured surface and knead for two minutes. Now rest in a lightly oiled bowl covered with a damp tea towel.
Bash out 4 boneless chicken thighs until it’s all of a fairly even thickness.
Put a small pan on a medium heat, then add 1 tsp ground cumin, ½ tsp turmeric, ½ tsp smoked paprika, ½ tsp black pepper, ¼ tsp ground coriander, 2 cardamom pods, seeds removed and ground, ¼ tsp cinnamon powder,¼ tsp ground ginger, ¼ tsp ground nutmeg and toast until fragrant.
Whisk into ½ tsp salt, 2 tbsp lemon juice, 2 tbsp olive oil and 2 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed, … then rub the mix all over the chicken and put in a sealed container in the fridge for between three and eight hours.
Cut the chicken into thin strips, then thread one end of each strip on to a metal skewer. Put a second skewer through the other end of each strip, and push the strips down to the far end of the skewers, so they’re tightly packed
Heat the grill to medium and find a tray over which you can balance the skewers so they’re suspended rather than touching the base.
Time to make Zhoug sauce.
Roughly chop 14g coriander and 12g parsley. Add to a food processor with 2 crushed cloves of garlic and a de-seeded and roughly chopped jalapeno and pulse several times. Add 1/2 tsp ground cumin, 1/4 tsp ground cardamom, 1/4 tsp salt, a pinch of sugar, 2 tbsp water and 3 tbsp olive oil. Run until a rough sauce is made, stopping to scrape down as needed. The sauce should have texture and liquid.
Then make a lemon garlic tahini sauce : using a food processor, mix 1 tbsp lemon juice, the zest of 1/2 lemon, 60g tahini, 2 tbsp hacked coriander, a pinch of salt, 1 crushed cloves of garlic, a few tbsp dill and a tsp za'atar together. While the food processor is running, add 40 ml water and process until mixture is the consistency of honey. Stop to scrape down as needed. Garnish with a few more herbs. Store in a tightly covered jar, upside down. Mixture will separate. Stir back together if needed.
Finally prepare a cucumber and red onion salsa : mix 1/2 red onion, finely diced, 1/2 gratedcucumber, 1 tbsp hacked dill, 1 minced clove of garlic, 1,2 tbsp sumac, 1,2 tbsp white wine vinegar, 1 tbsp olive oil and 1/4 tsp salt. In the end I added some cherry tomatoes.
To cook the flatbreads, warm clarified butter in a large pan over a high heat. Divide the dough into 2 balls and roll each out on a floured surface to 15-20cm – the thinner, the better. Once the pan is hot, cook each flatbread for a few minutes on each side until puffed up and blistered.
Then its time to grill the chicken for five minutes, then turn over and grill for another five minutes – the chicken should be charred and cooked through.
Warm a 25cm nonstick pan or skillet over a low-medium heat and add 25g butter. Coarsely grate 300g peeled potato, then stir half of it into the melted butter along with a sprinkle of salt and pepper.
Spread the potato out so it covers the entire base of the pan, then fry for four to five minutes, until it turns chestnut brown underneath. Carefully flip the potato cake over and fry for another four to five minutes, until browned on the other side.
Put on a plate in a 70°C oven.
Repeat with the remaining grated potato and 25g butter.
While the potato cakes are cooking, mix 70g Greek yoghurt and 2 tbsp finely chopped dill in a small bowl. The original recipe asked for the juice of a lemon but I decided not to.
To prepare 250g chicken livers, cut away and discard any gristly bits, then cut into 2cm chunks and season with salt and pepper
In a second frying pan, fry 175g diced red onion in a little oil over a medium heat for three minutes, then reserve and keep warm in the oven
Add the livers to the warm pan and turn up the heat to medium-high. Fry for about four minutes, until the livers are dark brown on the outside but still have a faint trace of pink within. Turn off the heat, then stir in 30g butter and 1,5 tbsp balsamic cream.
To serve, scatter the livers over the potato cakes, followed by the yoghurt and dill dip, 75g finely diced cucumber and 1,5 tbsp capers
First make the stock. Peel 1 onion, cut it in half and put it in a large saucepan or casserole. Add 800g chicken thighs (bone in) and a handful of wings, 2 carrots, 1 stick of celery, snapped in half, 6 peppercorns, 4 thick coins of ginger and 5 sprigs of thyme. Pour in 2 litres of water and bring to the boil.
Lower the heat, partially cover with a lid and simmer for 50 minutes, checking the water level from time to time.
Peel 2 Jersusalem artichokes (aardperen), then cut them into large chunks. In a large pan heat 1 tbsp groundnut oil, then add the artichokes and let them cook for 10-15 minutes, until lightly coloured, stirring from time to time. Ladle in 1.5 litres of the chicken stock, bring to the boil, then lower the heat and simmer for 40 minutes until the artichokes are fully tender.
Remove the chicken pieces from the stock and set aside. (You may have some stock left over, so carefully strain it through a sieve or colander into a bowl or large jug and discard the aromatics. Cool, then store it in the fridge until needed.) Remove and discard the chicken skin. Pull the meat from the bones, then tear or slice into strips and set aside.
Blend the artichokes and stock with a stick blender or ladle into a jug blender and reduce to a thick, creamy textured soup. Stir in the shredded chicken.
To finish, finely chop a handful of parsley and stir in. Check the seasoning adding salt, pepper and a squeeze of lemon juice to taste. (You may not need the entire lemon.)
Peel and slice 2 more artichokes, then fry them in the oil in a shallow pan for 7-10 minutes until tender and golden. Add them to the soup and then pull the thyme leaves from a few sprigs and sprinkle (which I forgot) on top at the last minute
(Another great Nigel Slater recipe)
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It'll never win first price in a 'the art of plating' contest, but this is a delicious meal, full of flavours. And only 10 mins of work!
Pre heat the oven at 200°C
Quarter a red onion. Slice 2 fennel bulbs in 6 segments. Cut a 50g chorizo sausage in small cubes.
Put 2 chicken legs in a baking tray, surrounded by the onion, the fennel and the chorizo. Season with pepper salt, 1 tsp dried thyme and the zest of an orange.
Add 2 tbsp olive oil and the juice of 1/2 orange. Shake well to cover everything.
Put in the hot oven for 35 mins.
Take out and add 125g cherry tomatoes and bake for another 15 mins.
In a small bowl pour 1 tbsp of boiling water over a pinch of saffron and set aside. Put 2 crushed cloves of garlic, 2 egg yolks and 1 tbsp Dyon mustard into a food processor or blender. Blitz into a paste and very slowly dribble in 150 ml grapeseedoil to make a thick mayonnaise-style sauce. When everything's come together add the saffron, saffron water and the juice from 1/4 lemon, then season to taste.
Serve withthis aïoli.
(Recipe by Janneke Vreugdenhil in her Low-carb Bible)
Follow me on Instagram @peterschoenmaker7 and have a look at my book 'Breakfast in Gascony' on Amazon for your Kindle
What lifts chicken salad up is the pure, clean texture of breast meat – one of the very few really good uses for this almost entirely flavorless cut. Poaching it is the only way to get the right texture. But if the water boils, the meat contracts and stiffens and is ruined.
To counter this, some years ago Julia Moskin adopted a Chinese method for poaching that is foolproof, low maintenance and ideal for summer cooking. All it requires is a heavy pot – enameled or plain cast-iron is ideal – and a bit of nerve.
This is because you do not cook the chicken. Instead, you slip it into boiling water, turn off the heat and then walk away for at least two hours.
Over time, the gentle but steady residual heat cooks the chicken through, giving it a texture the California chef and interpreter of Chinese cuisine Barbara Tropp called “plush” – perfect for chicken salad. (It turns out that the Southern-cooking doyenne Edna Lewis poached her chicken in much the same way.)
Choose a heavy pot or Dutch oven with a tightfitting lid. It should be large enough to hold the chicken snugly, but not much bigger. Fill pot about 2/3 full with cold water, but don’t put the chicken in yet. Boil some extra water in a teakettle.
Add 2 scallions and 6 peppercorns to the water, cover and bring to a rolling boil. Turn off heat and slip 2 bone-in, skin-on chicken breasts into the hot water. If needed, add boiling water from the kettle to cover chicken with water by 4 cm. Replace the lid and let chicken rest in the hot water for about 2 hours. Do not turn the flame back on: The pot will retain enough heat to cook chicken thoroughly and safely. (To test, cut into 1 piece of chicken and check the meat near the bone. If it is still pink, return the pot to low heat, bring the water to a simmer and simmer 10 minutes more.)
Lift chicken out of the pot. Remove and discard bones, skin and fat. Pat the meat dry with paper towels, then cut or shred into small bite-size pieces and transfer to a bowl. (Meanwhile, simmer cooking liquid until tasty, strain and refrigerate or freeze to use as chicken stock.)
In a bowl, whisk together juice of 1/4 lemon, 70g mayonnaise and 40g creme fraiche. If using, whisk in 1/2 tsp Dyon mustard. Taste and adjust the seasonings and thickness to your liking. Pour over chicken, scraping the bowl clean with a rubber spatula.
Add 1 sliced stick of celery, 1/2 sliced red onion, 1,5 tbsp chopped fresh tarragon leaves and salt and pepper. Toss gently but thoroughly. Refrigerate, covered, at least 4 hours. Taste and add salt and pepper as needed.
Serve as shown above, with walnuts and apple julienne, as a small appetizer.
Or, as a lunch, with salad, crackers, grapes and cherry tomatoes
