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!

Chicken, Sundried Tomato and Red Onion Spaghetti

I made this meal in the last few weeks of university when I had no money left and was trying to use up the last few scraps of food in the fridge... as it turned out it's actually something I have made lots since because its so easy and tasty!

Ingredients for one.

One chicken breast cut into long thin strips.
50g sundried tomatoes finely chopped
Half a red onion finely sliced
Spaghetti for one
Parmesan to grate on top (lasts ages in the fridge)


Bring a saucepan of water to the boil, season with salt and add spaghetti. Time for 9-10 minutes.
Melt some butter or cooking oil in a pan on a low heat and soften down the tomato and onion for a 2-3 minutes.

Add the chicken strips and increase the heat, continuing to stir for 5 minutes, so that the tomato and onion don't burn.

When the spaghetti is ready- always taste if you're not sure- add a couple of tablespoons of the cooking water to the chicken and drain the rest.

Let the water reduce down so you have a slight sauce coating the chicken, tomato and onion.

Add the pasta, stir, place on a plate and grate parmesan on top... It really is that easy! Enjoy with a glass of wine in front of the tv for a quick mid week indulgence.

Barbecued 'Mojito' Shoulder of Lamb

The sun was out and shining today and we had a shoulder of lamb in the fridge so I thought I would try out a new recipe for the barbecue. Shoulder of lamb is a great choice at the moment because all lamb is now new seasons so really delicious and tender, and it is great value for money compared to the leg. Although there is more fat running through than leg of lamb, the meat is so tender it just melts away while cooking, helping to flavour the meat. The marinade I chose is a slight twist on the classic garlic and olive oil that we are so used to putting on lamb nowadays- the rum, lime juice, and mint just make it that extra bit special on a summers day.

Ingredients:
1 whole shoulder of lamb serves 5-6 people (ask your butcher to debone so that you can lay the meat flat on the BBQ so that it cooks quicker)

 6 crushed garlic cloves
a good handful of mint leaves, finely chopped
4 tablespoons of rum
1 tablespoon of olive oil
the juice of one lime and zest grated

Unless you have a food processor, in which you can just blitz the above ingredients, start by pounding the garlic and mint together using a pestle and mortar.
Add the lime juice and zest and again mix together. Slowly add the other liquid ingredients and really stir well to let the flavours of the mint and garlic release into the rum.

Pour the mixture on to the lamb a bit at a time massaging into the meat as you go. When finished place the lamb into a bowl and cover with foil. Leave in the fridge for a good 3-5 hours to let the flavours permeate the meat.

We used a traditional charcoal BBQ to cook the lamb. Place the charcoal either side of a foil tray to collect any dripping fat. Once the coals are really hot, let the lamb cook flat on the BBQ for about an hour with the lid on to keep the BBQ hot.

Carve the meat and serve with buttery new potatoes and salad.

Roast Char Sui Pork with Asparagus and Egg Fried Rice

I haven't done any Chinese cooking in a while but Mum and I were tempted by a new bright pink cookbook, The Sweet Mandarin Cookbook, so I had to give one of their recipes a go! I also like this recipe because the ingredients used to make the sauce are ones I would normally use in Chinese cooking anyway so didn't involve me spending ridiculous amounts on one-off exotic ingredients. This pork dish uses the pork tenderloin (basically the fillet) which is actually very good value for money compared to beef and chicken fillets.  Buying from a good butcher will ensure the pork is from high welfare farms and trimmed properly so that it isn't too fatty. For four people I used two medium sized tenderloins, approx 300-400g each.

The trick to this recipe is leaving the meat to marinade, and the rice to cool, over night, however I tried doing both in the afternoon before eating that evening and it was still delicious. The original recipe uses hoisin sauce and dark soy sauce which aren't gluten free, however some supermarkets sell a Tamari soy sauce which is a good gluten free replacement for both.

Ingredients serves 4
2 medium sized pork tenderloins (from high welfare farms)
3 cloves garlic crushed (2 for the pork, 1 for the rice)
2 tablespoons brown sugar
2 tablespoons honey
4 tablespoons Tamari soy sauce
2 tablespoons Shaoxing rice wine
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon five spice powder
2 teaspoons sesame oil (I used sesame seeds instead)

enough rice for 4 people
3 eggs beaten
3 spring onions finely chopped

1 large bunch of asparagus


The night before/afternoon: start by placing your pork tenderloins in a large dish. In a saucepan mix the brown sugar, honey, soy sauce, rice wine, paprika, five spice and sesame oil over a high heat until the mixture starts to boil. Leave to cool.

Massage the tenderloins with 2 cloves of crushed garlic and pour over the cooled marinade, again rubbing into the meat. Wrap the dish with foil and leave in the fridge until you want to start cooking.
Add the rice to boiling water and cook for 10 minutes. Drain and leave to cool before placing in the fridge. Cooling the rice down helps to create that fried rice texture when you later cook it.

The evening you want to eat: preheat the oven to 200C. Remove the pork from the fridge and place in a roasting dish, pouring on any excess marinade. Cook for 20 minutes before removing from the oven, turning and basting in the excess juices. At this heat I would keep an eye throughout because there is so much sugar in the sauce. If it looks like it is beginning to burn up, add 200ml of boiling water to the pan, it will help make a sauce at the end too. Cook for a further 20 minutes.

In the meantime you can make your egg fried rice. In a wok, heat some sunflower oil on a high heat. Add your beaten eggs and scramble. Add your chopping spring onion and crushed garlic, continuously stirring so that it doesn't burn. After a couple of minutes add your rice, turn down the heat, and mix in well to break down any clumps where the rice has stuck together. Cook for about 10 minutes to get the heat through the rice, and add a dash of soy sauce for flavour.

In another saucepan bring your asparagus just to the boil. Quickly drain, and about 5 minutes before you are ready to remove the pork, fry in a griddle pan with a splash of shaoxing rice wine for flavour.

Remove the pork from the oven and slice diagonally. Arrange neatly on top of the asparagus, and serve with a big bowl of egg fried rice. The juices from the pork can be boiled down to make a sauce.

Butternut Squash Soup with Crispy Bacon Pieces

This soup is my all time favourite pick-me-up soup: its comforting, delicious, and  healthy (maybe just a little bit naughty with the crispy bacon and crême fraiche). This is a very basic recipe which is delicious but can be given a kick with a little bit of chilli if you wish.

Ingredients (makes 3-4 portions)
1 finely chopped onion | 1 finely chopped clove garlic | 1 butternut squash peeled, deseeded and diced | 1 medium sized potato peeled and diced | 4 rashers smoked streaky bacon chopped | 2 tablespoons crême fraiche | 500ml chicken stock | Salt and pepper | Handful of coriander leaves.

In a large saucepan, sweat the chopped onion and garlic until softened.

Add the diced butternut squash and potato stirring to mix in well with the onion and garlic.

Add stock to the vegetables, topping up with water if needed to completely cover them. Bring to the boil then reduce the heat to a simmer.

In a separate pan, fry the bacon pieces until really cripsy. Place in a kitchen-roll lined bowl to soak up any excess fat.

After 25-30 minutes, your soup should be ready to blend; just check your veg falls apart easily with a knife. Before blending add the coriander leaves and season well with pepper and salt. I use a handheld blender, as its so lightweight and easy to use, and much less messy too... But be very careful I had a bad experience once upon a time that I won't go into...

Finally stir in your crême fraiche and serve into bowls before adding a sprinkle of bacon pieces on to each. Serve with fresh chunky bread for a more filling meal.

Rump Steak with Spicy Sweet Potato Chips and Yoghurt Dip

Buying steak can be notoriously expensive... It's always the most expensive thing on the menu, and when not knowing what cut to choose in the butchers, it can seem safest to go for fillet, the most expensive. Of course fillet is gorgeous, but the other steak cuts, sirloin, rump, and ribeye are all delicious and full of flavour when treated properly by a good butcher. Rump is always my number one choice because it is full of flavour but costs the less money per kilo. Buying from a butchers also lets you choose what size you want... I bought the piece that I cooked for this recipe for around £3.50 which compared to £16+ in a restaurant seems ridiculously good value for a weekend treat!

 I found the idea for these chips in Hugh Fearnley Whittingstall's book Vegetables. He uses normal potatoes but I think they're even more special with sweet potato, and healthier too. I didn't stick to the letter on the spices he used, so feel free to adapt the recipe to what spices you have in the cupboard and experiment.

Ingredients Serves 1 

1 sweet potato | 1/2 tsp sweet ground paprika | 1/2 tsp coriander seeds | 1/2 tsp ground cumin | 1/2 tsp fennel seeds | 1/2 teaspoon chilli powder | 2 heaped teaspoons natural yoghurt | 1 garlic clove crushed | 200g rump steak | salad to serve | Sunflower Oil

Preheat your oven to 200C. Peel your potato and slice into chip or wedge shapes. Bring to the boil in cold water. Make your spice mix: combine all the paprika, coriander, cumin, fennel and chilli in a pestle and mortar (or bowl and rolling pin) and crush the seeds. 

Place a baking tray with oil covering the bottom in the oven. Once the potatoes come to the boil, drain immediately. Cover in spice mix (retaining one teaspoon for later) turning the potatoes so that they are all well covered. 

Add the potatoes to the hot oil. Let cook for 25-30 minutes, turning about half way through. 

While the potatoes are cooking you can make your salad and the yoghurt dip. For the dip simply mix the yoghurt with the crushed garlic and the retained teaspoon of spice mix. 5 minutes before the potatoes are done, cook your steak in a frying pan, about 2.5 minutes each side depending on thickness. 

Nigel Slater's Chicken Thighs with Fennel and Leek

Nigel Slater's recipes always seem really simple and earthy; this is the first one I have tried and I was really impressed. The fresh flavours of the fennel and leek really lift the chicken and create an amazing flavoured sauce cooked down in some stock. I added a spoonful of crême fraiche at the very end, just to thicken the sauce ever so slightly but it's completely up to you if you want to keep things simple. Some people aren't too keen on using chicken thighs but cooked in the right way, they really can be delicious. They are also a lot cheaper than the breast meat and don't dry out so quickly!  One more tip, don't go too mad on the lemon juice, you want the dish to be on the right side of tangy and fresh.

Ingredients Serves 1 

2 chicken thighs  | 1 small leek and fennel bulb  | 1/2 lemon | 250-300ml chicken stock | handful finely chopped parsley | salt and pepper to season | spoonful cr ême fraiche (optional) 

Season your chicken thighs and brown off in a large shallow pan. Meanwhile slice your leeks into rings (make sure they are washed properly) and add to the pan. 

Slice your fennel bulb and again add to the pan stirring for about 5 minutes to soften, making sure the heat isn't too high that the vegetables burn. 

Add your chicken stock  and a good squeeze of lemon juice to the pan and cook for a further 25 minutes letting the stock simmer down. If you don't think there is enough liquid you can always add a splash of water accordingly. After 25 minutes, check your chicken is cooked through by slicing into the thickest part of the meat. 

If so, place the chicken to one side, add the parsley and cr ême fraiche and stir. Serve immediately placing the chicken thighs on top. Serve with bread, floury potatoes or rice to soak up that lovely sauce!