peasant style chicken, potatoes & chorizo

This would have to be my daughter, Alexia's favourite dish, a very simple one pan dinner that is so easy to make and perfect for a sunday night dinner.

what you need

1 whole large free range chicken cut 1/2

2 chorizo sausages sliced

200mls chicken stock

1 kg potatoes quartered lengthways skin on

1 large onion sliced

2 gloves garlic finely chopped

fresh rosemary chopped finely

fresh oregano chopped finely

olive oil

sea salt & cracked pepper

what to do

Lay potatoes in the base of a heavy roasting dish, top with the sliced onions.

Rub the chicken with some of the olive oil, chopped herbs and garlic, and place on top of the Potatoes and onions.

Place chorizo around the chicken

Pour in chicken stock , and season well with the sea salt and cracked pepper.

Roast in a moderate oven till the chicken is well browned and cooked to the bone

Chicken Cacciatore

what you need

4 chicken thighs

2 teaspoons salt, plus more to taste

1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus more to taste

1/2 cup all purpose flour, for dredging

3 tablespoons olive oil

1 large red capsicum, chopped

1 onion, chopped

3 garlic cloves, finely chopped

3/4 cup dry white wine

1 can diced tomatoes with juice

3/4 cup chicken stock

3 tablespoons drained capers

1 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano leaves

1/4 cup coarsely chopped fresh basil leaves

what to do

Sprinkle the chicken pieces with 1 teaspoon of each salt and pepper. Dredge the chicken pieces in the flour to coat lightly.

In a large heavy sauté pan, heat the oil over a medium-high flame. Add the chicken pieces to the pan and saute just until brown, about 5 minutes per side. If all the chicken does not fit in the pan, sauté it in 2 batches. Transfer the chicken to a plate and set aside. Add the red capsicum, onion and garlic to the same pan and sauté over medium heat until the onion is tender, about 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Add the wine and simmer until reduced by half, about 3 minutes. Add the tomatoes with their juice, broth, capers and oregano. Return the chicken pieces to the pan and turn them to coat in the sauce. Bring the sauce to a simmer. Continue simmering over medium-low heat until the chicken is just cooked through, about 30 minutes for the breast pieces, and 20 minutes for the thighs.

Using tongs, transfer the chicken to a platter. If necessary, boil the sauce until it thickens slightly, about 3 minutes. Spoon off any excess fat from atop the sauce. Spoon the sauce over the chicken, then sprinkle with the basil

Best Served with penne pasta..

rosemary and parmesan crusted chicken cutlets

what you need
2 cups milk
2 cloves garlic crushed
5 cups fresh breadcrumbs
1/2 grated parmesan
1 cup chopped parsley parsley
2 tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary
500gr thinly sliced chicken breast
Salt
Pepper
5 Eggs
Vegetable oil

what to do
Beat 5 eggs together and add 1 cup of milk.
Soak Chicken Breast fillet in 2 cups of milk with the crushed fresh garlic. Can be made 2 hours before or soacked night before.
add chopped parlsey and rosemary to the bread crumbs.
Add parmesan to the bread crumb mixture.
Add a couple of pinches of salt and some cracked pepper.
Now drain the milk egg mixture of each cutlets and coat with bread crumb mixture and fry in vegetable oil until golden brown.

chicken and chorizo rolls

what you need

1 cup (70g) fresh breadcrumbs
500g chicken breast mince
i chorizo sausage,finely chopped/minced
1 egg, plus 1 extra lightly beaten egg
1/4 cup grated mozzarella cheese
1/2 onion, grated
1/4 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley leaves
4 sheets frozen puff pastry, just thawed
good homemade Tomato to serve with

what to do
Preheat the oven to 200°C and line 2 baking sheets with baking paper.
Process crumbs, chicken and unbeaten egg in a food processor until well combined.
Place in a bowl, mix well with all other ingredients, then season to tase.
Place 1 pastry sheet on a floured surface and halve.
Spoon an eighth of the mixture lengthways along centre of each piece. Fold 1 edge of pastry over and tuck in beside filling, then fold over other side to make a roll, pressing down lightly to seal. Repeat with remaining pastry and filling.
Cut rolls into 3cm pieces and cut two small incisions into each roll to prevent splitting.
Place on baking sheets, cover and chill for 30 minutes. Brush with beaten egg and sprinkle with sesame seeds (optional).
Bake for 25-30 minutes until the rolls are lightly browned and cooked through.

Serve with sauce on the side

Chicken Stock

A good stock is the basis of many a great, soup, stew or sauce. Without a good stock recipes don't have the great depth of flavour required to bring out the best in any dish. While it is possible to purchase ready made stocks from the supermarket, i find many of them far to salty and lack that true natural chicken flavour. So why not make a batch and freeze in portions and you will have months of chicken stock on hand to add to any dish.

What you'll need
6 chicken carcasses approx 1.5-2 kilos (4 lbs)
2 medium onions (peeled & quartered)
2 celery stalks (washed & roughly chopped)
2 peeled carrots (peeled & roughly chopped)
3 bay leaves
5-6 black peppercorns
Cold water
Makes approximately 3 litres of stock

What to do
Place all the ingredients in a large pot and cover with water.
Bring it all to the boil.
Once boiling immediately reduce to a simmer.
Simmer for 4 hours.
Every hour skim the foam off that accumulates on top and discard.
Strain the stock.
Discard the solids (if you used meaty carcasses, feel free to pull any of the meat off and use as desired).
Strain the stock through a fine strainer to remove any fine solid particles.
Refrigerate over night, (the following day remove and discard they layer of hard fat that has solidified on top overnight).
The stock can now be used as required, refrigerated for 2-3 days, or portioned and frozen to be used at your convenience for up to a few months.

Note
If a very clear broth is desired, leave out the carrots and simmer for only 2-3 hours.
If a richer, darker stock is required brown the bones first in a 200 degree oven (400 Fahrenheit) and simmer for 6-8 hours (this may require adding more water during the simmering process to prevent the stock drying up)."

Mushroom-and-Goat-Cheese Stuffed Chicken Thighs

what you need
1 rasher of bacon
500gr (4oz) finely chopped button mushrooms
1 shallot finely chopped
1 teaspoon chopped tyme
250gr (2oz) fresh goast cheese
8 boneless chicken thighs
1 tbls extra virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon plain flour
1/2 cup chicken stock
salt and papper to taste

what to do
"Preheat the oven to 180C or 350F. In a medium pan, cook the bacon over high heat, stirring, until crisp, about 6 minutes.
Add the mushrooms and shallot, season with salt and pepper and cook, stirring, until the mushrooms are tender and lightly browned, about 8 minutes. Add the thyme and goat cheese and let cool slightly.

Arrange the chicken thighs on a work surface, skin side down. Using a meat pounder, lightly pound the thighs until they are a scant 1/2 inch thick.
Spread the mushroom mixture evenly over the thighs and roll them up; the skin should almost wrap around the meat. Tie each bundle with kitchen string in 2 places.

In a large, ovenproof pan, heat the olive oil. Season the chicken with salt and pepper and add the bundles to the pan. Cook over moderately high heat, turning, until lightly browned all over, about 5 minutes. Turn the chicken skin side up.
Transfer to the oven and roast for about 12 minutes, until the chicken is cooked through.

Pour the chicken fat and pan drippings into a bowl and skim off the fat, reserving 1 teaspoon in the pan. Whisk in the flour and cook over moderate heat until foamy. Whisk in the chicken broth and cook, scraping up any bits stuck to the pan with a wooden spoon, until slightly thickened, about 3 minutes. Pour the reserved pan drippings and any accumulated juices from the chicken into the sauce and season with salt and pepper. Remove the strings from the chicken thighs, drizzle with the sauce and serve witgh creamt mash potatoes.

chicken with lemon & tyme

what you need

1/2 chicken on the bone
1/2 cup of chopped parsley
fresh tyme sprigs

4 lemons
1/2 cup of lemon juice
1/2 cup of vegetable oil
1 tsp salt
freshly ground black pepper

what to do
Thoroughly wash and dry the chicken .

Cut 2 lemons into round slices.

Salt and pepper chicken on both sides.

Place chicken skin side up in a casserole dish.

Mix oil,lemon juice,parsley.

Pour over chicken.

Sprinkle tyme all over chicken and refrigerate for about an hour.Turn the chicken over and sprinkle more tyme on top then refrigerate for about another hour.

After the chicken is marinated. place in the oven (190 celcius) for about 20 minutes. Turn chicken over and roast for about another 20 minutes while basting with the oil and juice mixture.

Great served with citrus spiced cous cous

chicken marsala

what you need

3 1/2 lbs skinless, boneless chicken breasts

2 tbls unsalted butter

2 cups fresh mushrooms

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

2 tbls olive oil

1 cup marsala wine

1/2 cup fresh cream

Preparation:
Rinse the chicken and pat dry with paper towels. Place the breasts between layers of plastic wrap, and pound until thin. . Clean and slice the mushrooms.

Dust the chicken with the flour. Shake off excess flour.

Heat the oil and butter to medium-high temperature in a large saute pan. Add the chicken, and brown on one side. Turn over, and add the mushrooms.

Pour in the wine, and reduce to half the volume, add cream and cook till reduced and thickened

Great served on mash with fresh steamed beans with the sauce poured over.

Chicken Cacciatore

Chicken cacciatore literally means 'hunter's style chicken'. This stew originates in central Italy and dates to the 15th Century when only the affluent could afford poultry and the sport of hunting.

what you need
8 chicken thigh fillets
plain flour, for dusting
salt and cracked black pepper
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 onion, sliced
2 cloves garlic, chopped
2/3 cup (160ml) chicken stock
1/2 cup (125ml) white wine
400g can chopped tomatoes
1/2 cup kalamata olives
2 tablespoons oregano leaves
steamed vegetables, to serve

what to do
Dust chicken thigh fillets in combined flour, salt and pepper. Heat oil in a large non-stick frying pan over medium-high heat. Cook chicken, in batches, for 2-3 minutes on each side. Remove and set aside.
Reduce heat to medium. Add onion and cook for 4 minutes until softened. Add garlic and cook for 30 seconds. Pour in stock, wine and tomatoes, and simmer for 20 minutes. Stir through olives and oregano, and cook for 2-3 minutes. Serve with steamed vegetables.

Or try with chicken pieces and braise slowly in a covered dish in the oven for 90 minutes for a more full flavoured dish

Chicken Pizziola

This isa fool proof, quick and simple chicken dish that you can just top and pop in the oven with out lots of fussy cooking that will be ready in forty minutes.

what you need
4 x 125g flattened skinless chicken breasts
1/2 cup lean ham, diced
1/2 cup mushrooms, thinly sliced
1/2 cup capsicum, thinly sliced
1/2 cup chopped shallots or thinly sliced onion
1/2 cup tomato, diced
1 tsp crushed garlic
1/2 tsp dried basil
cooking spray
4 dsp tomato paste
1 cup tasty cheese, grated



what to do
Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius fan forced. Flatten chicken breasts with a meat mallet. In a medium sized bowl, mix together ham, mushroom, capsicum, shallots, tomato, garlic and basil. Coat a baking tray with cooking spray and place all four flattened chicken breasts on it. Spread one dessertspoon of tomato paste over each breast, then spread pizza topping evenly over each breast. Sprinkle a quarter cup of cheese over each piece. Bake for 30-40 minutes or until chicken is cooked and topping is golden brown.

now how easy is that