Chicken with Chorizo and Cannellini Beans

This is such a fantastic midweek meal - simple and delicious with very little preparation. Nigella recommends using any available cold cut of meat and I agree. If the chorizo is too fatty for you I would substitute with a nice trim, smoky piece of bacon.

INGREDIENTS
- 2 chicken breasts
- Approx. 125g of spincah leaves / rocket
- 1-2 teaspoons olive oil (not extra-virgin)
- 100g chorizo, sliced then chopped (I just buy one sausage from the deli counter)
- 410g tin cannellini beans, drained
- 1 cup of frozen peas
- A little chicken stock (1/4 - 1/2 cup)
- smoked sweet paprika for sprinkling

METHOD
- If you have the time, marinate the chicken breasts for at least half an hour in a little stock with a tablespoon of paprika. I also throw in a table spoon of the chopped chorizo, just to instill that smoky flavour in the chicken. Sometimes I put in a little herb I have growing on my windowsill, such as parsley or rosemary.

- Cook the chicken breasts on a griddle or in a frypan, approx 5 minutes each side.

- While the chicken is cooking, heat the oil in a frying pan, throw in the chopped chorizo, add the drained cannellini beans, frozen peas and, stirring, warm everything through, moistening with a couple of tablespoons or so of the chicken stock - or more if you want this soupier.

- Arrange the spinach/rocket in 2 x bowls and tip the beans and chorizo mix on top, allowing the greens to wilt a little.

- place cooked chicken on top and sprinkle each chicken breast with a little paprika.

Adapted from: http://www.nigella.com/recipes/view/chicken-with-chorizo-and-cannellini-beans-187

Cocopure

I'm really excited about cocopure. My neighbour gave it to me as a gift in return for looking after her apartment while she was away recently. I dipped into it straight away, and I think I've found my new favourite thing!

Cocopure has the consistency of nutella, and is generally considered as a mix of raw coconut oil and cocoa. It has a sweet bite, but has no added sugar! I find it especially satisfying on a nice piece of seeded toast, in the afternoons when I am having that chocolate / sweet thing craving.

My trainer Joe even approves! (And he can be a tough customer...)

You can buy it online, and also at health food stores (I go to 'Health Nuts' in the small shopping centre underneath the Coca Cola sign in Kings Cross.)

You can visit the website here.

Chicken and Bacon Chowder

I knew this recipe was a winner when I reheated it at work and no less than three people asked me something along the lines of 'what is that delicious smelling soup you are eating?'
A step away from the usual, chowders are not so popular in Australia. This is a refreshing recipe to try when you become a bit tired of other soups.

INGREDIENTS
175g packet of lean bacon, chopped into strips
I sweet potato, peeled, chopped into cubes
2 tbs coconut flour
4 cups (1 litre) chicken stock
2 chicken breast fillets, cut into 2cm pieces
2 cups (290g) frozen corn kernels
4 green onions, trimmed, thinly sliced
2 sticks celery, sliced
1/2 cup (125ml) milk

METHOD
1. Heat a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the bacon and cook, stirring, for 2 minutes or until lightly brown. Add the sweet potato and flour and cook, stirring, for 1 minute or until well combined. Add the chicken stock and chicken. Bring to a simmer. Reduce heat to low and cook, stirring occasionally, for 20 minutes or until chicken and potato are tender.

2. Add the corn, green onions, celery and milk, stir to combine. Cook for 2 minutes or until heated through. Ladle the soup evenly among serving bowls.

Adapted from: http://www.taste.com.au/recipes/22801/creamy+chicken+and+corn+chowder

Chicken and Pea Soup

The weather in Sydney is cooling again and of course I'm looking at building on my Soup recipes for a bit of variety. The excellent news is this particular soup tastes much like a roast chicken dinner in a bowl! I keep making jokes that I'll be eating it through a straw in my old age... thing is, it's actually a nice, chunky, substantial soup.

INGREDIENTS
- 400g (approx) sliced chicken breast (I just buy a stir fry tray to save time)
- a little flour for breading (I use coconut flour for my health)
- 2 tsp minced garlic
- 1 medium-size onion, chopped
- 1 sweet potato, cubed
- 1/2 kg frozen green peas, thawed
- 2 sticks of celery sliced
- 4 cups chicken stock (I tend to use more stock if I have it as I like more watery soup)
- 1 tsp each pf dried thyme and oregano leaves
- salt and pepper

METHOD
- Heat up a little olive oil in pan, enough for browning the chicken pieces.
- Season the chicken with salt and pepper, dredge with flour and brown all sides in hot oil. Set aside.
- Saute garlic and onions in the same pan until tender.
- Replace browned chicken pieces with all the nice juices that leaked out of the meat.
- Add potatoes, peas, stock, celery, and the dried herbs.
- Simmer until the chicken and potatoes are done. Check seasoning and serve.

Adapted from: http://www.nigella.com/recipes/view/chicken-and-pea-soup-598

Lentil, Roast Pumpkin, feta and rocket salad

I went looking for this recipe this morning and can't believe I hadn't added it earlier! This salad is just all-round excellent, it certainly is a crowd pleaser at any bbq or get together, give it a go!


INGREDIENTS
1/2cup (100g) green or brown lentils, rinsed well*
1 onion, peeled and halved
2 cloves garlic, peeled and halved
*If you don't want to have the trouble of cooking the lentils, just buy a can and rinse well.

750g butternut pumpkin, seeds removed and cut into 3cm wedges
Olive oil spray
1 pkt (80g) baby rocket
200g feta, crumbled (You can use low fat feta if you're worried)

Dressing
1 tbs olive oil
2 tbs lemon juice
2 tsp Dijon mustard

METHOD
1. Preheat oven to 200°C. Place lentils, onion, garlic and 1/2 tsp salt in a medium saucepan over high heat with 4 cups of cold water. Bring to the boil, reduce heat to medium and simmer for 15-20 minutes or until lentils are tender. Drain and discard onion and garlic.

2. Place pumpkin on a baking tray lined with baking paper, spray lightly with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Bake for 40-45 minutes or until golden.

3. Meanwhile, in a small bowl whisk oil, lemon juice and mustard until combined and season to taste. In a large bowl toss the warm lentils, pumpkin, rocket and crumbled feta together gently.

4. Divide between plates and drizzle with the dressing.

From: http://www.taste.com.au/recipes/14104/lentil+roast+pumpkin+feta+rocket+salad

Braised broadbeans, peas and leeks

This is a recipe I made last year and it raised many eyebrows at my work lunch table - Australians sort of forget broadbeans exist but think they are a wonderful idea. The photo below is from taste.com.au; as shown in the picture I normally serve this dish with grilled lamb.

INGREDIENTS
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 medium onion, sliced
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 leeks, trimmed and sliced
2 cups shelled broadbeans (I use frozen)
1 cup peas
1 tsp marjoram leaves, chopped
1 tsp oregano leaves, chopped
12 cherry tomatoes, halved
1/2 cup chicken or vegie stock
salt and pepper
4 tbsp parsley, chopped

METHOD
1. Heat olive oil in saucepan, gently fry onion and garlic for 30 seconds.
2. Add leeks, stir fry for 2 minutes.
3. Add broadbeans, peas, marjoram, oregano and tomatoes, stir for 1 minute until some liquid comes out of the tomatoes.
4. Add stock and a good few pinches of salt, simmer for 20 minutes.
5. Add chopped parsley and finish seasoning to taste, remove from heat and let it come to room temperature before serving.

From: The Sydney Morning Herald, Spectrum section, November 6-7 2010.

Asian-style chicken salad

Happy new year! I'm still lazing my way through the NSW school holidays, life will be sure to catch up with me again soon and the crazy routine will be there in full force once more.
This is a fabulous Summer dish as other than cutting and chopping, not much electricity (i.e. heat) is needed and the kitchen stays nice and cool. Important when you live in small digs like me. This is a great main, side or lunch! Tastes fine the next day too.


INGREDIENTS
2 single chicken breast fillets
Chicken stock (or water)
1 carrot, peeled, cut into matchsticks
150g snow peas, trimmed, thinly sliced
1 red capsicum, deseeded, thinly sliced
1/2 wombok (Chinese cabbage),hard core removed, finely shredded
3 green shallots, ends trimmed, thinly sliced diagonally
1/2 cup fresh coriander leaves

Dressing*
2 tbs fresh lime juice
1 tbs fish sauce
2 tsp brown sugar
1 fresh red chilli, deseeded, chopped
* I made this dish for two people but found I needed the full serve of dressing.

Serves 4

METHOD
1. Poach chicken in 4cm of chicken stock for 10min. Cool, shred.
2. Place carrot and snow peas in a bowl. Cover with boiling water. Set aside for 1 minute or until bright green and tender crisp. Refresh under cold running water.
3. Place chicken, carrot, snow peas, capsicum, wombok, shallot and coriander in a bowl. Combine lime juice, fish sauce, sugar and chilli in a jar. Pour over salad and combine. Divide among serving bowls to serve.

NUMBERS
Protein: 34g
Fat: 3.5g
Carbohydrate: 14g
Fibre: 7g

From: http://www.taste.com.au/recipes/14140/asian+style+chicken+salad

Pat's Christmas Cake Muffins

Here is a 'paleo-diet' version of Christmas cake muffins. My trainer Joe would be oh-so happy to know I'm making these, even though I'm doing plenty of naughty eating and drinking this Christmas - it's been a great year.

Cheeky thing I'm doing with this recipe is I'm soaking the fruit in a little brandy, it is Christmas after all :)

INGREDIENTS
4 Tbsp butter, melted
1/3 cup honey
3 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup unsweetened crushed pineapple
1-1/2 cups almond flour (I used coconut flour as I could not get almond flour)
1/2 teaspoon baking soda (NOT baking powder)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1-1/4 cup raisins
1/2 cup dried currants
3/4 cup dates or pitted prunes, chopped
1-1/2 cups sliced blanched almonds
1 cup chopped walnuts

INSTRUCTIONS
1. Preheat your oven to 135 degrees celcius.
2. Line muffin pans with paper cupcake liners.
3. Combine all ingredients in a large bowl, mixing well.
4. Fill each cupcake liner almost full with batter.
5. Bake for 45 minutes.
6. Allow to cool before removing the paper liners.

From: http://cavemancuisine.blogspot.com/2009/06/pats-christmas-cake-muffins.html

Roast lemon chicken with pea puree and chorizo

This is kind of a naughty-nice recipe. Although the fat gives flavour, reduce it and peel the skin off the chicken for a kinder meal. We ate this for Saturday night dinner and it is sort of 'special' - I'd defintely make it for guests!

Serves 2
2 chicken thighs, skin on
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp dried oregano
salt and pepper
1 pkt chorizo slices (approx 125g)
2 lemon wedges
2 sprigs of mint for serving

Pea Puree
300g frozen peas
1 tbs mint leaves
1 tbsp butter, sliced
1 garlic clove, minced
2 tbsp grated parmesan

METHOD
1. Heat over to 200 degrees celcius.
2. Place lemon juice, olive oil, oregano, salt and pepper in a ziploc bag, marinate for 45 minutes if possible.
3. Bake for 45minutes or until golden and cooked through.
4. Add lemon wedges and chorizo for last 10 minutes, until chorizo is crisp and lemon warm.

1. Cooke peas in salted water for 2 minutes, drain, reserving 1/2 cup of cooking water and 3 tbsp of peas.
2. To make puree, place remaining peas in a food processor with the mint, butter, garlic, parmesan, salt and pepper.
3. Puree, adding cooking water by tablespoonful until the nix is light and creamy.

Adapted from: Terry Durack, GW Living Food, Good Weekend Magazine, October 30th 2010

Green Ratatouille

Hello Spring! I'll be glad to be moving away from soups and casseroles and back towards grilled meats and sides... here is an old favourite I like to fall back on when I'm feeling a bit jaded, after all the slicing and dicing this is very quick cooking, a Bill Granger recipe, thanks Bill!


INGREDIENTS
3 tablespoons olive oil
3 large zucchini, diced
1 white onion, diced
2 garlic cloves, sliced thinly
4 celery stalks, diced
2 green capsicums (peppers), seeded, diced
2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme leaves
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

METHOD
Preheat the oven to 180°C/160°C fan-forced.

Heat 1 tablespoon of the olive oil in a large frying pan over medium-high heat. Add the zucchini and cook, stirring occasionally, for 5—6 minutes or until light golden. Remove from the heat and tip into a large ovenproof dish.

Return the pan to medium heat and add the remaining oil. Add the onion, garlic, celery and capsicum and cook, stirring occasionally, for 6—7 minutes, or until the vegetables are softened. Add to the ovenproof dish and sprinkle with thyme leaves and salt and pepper. Cover with foil and bake for 25—30 minutes.

from: http://aww.ninemsn.com.au/food/freshtv/790283/green-ratatouille