Chicken, Fennel, and White Wine Risotto

There is something about making and eating risotto that feels rather luxurious and indulgent. Once you have chopped a few ingredients, you can stand with a glass of something in one hand, chatting to friends, or flicking through a fancy magazine. Once it gets going all you really have to do is add stock and stir; it couldn't be simpler. And, for what turns out to be such a gorgeous dinner, it can be extremely good value for money.

Here I use boned and skinned chicken leg pieces from the butchers, which are much cheaper than the breast meat, and stay much moister I think. However buying chicken thighs and then skinning and boning them yourself would be cheaper still if you have the time.

Fennel has become one of my most recent loves. I hadn't eaten it before a couple of years ago. It has a slight aniseed flavour which shouldn't put you off (I still hate liquorice and sambucca). When it is cooked, particularly in this recipe, the flavour becomes mellow, fresh and slightly lemony. Fennel seeds are something that can be used a lot in other dishes so it is worth having as a kitchen basic.

Ingredients Serve 2
2- 3 CHICKEN THIGHS: skinned and boned, chopped into bitesize, but not too small, pieces
1 SMALL FENNEL BULB: sliced with feathery green tops kept aside for garnishing
2 SHALLOTS: finely chopped
1 GARLIC CLOVE: finely chopped/crushed
1 TEASPOON FENNEL SEEDS: crushed in a pestle and mortar to release the flavour
1 LARGE GLASS OF DRY WHITE WINE
OLIVE OIL/SALT/PEPPER
PARMESAN: a great store cupboard ingredient that really lasts, don't be put off by the expense!
1 LADLE FULL OF RISOTTO RICE
500 ML CHICKEN STOCK the real stuff heated, or add chicken stock cube to 500 ml boiling water.

1|  On a high heat, brown off your chicken pieces in a large non-stick pan. It doesn't matter if they are completely cooked through at this stage. Once white, starting to brown, set aside for later.

2| In the same pan gently cook your shallot, garlic and fennel seeds for 1-2 minutes, mixing all together.

3| Turn up the heat and add your fennel, mix together and cook for another couple of minutes before adding half the glass of wine. Let the wine cook down.

4| Add your rice, stir together, and add the remainder of the wine, continuing to stir on this high heat for a couple of minutes.

5| Turn the heat down a fraction and add one or two ladles of your heated stock. At this stage we are going to slowly add all of the stock until absorbed by the rice. With the heat too high, the rice will cook too quickly on the outside. Too low, and you'll be there all night long. So don't rush it but just keep everything at a nice simmer. Stir and add more stock after the previous ladle seems to be absorbed. This process should take about 40 minutes but will vary.

6| When it starts to appear more like it should, take a taste. When you have a lovely oozy consistency but the rice still has a slight bite to it, add your chicken pieces and continue to cook for another couple of minutes. If you have run out of stock by this point, you can always add more boiling water.

7| Once you think the rice has cooked, turn down the heat, grate a generous helping of parmesan over the top, and season to taste with salt and pepper. (Parmesan can be quite salty so taste, before adding the salt.)

8| Serve into bowls, with feathery garnish on top, some crunchy bread and a glass of your remaining wine... If you haven't drunk it all whilst cooking that is.

Other ideas/variations:

Chorizo:
Buying from a butcher or deli, you can buy inch thick slices of this gorgeous Spanish sausage and have chopped into bitesize pieces. Add in at same time as garlic and shallot. Flavour and colour your stock with a few strands of saffron. Add a handful of frozen peas at the end for more colour and use delicious Spanish cheese Manchego instead of Parmesan. Basically a very stripped back Paella, but still delicious and indulgent.

Fillet of Beef and Mushroom:
If you're really looking to impress and show off, a mushroom risotto served with fillet of beef is heavenly. Use a spoon of dried porcini mushrooms at the garlic/shallot stage, before adding chopped chestnut mushrooms, or wild mushrooms if you are feeling more adventurous. For this recipe, I would definitely pinch a glass of my mother's Vermouth, Noilly Prat, for a more intense flavour. Lashings of parmesan and a knob of butter at the end are essential. I would serve the finest fillet steaks on the side, cooked pink; slicing and cooking in the risotto just isn't going to work.

Lamb and Aubergine Rosemary Skewers

BBQ season just doesn't feel right without a kebab does it? But growing up, my lamb or pork Andrew's kebab always seemed overcooked (sorry Dad!) and ended up being put to one side in favour of juicy sausages and meaty spare ribs. The ones I used to make with friends, with some courgette and mushroom didn't fair much better either. A few years ago I stumbled across this fantastic Nigel Slater article laying down kebab law: keep things simple, one meat and one veg, playing with flavours away from the classic bit of shrivelled mushroom, or mushy tomato. 

Shop wise, Richard started making kebabs by hand, on slightly smaller skewers (much more appetising as part of a BBQ selection) and they are now marinated in delicious sauces to keep the meat juicy and singing with flavour. And yet there's still something about making our own! Here in Paris I had a delicious lamb neck fillet in the freezer: plenty of marbling for flavour, very reasonable and the perfect shape for cutting into kebab cubes! Nigel gives a recipe for Pork and Mango which sounds amazing but here I experiment with his other suggestion of Lamb and Aubergine and make with saffron rice, salad, pitta and tzatsiki. 

Ingredients 

One good sized lamb neck fillet makes three kebabs | Three strong sticks of rosemary or normal wood skewers (available to buy at Andrew's) | One small aubergine cubed | 4 cloves garlic, finely chopped or crushed | Chilli powder | 150g Greek yoghurt | Rice | Salad | Good handful of fresh mint leaves | 

1| Preparing your lamb is super easy, you just need a sharp knife (your butcher will do this for you if you would really like!) Cut length ways into three, and then slice each strip into five equal good sized pieces. 

2| Drizzle with olive oil, salt and pepper and move to one side on your board. 

3| On the same board, prepare your aubergine, cutting into cubes of a similar size to your lamb, sprinkle with 2 of the crushed cloves of garlic, some torn mint leaves, olive oil, and chilli powder ( I would have loved to have used some crushed fennel seeds but couldn't get hold of any) and put to one side with the meat. 

4| Making your kebabs on rosemary skewers is not only a great way to get flavour throughout the kebab but also looks fantastic too. If however you can't get hold of good quality rosemary, you can always push some rosemary leaves into the kebab once on a wooden skewer. If using rosemary, strip of the leaves, leaving some still intact at the end of the kebab and keep aside for use another time. Then place about four aubergine pieces, and five lamb pieces alternately on the skewer. 

5| You can now make your tzatsiki which is a lovely light and refreshing accompaniment. Simply add the other two cloves of crushed garlic with a handful of finely chopped mint to the greek yoghurt and stir. You can also add finely chopped cucumber, but that is optional.

6| Add your rice to a pan of salted boiling water and cook for ten minutes. Saffron is an expensive herb so can be definitely done without if not already in the cupboard!

7| Heat a hot non stick pan on a high heat. Place in your kebabs and use a fork to press the meat down into the pan, so that they really brown off, for a couple of minutes each side. The rosemary skewer makes it very easy to turn over and fit in the pan. 

8| When your rice comes to the end of cooking, use a ladle to add some of the cooking water to the pan, and turn the heat down slightly to let it simmer away. This will just help the kebabs retain liquid for the rest of the cooking, for about another 5 minutes, and stay lovely and juicy. 

9| Meanwhile prepare your salad and toast some pitta bread. Once kebabs are cooked serve immediately. You can either use the pitta bread whole to place everything inside, or cut small as a little extra on the side. 

"Bavette" Steak, Mini Roast Potatoes and Garlicky Green Beans

This week I go totally French and discover the beautiful cut that is "Bavette" or what us Brits may or may not know as Skirt steak. This cut is usually used for Minced Beef or as Casserole Steak: basically anything that isn't a quick-frying steak.

Out for dinner with three other English friends in one of my first weeks in Paris we only paid half the bill when we realised that we had been served this cut as a steak for our main course! It really was so tough. So for the last six months I have wondered why on earth I have seen it cropping up on menus all over town as the "Plat Du Jour"... Until I tried it for lunch and realised it really is rather delicious when done right! Ever so slightly harder to cut, but absolutely full of flavour. And of course the reason I'm raving about it on here, is that it is so much cheaper per kilo than any other steak you will buy.

Reading around I believe that this cut is sneaking on to menus in London, and am predicting it is a cut that foodies will become much more familiar with in a year or so!
My top tips for buying and cooking skirt steak are as follows: 

1| You absolutely MUST buy from a top quality butcher, and tell them that you're looking to cook it as a steak. Expert butchers will know exactly what they're giving you, if it is matured enough etc, and it will be of a quality that allows you to cook this cut like a steak, for a short time.

2| Marinading is key! You can tell just looking at the steak, that it is more tightly textured, which is why it takes longer to tenderise... Lemon juice, wine, or vinegar are going to help make the meat more tender before cooking. Here I used a good squeeze of lemon juice with olive oil, herbs and spices, make it up as you like. Also remember nothing is going to happen in less than an hour!

Ingredients

Ask your butcher to cut you a steak per person | An acidic ingredient like white wine or lemon juice + mixture of herbs and finely chopped garlic... I used mint and basil although would normally use more woody herbs like thyme, it's dependent on taste and availability. | A little sprinkle of chilli powder or fresh cut chilli will add a kick but shouldn't over power the dish. | Fresh french green beans | Potatoes for roasting. | Finely chopped clove of garlic.

1| Create your marinade. Herbs, spices and chopped garlic in a bowl first, before adding olive oil and lemon juice/white wine. A good glug of each! Mix trying to mash the ingredients together into a paste. Massage into the meat and leave out for an hour before cooking to bring to room temperature.

2| In the meanwhile prepare your roast potatoes. Peel and chop slightly smaller than the traditional roastie, wash in cold water, and bring to the boil in fresh cold water in a pan. Boil for five-six minutes.

3| While they're boiling, heat a roasting dish with a couple of tablespoons of olive oil on a high heat of 200C for at least 5 minutes. When your potatoes have boiled, drain and shake with the lid on. Then add to the hot roasting dish keeping the saucepan down low to the oil so that it doesn't splash all over your arm. They should sizzle immediately- this is how you get a good crispy edge! Try to put straight back into the oven as soon as possible to prevent losing heat. These will probably cook in around 45-50 minutes, try to keep an eye and turn over half way through. Place in serving bowl and keep in turned off oven.

4| Let's prepare the green beans. Blanche in boiling water for about 2-3 mins and drain. In a frying pan, melt a good tablespoon of butter and sautée the garlic on a soft heat as these will burn easily. Add the beans and fry on a high heat for a good 5-7 minutes until cooked to taste. If they look like they are burning just add a splash of water, it will soon cook away. Place in a serving dish and keep in the oven with the finished potaotes.

5| Now for the steak. In the same pan, add your steaks. I cooked these for about 3-4 minutes each side. You want them pink but definitely not raw. Really it depends on how thick they are, you can always cut with a sharp knife in the center to see how they are getting along. Towards the end of frying I threw in a small glass of water for two reasons. Firstly I wanted to slow things down, and not burn or overdo the steaks. Secondly, on a high heat that water is going to, for want of a better word, "unstick" any meat juices stuck to the pan, making a gorgeous jus, or gravy.

6| Once my steaks were cooked, I lifted them from the pan and let them rest a minute while I concentrated on this sauce. If all that water has cooked away or is looking like it is starting to burn on just add a splash more, using a wooden spoon to lift any of the juices stuck to the pan. Then, if quite runny, just add a light sprinkle of flour (or cornflour) over the whole pan, mixing really quickly so that you don't have any lumps. In about two minutes you will have such a delicious sauce that you can pour over the steaks to keep them juicy. (Soup bowls are actually great for serving something like this!)

7| Serve immediately with potatoes and vegetables on the table, letting everyone help themselves.

Haloumi and Store Cupboard Rice Salad

Living and working in Paris, my flatmate and I are often too hot to eat a hot meal, and really can't afford to eat meat for every meal either. We have however managed to eat healthily with meals like this one, using cheeses such as haloumi and feta as meat substitutes, and making use of nutritious red peppers, onions, peas and olives. I know Andrew sells great quality Greek feta and Cypriot haloumi which per person are such good money for value! His range of different olives are also pretty amazing too, and what's nice you don't have to buy a whole tub like you do in the supermarket.

Ingredients for two people:

Half a pack of haloumi, four to six slices | Half a red onion, finely chopped | Half a red pepper finely chopped | Frozen peas | Drop of olive oil and balsamic | Sprinkle of dried oregano or mixed herbs | Rice, about 1 mug full | Feel free to adapt accordingly for what you need to use up in the fridge

1| Slice your haloumi and drizzle over a little olive oil and sprinkle some dried herbs, massage in and set to one side.  2| Then start to gently fry your onion, and a little crushed garlic if you have it. 

3| Meanwhile add your rice to boiling water and cook for ten minutes. 

4| Add your pepper and olives and cook for a further five minutes. 

5| Add your green peas and a dash of baslsamic vinegar cooking on a high heat now for around two minutes before adding your cooked rice. 

6| Mix and pour into a serving dish so that you can quickly give your frying pan a clean before cooking the haloumi. 

7| Heat up the pan and fry the haloumi for about two minutes each side until it is nice and golden all over. 

7| Serve immediately with the rice and enjoy! 

Beef Featherblade Casserole

We're all so busy that sometimes when it comes to cooking all we want to do is to chuck everything in a pan and let it do its thing, and with this recipe you really can, and still be blessed with a delicious meal... But then again it can also be nice to get completely into what you're making and escape from everything else for an hour or two, if you can afford the time.

In France you can't buy stewing steak already cut into pieces, so I bought a delicious kilo of featherblade (paleron in French)- so-called because each slice looks like a feather- and decided to butcher it myself, with a little help from Andrew over facetime! I shall provide tips here for what is quite simple butchery if you have the time and patience; if you perish the thought then just buy a kilo of already diced chuck or featherblade steak and skip to where I put it all together in the casserole dish!

This cut is a lot cheaper in England than in France, about £10.99 a kilo in Andrew's and gives eight good portions, so is amazing value for money. Even better that line of fat, that makes the blade of the "feather", which I cut out and add to the stew, gives the most amazing flavour... with the vegetables, a bay leaf and a few cloves (my magical ingredient in all stews) this dish is quite simply beautiful winter soul food. 

You will need... 

1 kilo featherblade steak in a piece, or diced by your butcher, or 1 kilo any stewing steak from a butchers so you know that it's well matured and full of flavour | 1 clove of garlic | 1 shallot | 1 stick of celery | 1 leek | 1 carrot | 3 tomatoes | 1 litre of chicken or beef stock | 3 cloves | 2 bay leaves

 1  Pre heat the oven to 160C. Chop the shallot, garlic and celery and fry in a large casserole dish on a gentle heat.

 2  Meanwhile chop the carrot, celery and tomatoes and add to the pan.

3  If you're dicing/preparing your own piece of beef, turn off the heat, as it might take a little while. SKIP TO STEP 7 if you're not preparing yourself!

4  Lay your piece of featherblade flat, fat side up. Try gently pulling the fat from one of the corners, gently using the point of a very sharp knife to help lift it slightly. At the point you should see the fat lifting, leaving a thin layer of membrane underneath, this is ok and can be left on- it will disappear when you cook the beef.

So continue running that point of the knife down the line that is made between where the membrane and fat meet, while you are gently pulling the fat away with the two hands.  If you just relax you'll find the two actions helping each other: as opposed to cutting into the meat you are releasing that layer of fat, to enable you to pull it away.

5 Fat removed, we need to take out that feather "blade" which is a sheet/piece of grizzle that runs through the cut. Again patience and using the point of the knife in a gentle manner is key. The action remains the same, although it feels a little more tricky, removing something from inside. So start slow running the point of the knife, down the line of the grizzle so you've got something to hold on to a little.

Once you have that it becomes a little easier to use the knife to help you pull the fat away from the meat as opposed to slicing into the meat and hoping for the best. You want to have as little meat on that fat as possible, you don't want to waste anything.  Just relax and feel your away around. Once you have cut away quite a lot nearest to the edge- the side where my hand is in the picture- you can make a cut down that side of the meat so that you are able to begin to open up the meat. This just makes it easier to see what's going on in there!

It's not the end of the world if you leave more meat on the fat than wanted but have a little look at this next picture to see what you're aiming for!

6 So fat and grizzle placed to one side, and the piece of meat opened up, you can start dicing it.

Cut into two pieces, then cut long strips and just dice across. You don't want pieces too small because the meat is so tender they will just cook down into mush. 

7 Turn the heat back on and add the diced meat to the pan as well as the cloves, bay leaves and stock. Top up with water if the meat isn't covered. Bring to the boil and place in the preheated oven with the lid on.

8 The meat will definitely be cooked after two hours, and if you want to eat at this stage I would mix up about a tablespoon of cornflour (gluten free) in the same amount of melted butter, with a little water added, and stir this into the casserole, bringing the cassserole to the boil on the hob to reduce that sauce down.

9 If you can wait, I would reduce the heat on the oven to 110C and cook for another two hours. You can then remove the two pieces of fat if they haven't completely melted away and also the bay leaves and cloves and then serve with rice or mashed potato. Each time you heat that casserole up during the week it is going to reduce down even more and become even more delicious.

Pork Chops with Cashel Blue, Apple and Parma Ham

When I'm lacking inspiration for what to cook I always head to Jamie Oliver's website for new ways to cook "boring" things like pork chops, it really has so many great new ideas. I have always used Parma or Serrano ham to wrap stuffed chicken breast, but never really thought about it wrapping pork chops with anything. This recipe is also good because although all the ingredients feel and taste rather indulgent, a bit of a luxury, you only need a little of each so it doesn't work out too expensive at all.

Ingredients

1 pork chop per person
Three thin slices of apple per pork chop (one small red apple should do most amounts)
About 100g of blue cheese crumbled (Jamie originally uses Stilton but I love Cashel Blue-Andrew sells both)
Two slices of Parma ham (or other good quality prosciutto) per pork chop
One sprig of rosemary per pork chop

First preheat your oven to 200C. Then brown off your pork chops in a pan on a high heat. Cook until golden brown on each side. Leave to one side to cool.

Lay out two slices of Parma ham so that they are slightly overlapping each other and place a pork chop on top in the middle.

Add three slices of apple and a about a tablespoon of blue cheese on top.

Then fold the slices of Parma ham over the top and keep in place by piercing a sprig of rosemary through the parcel. Place in a baking tray and repeat for all other pork chops.

Bake in the oven for ten minutes and serve with anything you like really! As you can see I was too hungry to take any pictures of the finished meal, but I went with green beans and blitzed mash potato. However it would also be great with rice, roast potatoes, or just vegetables.

Peri Peri Chicken and Patatas Bravas

I made this mix of Portuguese and Spanish cuisine for my friends and parents the night before I go to Paris. With a bit of preparation beforehand and a little bit of effort into dressing up the table its a meal that looks impressive but that is super easy to make. It is also relatively cheap as the chicken I used was leg meat which is super juicy and tender but so much cheaper than the breast!

For starters I also cooked prawns in garlic butter and served a selection of Serrano ham and olives, but that is relatively easy to work out yourself!

Patatas bravas is a potato dish that is part of nearly every Spanish tapas dish: crispy cubed potatoes with a delicious tomato based sauce. I made the sauce from scratch a couple of days before and just left in the fridge, it probably takes 20 minutes max to make.

Just sweat 1/2 finely chopped onion and 4 cloves of crushed garlic in frying pan on a low heat for 3-4 minutes. Then add 1/2 tablespoon of sweet smoked paprika (this is the best paprika with the most flavour), 1 teaspoon of tobasco and 1 tablespoon of Worcestershire sauce. Mix these ingredients and then transfer to a large bowl.

Add 4 tablespoons of tomato ketchup and 2 of mayonnaise. Blend yourself or using a food processor. I have one of those hand processors which is really good. Then season with salt and pepper to taste and and add a drop more tobasco if needed. 

On the actually evening about an hour before you want to eat  just peel and dice enough potatoes for 1 large potato each (use Maris Piper or King Edwards) plus a few extra. Heat the oven to 200C. Place the potatoes in a saucepan of cold water, wash, and the change for fresh water. Bring to the boil, adding salt, and par boil for 6-7 minutes. In the meanwhile heat a baking tray with 1-2 tablespoons of sunflower oil in the oven. Drain the potatoes and leave to one side with the lid on to keep the heat in.
Remove the oiled baking tray out of the oven and being careful spoon the potatoes into the tray and place back in the oven. Watch over every 20 minutes, turning if necessary. They should take 40-50 minutes till they are golden brown and crispy.

Piri Piri Chicken is a portuguese chicken dish that has been made famous by the legendary Nandos and is based on the African bird's eye chilli as the key ingredient. So... my recipe just used normal crushed chilli and didn't taste exactly like Nandos- but for a homemade dish it was so tasty and the chicken was ridiculously tender. All my friends (Nando experts haha) still loved it.

Again I made the sauce a couple of days before and just left in the fridge, leaving little to do on the day/evening. For this you will just need 1/2 chopped red onion, 2 crushed garlic cloves, 1tbsp sweet smoked paprika, juice of one lemon, 2tbsp white wine vinegar, 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce, a bunch of fresh basil finely chopped, and 1-2 bird's eye chill's (or teaspoon of crushed chilli flakes as you like). Simply mix the ingredients together, add a splash of water and blend again with a hand blender, or food processor. Super easy- sauce made!

Pour the sauce over your chicken legs in a large baking dish, cover with foil and leave to marinate over night in the fridge. I'm really trying to be prepared and let stuff marinate overnight- it really does make such a difference to the flavour!

On the night take out your chicken and brown all over in a frying pan on a high heat. Place back into the baking dish and spoon sauce back on to the chicken covering well. Place in the oven with the potatoes about 40 minutes before the potatoes are due to be done, perhaps lowering the heat to 160-180 towards the last half an hour. Make a big green salad in the meanwhile, tidy up, tidy yourself up and you are ready to entertain, all you need is to take a few things out of the oven and serve!